[ad_1]
Preparedness or Paranoia?
Power outages seem to be a more and more frequent occurrence. With the electrical grid in need of a lot of maintenance and upgrades and news stories of internet hackers trying to breach the grid online, being prepared for a medium to long term power outage is a very good idea. The preparations needed to have adequate lighting in any scenario are very easy and very affordable.
The most important thing to remember is that it is very unsettling, especially for children, to be without power for any length of time. The quiet that settles over a house with no electricity is something that we don't often experience. While an emergency backup generator and a lot of gasoline to run it would take care of things pretty well, this requires a investment of several hundred dollars and the hassle and hazards of gasoline storage. It is much cheaper and easier to focus on alternative lighting.
Candles are not a good idea for anything more than a romantic dinner. They present a fire hazard, especially if you have children in the house. They are not very economical and they are not very portable. Small oil lamps have the same drawbacks.
Kerosene lanterns are much better than candles, and if you don't like the smell of kerosene, you can purchase lamp oil for most good lanterns, however it is much more expensive. A good hurricane lantern is durable, safe (they flame out if tipped over) and cost about $30 each. While campers love them, there is still a better way.
Enter the LED Flashlight
With LED flashlights, gone are the days of having to rely on bulky, D-cell flashlights that require a new set of batteries every day. Instead, a lightweight LED flashlight will serve you night after night on a couple double A or triple A batteries. So is it as easy as just making a trip to Walmart to ensure your family has lighting during an extended power outage? Not quite.
First Things First – Standardize
A search for flashlights in the typical American household will yield a number of different devices using a number of different battery types. This is NOT the way to be prepared for an extended power outtage. Trying to stock up on several different types of batteries is frustrating and expensive and inevitably someone's flashlight will be out of batteries while others' are not. The smart thing to do is to collect all the flashlights and then get rid of them! Then decide on flashlights and a table top lantern or two that all use the same batteries. The flashlights should be rugged and water resistant, if not waterproof. Get a light color that will be easy to find in the dark – black is not what you want.
Worth Their Weight in Gold
In addition to flashlights and a table top lantern or two, get a headlamp for each adult in the family. Trying to do any tasks while holding a flashlight, which any camper will tell you, is very frustrating and difficult. On the other hand, a headlamp is lightweight and automatically illuminates whatever you are looking at. Resist the urge to buy the smallest, lightest headlamps, as these use specialty button batteries. Get headlamps that use double A or Triple A batteries to be standardized with your flashlights.
About Batteries
If you want the best batteries in your lights that will give you the longest light and function better than any other batteries in very cold weather, then lithium batteries are for you. They aren't cheap – they will cost you up to $2 per battery, so if your flashlight takes 3 triple A batteries, that will cost you more than the flashlight!
If you want to be prepared for an extended power outage, perhaps due to a terror attack or societal meltdown, then recharging your batteries is the best option. A small, solar powered battery charger can be purchased for as little as $35, and will make you truly self-sufficient. A note of caution about rechargeables though: they do not keep a charge very well in storage. Have rechargeables on hand, but keep good batteries in your flashlights so that they will work when you need them.
A Final Word
Outfitting yourself with at least one flashlight in each vehicle, more at home, and a headlamp for each adult, with all lights using the same batteries is a quick, easy way to be prepared for an emergency. Don't think that if something happens you can just run to the store and get flashlights then. The store may be out of power too!
[ad_2]
Source by Mike Kuykendall
