Simon wrote:
>I agree that this wasn't considered a problem in 1890. If you lived in >the sticks, you simply managed your own heat. Electricity wasn't an >option. Today, when we expect electricity to be available, it's a problem. I agree with Simon. In 1890 the residents of this house canned, pickled, and cold-stored their produce. We can fruits and cold-store root vegetables, but we freeze quite a bit of fruit as well, and most of the vegetables. Consequently, we have over 35 cubic feet of frozen food, a large and expensive hoard. It would be a lot of schlepping to take it all outside to keep it frozen during a power outage -- assuming the weather cooperated and it remained below freezing. The last time we had a multi-day power outage, it was in July. That had us scrambling to locate a generator that could run at least one of our freezers (we have 2) and refrigerators (2 of those also, only one in use except in peak demand times -- like July). We ran one device for a hour or two and then switched to another in a rotation that lasted a tiresome several days. It would be nice to avoid having to do that, but we have resisted investing in a generator, both because of the capital cost and the maintenance required. We went 30 years without a major power outage, and who knows if it might not be another 30 before it happens again? So, as Simon, said, we have come to rely on the electricity being there. In its absence, the contents of the freezers would be mostly canned, with a cost paid in quality and nutritional value. So, I am looking forward to the prospect of a hybrid vehicle that would feature an all-electric drive train and an on-board back-up generator. Using that generator instead of having one just for the house makes sense to me, as does using the batteries in the vehicle to back up the grid. Joel _______________________________________________ For more information about sustainability in the Tompkins County area, please visit: http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/ RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for: [email protected] http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins Questions about the list? ask [email protected] free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org
