The energy suppliers in my area all have contracts I do not agree with. My gas & electric service may be cut in a couple weeks.
What’s my best move? I need enough electricity to power a mid-sized refrigerator (but could downgrade to a minifridge if needed), a few lights, router, laptop.
My boiler is gas but I have an old previously used mazut tank and furnice which I could possibly get working again with some effort.
Not sure what to do for cooking. Maybe use a portable electric cooktop.
(updates)
I’m favoring diesel over gasoline, for these reasons:
-
My large mazut tank could store a year supply diesel but I doubt I could safely store gasoline in that quantity. It’s questionable though because it has mold or something growing in it so I’m not sure if it needs to be cleaned (or whether cleaning it is even possible). Or maybe the mold is harmless.
-
Mazut and diesel may be compatible (not sure). That is, maybe a diesel generator can burn mazut or perhaps the mazut furnice can burn diesel. Guess I should find out how different they are.
-
Clean biodiesel can be made in a basement from waste cooking oil and lye. I can probably get the waste oil at no cost.
W.r.t renewables, it’s in a densely packed city with a tiny terrace so wind turbines are probably impossible. Solar panels may be viable, I need to look into that. But I would be really surprised if solar could warm the house in the winter – it’s not a passive house (in fact not even insulated). I think solar would be a nice clean & quiet supplement.
Camping propane or butane stove may be the way to go for cooking.
You probably want a gas generator since diesel smells terrible and you don’t want that anywhere near your home.
You just need to make sure you get one that can run long enough without having to stop. Most portable can’t even run an entire day. If you get a stand by generator, that shouldn’t be an issue. But you might still need to take a break once a week.
In general gas generators require more maintenance and have a shorter lifespan. But you probably want to switch to another energy source all together. A generator is. only good for 10,000-30,000 hours. Which is 1-4 years if you are using it every day.
A diesel generator would last longer and is easier to repair. So if you plan on using a generator for the next few decades, get a diesel. But I would suggest adding solar power asap and then only using the generator as backup. That way even a gas generator could last 20-50 years.
For cooking get a gas stove. You can just get a 1-2 burner stove or a full on stove and just hook it up to a cannister rather than the gasline in your home.
Unless your using a 1800RPM industrial generator you will be lucky to see 2000 hours of use. Any generator you can get at Home Depot, Lowes, etc will not last long. They hold less than 2qts of oil and do not have oil filters. They are in no way made to be used in a prime power situation.
But how would that work without infrastructure? OP said his gas and electricity would be out. To supply a gas generator, he would have to buy a new gas cylinder every few days? Is there even a supply for that? I would only know camping sized propane suppliers in my region but that is not enough for a house. Also I do not know if my gas burner would work properly with propane or require specific gas properties.
The handling and storage of diesel, as well as the supply should be way easier - even in large quantities. There are also no high pressure containers involved.
For the generator you get a big enough tank so it lasts a few weeks or months. Then you call a gas supplier to fill it up as needed. It’s no different from Diesel except doing it yourself isn’t an option. But the amount OP would need also makes diesel not convenient for diy and you end up paying someone to deliver you hundreds or even thousands of gallons.
For the stove you just use a propane tank for grilling. It will last several weeks or even months. It’s a very common setup here in the Philippines because there is no infrastructure for gas.
Good idea. Maybe I should be looking at camping stoves and get in the mindset of camping. Perhaps a charcoal grill would make sense too.