Simple power backups, short of a generator

My white legs are turning red here on the beach in Florida. I got tired of winter and escaped.

But some problems can’t be dodged. Power outages happen anywhere and any time of the year. If the culprit is not an ice storm it could be a tornado or even the occasional squirrel in a transformer.

TECHNOBUDDY

E-mail Bill Husted

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There’s plenty you can do to be ready for an outage. The best solutions are too expensive for most of us. For instance, my friend David can power everything in his house with a generator hooked to his natural gas line. It is permanently installed and kicks in almost instantly when the power goes out. I can’t imagine dropping $13,000 for that luxury, but if you want to explore the option, read more here: http://tinyurl.com/cjxmgf.

Gasoline-powered generators are more realistic for most of us. With most models found at a home supply store, you’ll need to drag it out of storage, fill it with gas and crank it up.

You can buy one that will power some — not all — of your appliances for $500 to $1,200. Disadvantages include the need to store gasoline, which doesn’t keep well without additives.

If you buy a generator like this, hire an electrician to create a circuit that lets you power appliances without sending out electricity over downed lines. More than one lineman has been killed by a line getting juice from a generator-powered home. The average cost of having an electrician do that is between $200 and $400.

My solution for power outages isn’t nearly as grand. I have no generator, but I still have enough light to read and cook, my wireless telephones work, I can charge up my laptop computer and cellphone when their batteries run down, check out the news on the radio and even keep my Internet connection alive.

Here’s how:

For light I keep it simple: three large, battery-powered fluorescent camping lanterns. Unlike flashlights (you should have one of those, too) they provide plenty of light for reading and cooking. Any store like Target, Wal-Mart or Kmart will have them in the camping section. Get one with at least two fluorescent tubes. Also pick up enough alkaline batteries to power it, along with spares. Don’t even think of using a camping lantern designed to burn white gasoline or propane.

My three UPS systems keep phones and e-mail up and running. Two are connected to computer systems during normal times. One is in reserve, waiting for trouble.

A UPS — basically a battery and circuitry to convert DC power to AC house current — normally is used to protect your computer system from voltage surges and provide power to safely shut it down during an outage.

When the lights go out they become important power sources for other gizmos. To protect their charge, I disconnect almost everything from the two used by my computers, though I keep my DSL modem connected so I can get online. It draws just a tiny amount of power.

All the big desktop computers stay off during the outage. When I need to send e-mail or check the Web I connect my laptop using an ethernet cable. That saves the need to power up the wireless router.

The laptop runs fine on its own battery, and in an extended outage a UPS can recharge it. Same with cellphones.

You needn’t follow my example with a third UPS in reserve, but it could be used to power wireless phones or a Voice Over Internet Phone (VOIP).

I’ve consistently recommended APC UPS systems over the years and still do. The BE550G or BE750G models should be good for short outages; the BX1300LCD or BX1500LCD provide a more robust power source.

One other option: an inverter system that connects to a car battery and converts the DC to the equivalent of AC household current. Special heavy cables bring that AC to your house. Here’s a site that goes into great detail: http://www.invertersofpower.com/. The downside is you can quickly run down your car’s battery and compound your troubles.

If I could, I’d have a system like David’s. His generator turns on so fast he often doesn’t notice an outage until he gets his natural gas bill. That’s why, during any long outage, I’m over there for hot chocolate and TV.