Today's rant... about the fire in Colorado...

[Dien Rice]

Hi Margaret,

Two days after Christmas - just over a week ago - our electricity went off! (And other houses on our street were also affected...)

We don't know why... The power company had it back on in about six hours...

I was mainly worried that things in the freezer could start to unfreeze... But luckily, that didn't seem to have happened. (It's summer here in the southern hemisphere now...)

It just shows, even in our modern days, in some of the wealthiest countries, the electricity is not always reliable!

On the other hand, I don't remember our natural gas supply ever "going off" for a while...

It's summer here, but in winter, of course, our house's central heating needs both the gas and the electricity on (as the electricity powers the fan that blows the warm air through the ducts)...

Here in Australia, there was a big push just under 10 years ago for more people to get solar panels in their roofs. While we didn't do it, I'm sure people who did do it saved money on electricity...

It would be even better now, I believe, as solar panels have increased in efficiency, and battery technology (to store the energy you don't use immediately) has improved a lot too!

By the way, your house was built in the 1880s!

Wow!

In Australia, I'm sure your house would be one of the oldest in the country...

(The oldest still-standing house in Melbourne, where I live, was built around 1850...!)

My wife loves old houses... She would probably love to visit your house if we ever go to Scotland! (Which I'd love to do, one day... )

Meanwhile, if you're ever in Melbourne, you can come over and see our house built in the 1980s...

Best wishes,

Dien

Originally Posted by MMacGillivray

Hi, Dien - we're fortunate to live in a house built in 1880s - so have the option of an open fire and a wood burning stove. On the other hand, our gas boiler will only work if there is electricity to keep the spark ignited :O

Storing electricity generated by solar energy is also going to become important, so I'm sure you're right about there being plenty of business opportunities. The other area where a lot of thought is needed is for charging points for all those amazing electric-powered vehicles that are being developed ....

Not that I'm suspicious (ROFL) but the electricity supply might be vulnerable to rogue computer chips installed in the network .... and that's one reason why I'd love to know if anyone is thinking about backup plans! Well beyond my pay grade.

Looking forward to seeing how keen young minds get to grips with all of this. Meantime, I should probably go and have some lunch!

Stay safe, y'all!
Margaret