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There Are Ways To Get Electricity In The Zombie Apocalypse |
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At some point survivors from the zombie apocalypse (or alien invasion, pandemic, natural disasters, nuclear holocaust, robot uprising, and other types of apocalypse) will attempt to rebuild society. After they’ve establish a solid foundation that’s secure from outside threats, they’ll start thinking long term survival. One of their goals would be to get electricity running back up again.
Electricity is a ‘luxury’ that humans will realize that they’ve taken for granted when it’s gone. It will be difficult to deal without it because we’ve become too dependent on it. The conveniences of it makes our lives so much easier and comfortable. It powers television, video game consoles, music devices, laptops, tablets, smartphones, and so on, for our entertainment and communication. As well as our lights, microwaves, toasters, and other electric kitchen utensils. Even our heaters, washing machines, dryers, and air cons.
However, just because the power goes out in the apocalypse that doesn’t mean that’s it’s lost forever (which seems to be a constant theme in these post-apocalyptic stories). There are actually several ways to generate electricity without having to be an electrical engineer to do it. It’s not rocket science, so anyone can do it, especially if a survivor goes collecting books/manuals on the subject (which can be found in abandoned libraries) and tools at hardware stores.
Preppers are most likely to already have something set up. But there’s actually a couple of tutorials available for free on the internet that tell you how to build some of these electricity generators. There’s even videos that show the step-by-step processes of it. For example: MOTHER EARTH NEWS - DIY Wind Turbine and Survivalist Prepper: How to Build a DIY Portable Solar Generator
It’s even better because it doesn’t required survivors to mess with a nuclear power plant (which is dangerous and all survivors need to avoid them anyway – I explain why HERE).
SOLAR
The sun is probably the most dependable power source we have, as it’ll outlast human civilization by billions of years. Assuming that whatever leads to wiping out most of us doesn’t fill the atmosphere with clouds (which is a real possibility), solar power will be a useful option for survivors.
Putting up solar panels is just half the job, because most home solar systems don’t store the excess energy they produce - rather, they feed it back into the main power grid. Once that grid is gone, you’re going to need batteries to store it, and those are expensive and bulky. Also keep in mind that those batteries have a lifespan between 5 and 15 years, sometimes more depending on what kind and how much it gets used.
Of course, this also depends on if the survivor is a prepper and has already set up their home base. Or they’ve decided to wait until the apocalypse to go looting for what they need. In addition, solar generation isn’t something you can run according to need, after all, it does relies on the sun and won’t work in cloudly weather or in the dark.
There’s the option of portable solar power kits which can charge survivors’ phones, flashlights, fan, radios batteries, and on on. Some of them are even powerful enough to charge laptops and a mini fridge, but it depends on what kind you get. These can found in most camping stores, because they’re great to have when camping in the wilderness. It’s quiet, environmentally friendly and doesn’t required that much maintenance.
WATER (HYDROELECTRIC POWER)
Assuming the entire planet doesn’t dry up into a radioactive Mad Max-esque desert, water power will still be an option. Humanity has been tapping into the force of rivers and streams for some time, most notably with enormous hydroelectric dams in the present day. While it’s unlikely survivors would be able to build something huge like that, this can be done on a smaller scale.
A number of companies make home water turbines that harness creeks and streams, and some of the most efficient models can power a normal-sized home. A small turbine, pump or waterwheel can turn a generator reliably 24 hours a day, no matter what the weather. For a bigger setup, a German engineer created a vortex-based power plant that channels water down a basin to optimize the energy generated. This might be something that preppers may want to look into if they have a nearby river (or if there’s a waterfall).
This is quiet, and unlike the solar, it’s unending. Of course, eventually the bearings will give out in maybe 10-20 years. But maybe survivors will be able to find some spares in that time (or peppers have a back).
WIND
If you’ve spent any time in the American Midwest lately, you know that wind power is up and running in America. Unfortunately, hijacking the huge turbines is probably outside the technical grasp of most of the population. The utility-scale turbines push right into the grid, not to batteries, so unless you’re going to camp out right underneath them, you’re out of luck.
People do sell commercial turbines, though. They’re typically called “hybrid systems” and paired with solar due to the intermittency of both methods. As with solar, you’re going to need some serious battery investment to carry you through calm weather. One interesting alternative is a wind-hydro system, which uses wind energy to pump water into an elevated tank. When you want to run a generator, you release the water to create kinetic energy.
The downside is the turbine, even a small one, will be noticeable to looters. And they do make some noise that might attract zombies and looters from maybe 100 meters away. Also, like hydro, the bearings will eventually fail and would need to replace usually within a few years.
MANPOWER (HUMAN POWER)
If the survivors are holed up in a place with no wind, no flowing water, no sunlight, and no materials to burn, they can use manpower to generate electricity. This won’t be practical for long-term survival, but it is the easiest method to generate electricity.
All one needs is a stationary bicycle that’s hooked up to a generator (or the means to build one) and batteries to store that energy. Just keep in mind that while athletes can produce a power output of over 400 watts to 2,000 watts, or in excess of 25 watts/kg on a bicycle, they can only sustain this for a short period.
The power that can be delivered by the average person over a sustained period of time is much less impressive than that: 75 watts or 1 “hup”. This unit of measurement (short for human power) was proposed in 1984, and tells us that an average person can sustain one hup for all day, 2 hups (150 watts) for roughly two hours, 3 hups (225 watts) for about 30 minutes and 4 hups (300 watts) only momentarily.
In short, humans do not generate much power (especially not enough to power their entire home). This method would be ideal if a survivor only needs a couple of watts to charge their low-powered electronic devices, such as mobile phones (which use approximately 2-6 watts to charge), clock radio (3 watts), electric blanket (150-200 watts), electric shaver (15-20 watts), LED Light Bulb (7-10 watts), tablet (10-15 watts), table fan (10-25 watts), and so on.
STEAM
Steam power is a great way to use the elements around you, specifically wood and water, to supply it. Unfortunately, it is also hard to control because a boiler heated by wood has the capacity to explode and therefore has to be monitored day and night. And it may not be practical, especially if there’s no water or enough wood to use for it.
The way it works is that the steam engines use heat to boil water and turn it into steam, which expands and pushes pistons or other mechanical elements that then power a generator. Unlike the previous methods, steam gives you energy “on demand,” which can be a blessing in an uncertain world.
While the idea of steam power seems pretty retro, there are a number of companies selling refined versions that are lightweight and efficient. Steam engines are also great for harnessing waste heat from other applications and turning it into usable power.
GENERATORS
Fuel-based generator are another way to generate electricity after a disaster. They convert fuel into electrical power (usually AC, although many of them have DC which you can use for charging batteries). Most generators run on gasoline, but there are some that run in diesel, bio-diesel, propane, and natural gas. However, keep in mind that fuel would eventually be depleted or go bad over time.
Generators are very convenient and a great thing to have during a temporary disasters. The downsides is that it’s very loud (which could attract zombies and other unwanted attention) and only works if a survivor stockpile a lot of fuel to power it. Hopefully, they’ll have enough fuel to last a couple of months, if not a year. Unless the survivors have a way to make their own fuel for it. For example, converting it to run on alcohol instead, because alcohol is easy to distill.
It’s best that a survivor doesn’t rely on only one method to generator electricity, especially inconsistent sources like solar or wind. Some companies offer hybrid electric systems that combines the two (wind and solar) together; and with banks of batteries it would store enough power to carry a home base through winter and summer.
But it also depends on what the survivors want to use the electricity for. Lights can come from lamps. Water can be gravity fed. Hot water can be heated with wood or solar.
 DamnBlackHeart · Tue Aug 21, 2018 @ 12:26am · 0 Comments |
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