This spring, we had MAJOR flooding and the electric company shut down the power to the area, even though many weren't under water...
I have 4 solar (PV) panels on the roof, and in direct sunlight with no air conditioner on, the 4 panels can pretty much run the house.
The PV panels were prompted by the 120% increase in electric costs over the past 8 years...
It's a 'Net Meter' system that is a grid tie, no batteries.
I also have a generator, got it out of an old RV, about 7.5 KW at low RPM so the entire neighborhood doesn't know it's running in the middle of the night.
What I did was offer to store milk for baby formula and some other perishables for my neighbors, and to my closest neighbors, I offered a single extension cord around on a time schedule.
Enough time to make a fridge or freezer cold again, and enough current to do the same...
With a breaker installed to make sure they didn't plug everything in the house in at the same time!
I heard a lot of complaining about this or that, but our little block or block and a half here did pretty well for the 6 days the power was off.... Compared to others that REALLY MADE THINGS HARD FOR THEMSELVES!
I notice there still aren't many converts in the area...
4 months later, and we still don't see many Compact Florescent bulbs in the light fixtures,
No new generators going in,
No one adding solar PV or solar Hot Water panels, Ect.
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I'm used to living in the Fla. Keys, and when you have had a half dozen hurricanes in the same summer, you kind of prepare for things like this...
I just never though it was going to be a flood in INDIANA of all places!