Winter storm 2021 no power/water 3 days
Heat: Thermacare disposables 8-16 hours. Slap one on your chest and it keeps your core warm. Or cut out disks and put inside gloves/socks.
Light: rechargeable headlamps can be worn or laid face up to light ceiling, hence room
Lighting: battery powered candles do a great job of lighting rooms
Gas stove: use lighter to activate flame to boil water, cook, etc.
Anker portables: have 4-6 and you, too, can keep devices charged so you can work around the clock for five days (with naps) while your colleagues go dark (true story) during the multi-day snow and ice power outage event.
Power outage tips and tricks - Android and UK specific
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If we are going to be cut of from Gazprom, I have my huge tilestove in the living,
beds can be put there.
Cooking?
No problem for a Neanderthaler!(see our family photo above) 
Even there is no electric power.
I am a post war child, I know a lot of tricks,
being told from my father (RIP) who was a soldier in WWII.
One is : “In the need, a sausage even tastes without bread”
Isn’t that more than “philosophy” 
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So I agree the older generation who grew up with little have skills and resources to better handle disruption.
So yes wood stove, changing how you cook, changing WHO cooks. It was usually the case sets of families would cook and eat shared together where the effort to keep a fire going was used continuously to cook, heat, wash clothes, usually a family member did majority to keep feeding the fire and plan the meals.
I worked in a large factory once, my main meal of the day was lunch got at very reasonable prices in the works canteen. Big ovens with bulk food preparation was cheapest. No menu, you got to front of queue and given choice of two meals and if late the one meal. Simple. E.g. yesterday we butchered the pig so it’s sausages or nothing today.
For 2022 I’m only expecting power unreliability as the headroom in the power generation goes through the summer. No worse.
But there’s a generation, a typical Anker fan, who has never experienced that. It’s the shock. But not difficult once old methods remembered.
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Perfectly said, my friend.
I dont know how old you are @professor
I was growing up in an absolutely poor family.
My parents did the best they could. but in those times it was hard.
So I was educated to care about things, not to waste, to repair if possible.
Who is able to repairing stockings, who can knit, who is able to create a shirt using a sewing machine in our days.
No one.
Many are even not able tc cook.
To create meal.
What theý mean to “cook” is only to put a instant chunk food in the microwave.
Too much of our resources are simply trashed meanwhile.
Were will this lead to?
Lets take a look at the millions of tons of electronic garbage caused by obsolescence.
Who cares about?
The Greens?
NEVER!
No, they got weird ideas, which can not be taken for normal.
Oh… I have to stop getting to much political. Sorry!
But it’s true! 
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Just a reminder to keep your Anker technology up to date. Keep a stock of AAA for your Eufy stick on lights, keep your Powercore charged and have a reasonable smattering of Powerport to recharge your Powercore when power returns.
Those who’ve experienced outages will be fine but for those who haven’t:
- an actual outage will take street lights and traffic signals out, as well as broadband, the cellular service will last a few hours, be very slow / unreliable, fuel stations won’t work, the water pressure will drop, so you’re going back to how things used to be say a century ago. We were perfectly fine then so don’t panic.
- things going on around you will try to make you panic, any security systems will become noisy and flashy. Some people not prepared may become loud.
- an outage due to demand exceeding supply will manifest as a brown out. So old style electrical bulbs will dim, anything modern electronic will not function. So you’ll see some things like your TV will stop working but you may see some lights working.
- Invest in some Eufy stick on lights, these will come on when detected movement when it’s dark, so if you have enough effectively you can move around home not in darkness. A typical home needs 3 boxes of 3 lights. They need 3 AAA each so you need 27 AAA if you use 9 lights. The batteries last months of typical usage. Don’t place them in bedrooms as they come on as you move.
- Invest in an appropriate number of Anker Bolder flashlights, I have one in each room which doesn’t have Eufy stick on lights (e.g. bedrooms) and place them where easy to find in the dark, e.g. hanging from bed headboard.
- Outages tend to be intermittent, so off/on/off. Don’t be confused, it’s normal.
- if a longer outage and you are draining your Powercore, the emptier ones keep them plugged into chargers to make use of any power return.
- outages are rarely longer than a few hours but to be on the safe side aim to be without power for a couple of days. So enough stored battery power.
- example is 3 people in a house and your assumption is you are watching a tablet and 2 phones who need a recharge twice per 24 hours, tablet is a 30Wh battery, phones are 10Wh, so you need (30+2*10) x2 x2 = 200Wh for 48 hours, assuming 70% efficiency you thus need 285Wh of Powercore. Two 26800 and a 20000 would be 2x96Wh + 76Wh would be nearly sufficient.
- if you own solar then be ready to use it but I don’t recommend you buy any, sun is too unreliable, best to own sufficient Powercore.
- Anker will suggest you buy a Powerhouse, but remember they are more expensive than Powercore for a given Wh.
- don’t spend too much money but a good idea to own is camping cooking equipment, the safest is alcohol burners (UK “meths” USA “denatured alcohol”) as they don’t emit fumes, they cook basic food and boil water slowly. You don’t have to buy this but would mean a longer outage any fresh food you need to cook would go to waste.
- keep water stored, around 2L per person per day in winter, more in summer. A cheap way is to reuse water bottles, if the water goes unused then use to flush the toilet and refill, so effectively costing nothing in the long term.
- try to not open your fridge during an outage as each time warm air enters and accelerates temperature raising. However your fridge contents risk being ruined so consider cooking / consuming them first to not waste money. Also try to keep your fridge full, if only with extra water bottles, as that slows the warming up. Fridge food warms fastest then freezer food from the top to the bottom, so try to put your most expensive frozen food towards the bottom to cook if outage is so long the food feels defrosted. You probably should eat it anyway immediately after an outage.
- foods which don’t need heating are best to eat next, then foods which only need warming up, so pre cooked rice, couscous (boil and cover), tinned foods, etc.
- if multiple people at home then try to stay together for heating each other in the room you are cooking. Another reason to cook/heat using alcohol as the vopour produced is harmless water.
- download (now) loads of media, or simply have books to read, a battery powered radio to hear news updates, etc.
- try not to travel, unless to complete your journey, as it will be less safe to travel during an outage.
- check on your neighbours, particularly any who live alone, and let them know you intend to check on them beforehand so they not scared.
- share. You probably have more of one thing you need and lack something, but between you and immediate neighbours you probably have ample resources. There’s usually someone who has a better setup than you (e.g. wood burner, charcoal cooker) and someone who is not remotely prepared you can help. Sharing will reduce food wastage as anyone with too much fresh/frozen food can feed everyone first, then sharing of dry/tinned food.
- consider having a “dress rehearsal”. Physically turn off your power at the junction box and pretend for a few hours, you may notice you forgot something. Use your cooking kit to familiarise yourself. If anyone is of a nervous disposition then a rehearsal is important to avoid panic and can be done in a fun way “pretend we’re on a desert island” etc. Be creative. An outage has nil chance of harm, unless you overreact.
- some buildings have backup diesel generators, some dont, so remember if a brown out starts or power is intermittent don’t be stuck in anything requiring power such as an elevator.
Links to UK suggested Anker products.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07Q9JFH1Y
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B072171VHQ
FYI my camping cooker is a 40 year old Trangia, I average 500ml fuel to cook per week camping for myself, so a 5L bottle would thus last 2 people 5 weeks. I know people prefer pressurised gas canisters as they light easier and cook faster but I don’t like storing that much explosive combustible fuel in/near a home.
No problems here in our small tribe.
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I’ve long thought we’ve become too reliant on cheap reliable energy, and we consume too much, but this winter is going to get awkward for those who don’t adapt.
Now I am fully aware that media wants to exaggerate and make us scared all the time. There’s no need so long as pause, think, prepare. Chances are we’ll all be fine, particular if we work together locally.
They will stop moving stairs in shopping malls
(Good for the health of customers (elevators will work for handicapped))
Cut down senseless illuminated advertisements (especially those Christmas ones, imported from abroad 
)
Good for the nerves and sleep.
No more flickering neighbours around.
Perfect Green dictators : GDR 2.0.
Addendum : 19C is perfect.
Why people wearing t-shirts instead of pullovers in their flats in winter
with temperature > 25C.
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I 99% agree.
We’ve had needless excessive consumption growing for decades.
- we used to be pleased with ourselves when we upgraded from a 12" to 15" TV, now you’re scorned for less than 55" screen.
- we used to all walk and bike, now it’s drive everywhere complaining about fuel prices and traffic.
- we used to knit, repair clothing, now we need huge wardrobes for the dozens of items we barely needed.
- we used to have stews and casseroles which used little fuel and made use of a leftovers food. Now it’s ready meals and food wastage.
- we used to handwash clothes and dishes, now a machine does it
- we used to dry clothes next to fire in winter, or on a line in summer, now it’s a machine.
- we used to meet in a field and kick a ball around, now it’s sit at home looking at a screen.
We used to consumer a fraction of we do now, back then we were happy with all the modern technology
A 20% reduction of energy use is very easy, the hard part is doing it happily
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And we used to talk to each other by meeting each other.
What do we now?
Writing messages using apps and programs. 
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One of my LC40 broke over the weekend, wobbly dodgy charging port, so I took photos and video and emailed Anker on Sunday , they replied next day Monday saying accepted fault and posted a new unit, delivered today Wednesday.
Excellent service!
I looked at prices, I paid £15 a year ago, it’s now £20. Yikes, inflation!
Ironically Germany may cause our UK blackouts, as they are opening a 2nd sea port for LPG and as Germany is richer than us (we’re significantly poorer due to Brexit) they can outbid us for energy so we run out.
I don’t think accidental blackouts will happen, more managed to lower peak demands. Assuming the unions don’t turn off the power to get a payrise to combat the inflation.
Still, I’ll be fine, got 3 LC40 new type, the original LC40, one working LC90 and a half working out of warranty LC90, and two LC130
and…
(for 3 homes, got some for family)
Its so easy to blame others for one’s own inability!
What do you think in what kind of really big troubles people here are!!!
Ok, if the drought continues impacting Norway’s hydro power, and if the aging nuclear power plants in France fail, and if it’s not windy so UK’s wind turbines don’t turn, and if it’s cold, and if Germany doesn’t cut back it’s demand , and if UK doesn’t cut back it’s demand, and if China’s sluggish economy due to bizarre zero-Covid strategy begins to bounce back, and if Putin is still crazy, then UK may get blackouts.
Is that more accurate.
I just think we locally reduce our consumption and reliance on cheap reliable power. If everyone tries to do that we’ll all be better off. We were consuming as a species more that we should have, led by a consumerist USA.
Too much politics and other themes and thesis’
Thats really not the place to discuss.
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I mention it all to chime in with your comment you can’t change wider issues only address locally.
I visit and help older people than me with different degrees of mobility and mental strength. One of them took my advice to “install” some Eufy motion lights, one hasn’t as they are only accustomed to their fuse box turning power off in their house, and they only keep a flashlight by their bed. The sort of outages I am alerting around as not when in bed, when your eyes already dark adjusted, but in evening, and the street lights out also.
Having protected them from a virus via doing their shopping, until they could get their vaccine, don’t want to see them stumble and bang their heads in a power outage.
If you’re prepared then you’ll be perfectly fine. A few hours of outage is quite easy to handle with a little preparation.
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Much more important than simple light you are talking about
(can be substituted with candles for a while, romantic cold supper/dinner )
BUT without electric power ->
Regarding the heating systems :
No pumps for gas, oil heating (Water circulation) and of course the same with such modern heating pumps.
One should also never forget :
Is there is an outage of power supply, many heating systems will do a reset if elder (like mine )
All data gone.
I know the adjustments of course, many don’t.
All the people under my care have non-electrical heating options, plain old style gas fires lit with peizo or battery spark. One had electrical lit gas hob so I got them a battery operated hand sparking lighter.
In my home I have stock of fuel for heating and cooking, I am not putting that into older people’s homes as they risk a fire, but I can take them a hot meal cooked in my home.
My home the gas powered hot water is yes reliant on electricity to control it so an electrical outage affects hot water, a planned outage is easy to address I simply heat the water in a tank before the outage.
This is all quite easy to handle so long as it’s not an ignored risk.
I am not fearful of an outage, just of the over-reacting of the under-prepared.
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There are NOT many who are in a similar situation like the scenery you mentioned.
Simple gas and oil heating :
They should care a lot about mortal CO intoxication.
Let stupid people install a kind of “open fire places” in the homes without sufficient chimneys
(There are no chimneys in modern buildings)
$14 CO battery powered 7 year life detector can head off that small risk?
You’d want one in every home for many reasons.
Cities have a different issue, if power goes out then the elevator is out. I’m fine I often climb 3000 ft mountains with backpack, but others may struggle. I also moved house last year to be ready, hopefully far in the future, for me to get old, no stairs!
But you raise the point so many are not thinking about the hypothetical issue as they’ve never encountered it.
Currently watching German TV
Never trust in this “xxxxxxx” TV.
The government programs are all full of lies and false informations.
I trashed my TV 15 years ago and I am happy.
Btw My wife has one.
BUT even if you don’t have and use such a lying machine you have to pay fees for here .
That’s called freedom and democracy.!