I live in an apartment in downtown San Francisco. The building owner is in Japan and the manager will be zero help if PG&E goes down. Does anyone know of energy source I could use to run lights/refrigerator, (most importantly-hair dryer!!) part time if need be, or of a long running light source.

My feeling is that power companies/government will work to keep power up in cities-as they are the financial life blood of economy, and they would unzip pretty quickly if power off for more than 48 hrs. That if there are outages, they will be of short duration in cities.....or we're all doomed. PG&E appears to be working with sense of urgency.....the City of SF is another matter.......I called the Mayor's office 10 times...his liason and other contact people respond "What's Y2K?", and even lengthy discussion did not pursuade them that it is something to be concerned with.

-- Anonymous, November 02, 1998

Answers

Susan:

Amateur Radio stores carry a packaged 12 volt 7 AH gell cell battery and charger (about $50) and Target carries a 12 volt flourescent lamp that comes with a 10 foot cord and cigerette lighter plug (about $10). I have two of these that come in very handy during hurricane season here in Central Florida. Wal Mart also carries a portable air compressor for inflating car tires that also has a 12 volt jack on the side.

You are out of luck on running your frige and hair dryer!

Jim

-- Anonymous, November 03, 1998

Susan,

You'll quickly discover two things when you start looking into alternative energy sources (I speak from experience, having just set up my own solar generation system):

1. The power we get off the grid is cheap compared to the cost of generating it yourself, and....

2. The appliances and electrical devices we use are designed and built with this cheap source of power in mind....they are terrible energy hogs.

Your average refridgerator might use 150-200 watts or more to run (especially if it is autodefrost). Over a 10 hour average run time per day, it uses anywhere from 1.5 kw (kilowatts = 1000watts) to 2kw per day. Multiply this times 7 and you need nearly 14kw over a weeks timeframe just to run your refridgerator! The average size solar panel is rated at 75 watts (but in actuality generates somewhere around 50-60 watts due to voltage drop in the wiring, etc.). If you had 4 of these (@ $450 each), and you lived in a good area for sun (which you don't), then you might expect to get 200watts over a 6 hour period during the day (9am-3pm generally). Under ideal conditions, this would generate about 1.2 kw per day, or about 8.4kw per week - not nearly enough to run even your refridgerator! A solar power system like that will cost you somewhere between $3000 to $4000, so you get the general idea that generating your own (long term) power is expensive.

The alternative is to get better appliances along with a solar system. If your willing to spend the cash, you can get a Sun Frost refridgerator (actually, you probably can't now, since they're so backed up with orders) that is designed to be very energy efficient. The 12 cubic foot refriderator/freezer draws only 38watts - that's nearly 1/2 the energy required to run a 60watt light bulb. This is amazing since the smallest 1-2cu ft. dorm room refrigerator I could find still drew 100watts! If you went this route, you will still have to find a place to place the solar array, batteries, inverter, etc. The roof might be good, but you can't protect it against vandalism, and you'd have to run wiring to your apartment (plus the owner might have something to say about it).

Other fossile-fuel methods of generating your own power are noisy and limited by your ability to store fuel long term (which can't be good in downtown San Francisco).

Wind power would be out for similar reasons, as would all other generating methods (hydro, geothermal, etc.). If all you wanted was some light, then you might consider a portable solar unit that you could mount in your window. This would provide enough energy (long term) to power a dc light bulb (these units are meant to take on camping and hiking trips, and can run a laptop computer, radios, etc). A good dealer for some of those things is Real Goods (www.realgoods.com).

At best, you're playing a game of roulette, counting on the power not being out for long in the cities. Even if it does go out, you're betting that it won't be out long. IMHO, I think the odds are against you. Even if the power goes out for a day, looting and other civil nastiness are highly likely (history is my witness on this). If your's is the only window with a light in it, you can expect to be the object of some unwanted attention. I'm not prognosticating here, since nobody knows for sure where (or if) power will stay up and where (or if) it will go down, but I do think the downside risk of being in the city outweighs the temporary (hopefully) inconvience of being somewhere else when the clock strikes midnight.

If I were you, I'd take my sleeping bag to Aunt Ida-May's in Kansas. Bring along a bottle of bubbly for ringing in the new year (Ida-May always was a sucker for good champaign...), and pray to God that things go well.

Ron

-- Anonymous, November 03, 1998

Ron Hocutt's post probably said it all in terms of practical limitations of self-generated power. I too am designing my energy independent house and there are a few low-tech alternatives that you might be able to use. Refrigeration is indeed your biggest energy eater. If cost doesn't get in the way, you might be able to obtain a propane powered refrigerator from an RV supply dealer. Propane refrigerators can be found in any size up to standard houshold size (about 16 cu. ft.) They aren't cheap but they are more easily available now than the Sun Frost line. I'm thinking about going with a propane-powered reefer instead of a super-efficient electric to cut down on the amount of generator,solar array, and (maybe)wind turbine equipment I'd need to keep everything lit. If you can work with a cooler the size of a small ice chest, you could try using one of the solid-state Koolatron heating/cooling chests that truckers use. It uses 12 volt power to keep the interior of the insulated chest either hot for hot food or cold for stuff you want to keep cool. Meijer, Kmart and most truck stops carry them for under $100 now and my neighbor uses one in his truck for stuff like lunch meat, small cartons of milk, etc. Hope this was some help to you All success Keith

-- Anonymous, November 03, 1998

Dear Susan, I have to agree with Ron. Get out of Dodge at least over the holiday rollover, if not before then. That's your safest option. And if the power goes out, hairdrying will be the least of your worries, believe me. All best wishes to you.

-- Anonymous, November 03, 1998

Thanks to those who've answered my questions re: alternative energy sources in CIty apartment. I appreciate your taking the time to respond with such good information. More importantly I value this informative site Rick Cowles has provided. Tthe intelligent and helpful people who contribute to it-restore my faith that we will all stick together and get through come what may. Thanks again. Suzanne Mc.

-- Anonymous, November 04, 1998