Power Outages

Discussion in Utilities started by remnant • Sep 8, 2016.

  1. remnant

    remnantActive Member

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    When there is power outage, many people people and businesses invest in generators to plug the gap. Some are automatic, maintaining a seamless power supply and with enhanced fuel economy. Others use candles and lanterns as well as battery operated lights. It all depends on the situation and one's power needs. Are generators worth the expense in your case if at all you use them?
     
  2. explorerx7

    explorerx7Active Member

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    A backup generator is a very useful gadget to have in the home. However, I know it's convenient to have one but I can't vouch for its cost effectiveness. Unless there is a storm or an event that causes a prolonged break in the power supply, you could find that the generator remains idle and is hardly ever used. On the other hand, however, if the outage lasts for a number of days, you would be grateful that you had it to make your life much more comfortable. I opt for the battery operated lights and lanterns because the event of having a prolonged power outage is few and far apart, therefore, It would probably be convenient but not cost effective to have a generator.
     
  3. GreenPersimmon

    GreenPersimmonMember

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    I think generators are great if you live in a remote place where you're unlikely to get help. If you're in a city, the mayor will figure out a way to get you water and food rations if your city has issues. But if you're in the country and have to deal with bad storms or tornados that can take a week or two to fix the damage, a generator is necessary to keep living normally.
     
  4. tonyb

    tonybActive Member

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    From my own experience, the fact is generator is not worth the expense whenever there is power outage. This is coupled with the high cost of petrol. It's just a way to generate some power in the time being of the outage, it's really not economical from my experience.
     
  5. Alexandoy

    AlexandoyWell-Known Member

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    In 1995 the power outage here was regular like from 5 to 12 hours per day. Aside from the dark nights, the torment was the hot weather. But based on my computation, we get the worth of the generator if we get to use it for 2 years. We tried to endure the power outages by using rechargeable lamps and rechargeable electric fans.
     
  6. TheKnight

    TheKnightActive Member

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    It's useful but maybe only when it's definitely needed such as for your refrigerator. A while ago, I had a ton of meat in my freezer that I was going to sell the next day and just then, the power went out. I was stressed out but thankfully, one of my neighbors helped me out with their electricity because it was only out in my house.
     
  7. Jamille

    JamilleActive Member

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    This would depend on how frequent power outages occur in your area. In our place, power outages are rare that generators will be idle most of the time if one chooses to buy one. Hence, they are more common in commercial areas than they are in private homes. I would prefer to buy rechargeable lamps and fans which have gotten cheaper over the years than buy a generator that will hardly ever be used.
     
  8. Zero

    ZeroActive Member

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    Power outages occur mainly depending on your area of residence since a lot of environmental factors can either cause it or accelerate it.
     
  9. moneymania

    moneymaniaActive Member

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    If you live in a place where there are blackouts but you living in the city, then the power will be restored relatively quickly, just like in my case, so no need for a generator. It's quite expensive anyway, and I think it's not worth the money.
     
  10. Keibah

    KeibahActive Member

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    If you live where I do, you'd need a generator, lantern, flashlight, candles and even the moonlight. Power supply could be really epileptic. It could go out for days or weeks and you have no option than to use all those options depending on your power need. It's crazy sometimes because we make budget always for fuel, gas and kerosene just for when the power is out which is almost always.
     
  11. overcast

    overcastActive Member

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    We have that problem here and we often have some backup for the same too. We need a lot of help on that front. We have been saving a lot of money to get better backup power option. There seems to be much of the option on that side. But considering how the power outages impact everyday routine. And my work being mostly dependent on the electricity. It helps if I can make use of the better backup/ So I try to save money on that front.
     
  12. littlewitch66

    littlewitch66Active Member

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    I am very lucky where I live and rarely get a power outage. I can't even remember if I've had one in my present house in 13 years. However last weekend one of my light bulbs went bang and tripped the main power source and I couldn't find a torch to look into the electricity box. I had to search around for a candle in complete darkness so now I have put the torch inside the electricity box in case it happens again.
     
  13. luri

    luriActive Member

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    Power generators are very expensive. You have to pay big money to get a generator as well as spend money on fuel. I think installing a solar power is a cheap alternative. Installation of solar pannels is expensive compared to power generator, however, there is almost zero running cost. You can use it for a long time.
     
  14. lucykey

    lucykeyMember

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    When there is prolonged power outage it comes with unnecessary costs that we have to mitigate in order to deal with the possibility of incurring losses in case of a company. For a company its better to have a generator as a back up for power outage but in case of home usage I think its better to have a solar as a source of back up to reduce the noise it produces to ensure a quiet environment