5 Tips to Plan Ahead for Power Cuts this Summer

As the summer heat intensifies, the hum of air conditioners and coolers becomes louder. While they keep us cool, they also increase the pressure on power lines. A study in Gujarat showed that the per hour consumption of electricity in summer peaked at over 0.5kW per medium-income household but in winter, it stayed well below the 0.5 kW per household threshold. If this was the consumption rate in 2010, imagine how much more it would be today. The increased demand for power often leads to power cuts. Given our dependence on electricity for everything from running lights and fans to television and laptops, power cuts can be very frustrating. Planning ahead can save you from this frustration and make your daily life more comfortable. Here are a few tips.

Buying an inverter is no longer a very expensive affair. Depending on your electricity needs, you should be able to easily find an inverter and battery that suits your budget. To find the ideal inverter for your home, calculate your power needs and pick an inverter that has a slightly higher capacity. There are many different types of inverters available today. Ideally, you should invest in a pure sine wave inverter from a reputed brand. Avoid local, unbranded inverters as they do not offer reliable after-sales services and may not have a very long life. Inverters do not store electricity, and hence, you will need a battery too. Like inverters, always invest in batteries from well-known brands.

Traditional inverters and batteries get charged while the main power grid is on and slowly discharge while distributing the stored power during a blackout. This works well for short power outages, but in the case of long power cuts, the battery may eventually discharge completely. On the other hand, solar inverters charge batteries by harnessing the sun’s energy. Thus, in case of a power outage during the day, the battery will continue to charge while it simultaneously provides power backup. Thus, it’s a better choice for long power cuts.

From cell phones to laptops, many appliances have batteries built in them. If you’re stuck in a blackout, the power stored in these batteries may drain out. Thus, it is best to always keep them fully charged. If you live in an area that has frequent scheduled and unscheduled power cuts, you can also look into solar chargers that provide a steady supply of power to these appliances.

Most homes have an RO filter to purify tap water and make it drinkable. These filters work on electricity and thus may not function during a power cut. So, the best thing to do is to keep bottles of drinking water filled at all times. In addition, the filter should also have a water storage capacity. Keep as much water filled in these filters as possible. This ensures that you do not run out of drinking water and can stay hydrated.

Our entertainment too has become digitized these days. You need speakers to listen to music, a television screen to watch movies, etc. In the event of a power cut, running these appliances on your inverter can affect the length of time you will have power backup for. Instead, plan alternative forms of entertainment that do not need electricity. For example, you could read a book, play board games with the family or venture outdoors.

Scheduled or unscheduled, a power cut is inevitable during the summer. So, plan ahead and make thoughtful investments to keep yourself comfortable.