Is it the fear of AI and automation, or fascist laws that severely restrict freedom, or is it about future wars, hunger or a worsening climate?

  • Lemming421@lemmy.worldEnglish
    60·
    2 days ago

    In the UK I’d suggest anyone who owns their own home get solar panels, a battery and some form of air conditioning (if not a full heat pump/boiler replacement) ASAP.

    You can’t directly stop the government doing terrible things, but you can dramatically slash your own energy bills and make sure you can survive heat waves in comfort.

    • Kairos@lemmy.today
      2·
      3 hours ago

      Everyone should have a plan for “what if my AC just bricks itself right now?”. Talk to a neighbor you can walk to or find a heat relief place if you can.

    • ventilcheck@discuss.tchncs.de
      71·
      1 day ago

      most solar systems will not operate in a power cut.

      edit: system detects no grid supply and shuts itself down. other systems with an off-grid mode exist, just theyre not the default and usually cheapest option a lot of people round here install.

      • psud@aussie.zoneEnglish
        2·
        1 day ago

        You ask for level 3 backup

        Level 3 means the panels provide power in a blackout; panels charge the battery with excess generation, battery provides power at night

      • unitedwithme@lemmy.today
        1·
        1 day ago

        You turn off your main breaker which would stop the solar generated power from flowing out. What power you do have wouldn’t be super stable, but at last you could run a few chargers, small appliances, etc.

        One thing I’ve thought of is going to my local recycling center where they take in used/old car batteries. You could look up how to wire a handful together and use solar to charge them for evening use. Wouldn’t result in much, but a lot of those places recondition them and they’re $20-30/each.

        If you have a generator, I’ve heard you could wire a thick extension cord with 2 male ends and just run power to a wall outlet. The power will flow through one breaker to the rest, but extra care needs to be taken to not overwhelm any one circuit on the generator or house. This would be a last resort for bare essentials like fridge, sump pump, etc.

        • MonkeMischief@lemmy.today
          2·
          22 hours ago

          If you have a generator, I’ve heard you could wire a thick extension cord with 2 male ends and just run power to a wall outlet.

          Ah yes, Suicide Cords! .

          This is what we call a Very Bad Idea.

          Honestly even the car battery thing sounds like playing with fire, but I’m not an electrician so I’d let more experienced folks tell us not to do that one. Lol

      • meco03211@lemmy.world
        1·
        2 days ago

        I feel like battery in this case was more of a whole house battery. That would work in an outage. Unsure if it could still be charged in an outage.