Power's out.
@kaylachan (78323)
Daytona Beach, Florida
August 5, 2024 3:10pm CST
Well, my house is running totally on solar. I can't get into my washing machine because my house isn't producing enough power to power it. That's because its overcast and cloudy. When it's running it's normal 4 to five killiwats, then it'll power everything. But, we still have our smart plugs, wi-fi, and fridge. We also have the t.v. but I turned that off to conserve energy, not that'll make much of a difference.It's better then having nothing and having to hot spot things. I would unplug my macbook, but I want the battery to fully charge before I do. That way I know I can get a few days out of it (if I need to). On the plus side, I still have signal from both T-mobile and Verision (through visable).
This outage is better then most.
No change with Chilly, I'll keep you posted if things do change for him.
17 people like this
17 responses
@FourWalls (75900)
• United States
6 Aug
I hope your power isn’t out very long.
2 people like this
@kaylachan (78323)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
6 Aug
It's back now. Although I almost didn't notice since our fans and lights never powered off.
3 people like this
@kaylachan (78323)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
6 Aug
@MarieCoyle I also think I could've used the stove if I needed. Which would be good to know. Since I can't put cold water down George's tube.
2 people like this
@MarieCoyle (45255)
•
6 Aug
@kaylachan
That's good that you still had fans and lights, etc. Glad it came back on.
2 people like this
@2ndchances24 (10557)
• Cloverdale, Indiana
6 Aug
Well you just answered what I was wondering about for the cabin
now I know solar isn't the way to go for the cabin, which really sucks.
2 people like this
@kaylachan (78323)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
6 Aug
@2ndchances24 I'm just telling you, that there are different options based on location. You'll never know without putting in the effort to do the research. It's also to important to note, solar pannals work by absorbing uv light. So shade isn't really an issue. nor are clouds. A severe thunderstorm or something like that might be the only thing. And I've weathered a hurricane or two since we've had ours, and it still produced something.
2 people like this
@kaylachan (78323)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
6 Aug
I also live in a more urben area. Solar might look different for you. If you're more ruel, then you might get away with living off the grid. Solar power looks different depending on where you live. My pannals wouldn't be anything like what you'd need to run a home off the grid. Think about it and research options in your area. See if you can get someone out to look at your home and see what may or may not work for you.
2 people like this
@2ndchances24 (10557)
• Cloverdale, Indiana
6 Aug
@kaylachan It may not work cause I have too many trees around the cabin
& the sun where the cabin is doesn't last long.
2 people like this
@RasmaSandra (86187)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
5 Aug
Sorry you have this problem but glad you are all safe. On our end, no problems and power stayed on. Just all soggy and wet. Somehow the hurricane has affected Freddie he is glued to me, Right now I am writing and he is right by my feet. He had never reacted this way and I have to be careful not to step on him, I hope you full power comes back soon, All the best to Chilly.
2 people like this
@kaylachan (78323)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
6 Aug
Chilly doesn't seem to be fully aware of what's going on. I could wrap him up in a blanket, and I don't think he'd notice.
1 person likes this
@kobesbuddy (78856)
• East Tawas, Michigan
5 Aug
I was just talking to Jay, about depending upon solar energy for electricity. We might look into solar panels, for backup energy. How long have you had solar power?
2 people like this
@kobesbuddy (78856)
• East Tawas, Michigan
6 Aug
@kaylachan We are considering solar panels, some time soon:)
1 person likes this
@kaylachan (78323)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
6 Aug
@kobesbuddy I think it will be a good investment. I studied and waited for a few years before we pulled the plug. I'm glad we did, too.
1 person likes this
@abhi_bangal (6185)
• Ahmednagar, India
6 Aug
I had also posted a discussion on the power supply and how it gets terminated at times. This power cut can be quite troublesome at times. It can give us headaches, especially if we haven't completed our daily chores. But that can happen when the power source is terminated. But I think your's is a different case. Because your house is totally powered by solar energy. And I'm quite impressed by that.
But I'm sure you might have thought of these problems while making your home fully solar powered. So how do you tackle such problems, especially during the rainy days?
1 person likes this
@abhi_bangal (6185)
• Ahmednagar, India
7 Aug
@kaylachan That's surprising! How do your solar pannals produce energy even in the rains? That must be some advanced technology. I'm asking because I want to get solar panels installed in my home too. I think a washer, what we call a washing machine here (I'm referring to washing clothes and not washing utensils), needs more power. That might be possible only during the sunny days.
Looks like inspite of the grid failure, a lot of your electronic items kept functioning properly. That's cool!
Was the two year old storm a bigger one, by the way?
1 person likes this
@kaylachan (78323)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
7 Aug
@abhi_bangal All solar pannals work by absorbing UV light, which is produced by heat, not by direct sunlight. Clouds block rays, but the heat from the UV still comes through. As the light hits the pannels, it gets converted into solar power, through micro converters. So that's how, even during rain, it can produce solar energy.
The storm two years ago was about the same size but it hit us more directly. George, Chilly and I wound up motel hopping because the power was out for over a week.
1 person likes this
@kaylachan (78323)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
6 Aug
I live in an urben area, so I have the grid for backup. My solar pannals produce energy even in the rain. However, it may not be enough to power something like the washer. But, if I had too choose between being able to heat water to give my husband a tube feed, or washing my clothes, I think I'd choose heating water.
Our grid went down for about an hour and a half yesterday. Since it was during the day, Everything stayed except the washer, dryer and air conditioner. Our fans kept going, our lights, our microwave, fridge and even stove.
If a storm knocks us off grid, we simply work with what's left until the storm clears.
If this had happened two years ago, we woudn't even had fans or anything.
1 person likes this
@wolfgirl569 (117925)
• Marion, Ohio
5 Aug
Hope the power can be restored fast. Or the sun comes out.
2 people like this
@kaylachan (78323)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
6 Aug
It was down for a little over an hour and a half. DUring that time we had our fans, our t.v. and internet.
2 people like this
@kaylachan (78323)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
6 Aug
We didn't lose complete power, like we would have had it been just the grid. We lost the washer, dryer and air conditioner. We still had the fridge, microwave, stove, fans, and outlets. So I was able to run the t.v. and internet.
1 person likes this
@just4him (318815)
• Green Bay, Wisconsin
6 Aug
@kaylachan I'm glad you didn't lose total power.
1 person likes this
@JESSY3236 (20638)
• United States
6 Aug
That sucks. I had thought about getting solar, but I don't think I would like it if doesn't power up on cloudy days.
1 person likes this
@kaylachan (78323)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
6 Aug
It does power up on cloudy days. I didn't mean to imply it doesn't. During severe weather, such as a tropical system, it's going to produce less then it would on a bright sunny day or an overcast day. Very few things can block uv rays, and a severe thunderstorm or heavy enough snow storm can be one of them, but it never stops producing completely.
It's okay that my washer and dryer weren't working because when power was restored an hour and a half later, it was fine. Had it been one of those outages that lasted for days, our solar pannals would've given us the air conditioning. So yes they work during cloudy days and rainy days. So long as they can absorb uv light.
1 person likes this
@kaylachan (78323)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
5 Aug
Yes it did. Just like I knew it would.
2 people like this
@porwest (101335)
• United States
6 Aug
We have a small generator, but it is rather limited. It can power the TV and cable and wi-fi boxes, a lamp and a fan and maybe a few other small things. But as soon as you try to fire up a coffee pot, even by itself, it shuts the generator down.
1 person likes this
@kaylachan (78323)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
6 Aug
I'm glad we got solar when we did. We had fans, lights and the internet. I also could've used the stove and microwave. We also never lost the fridge.
1 person likes this
@kaylachan (78323)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
7 Aug
@porwest We didn't have enough sun to run the A.C. But, we had all our fans going and the storm cooled things down quite a bit. George spent almost the entire outage outside.
1 person likes this
@porwest (101335)
• United States
7 Aug
@kaylachan The fridge is probably the most important thing. That and MAYBE being able to run the air conditioning.
1 person likes this
@LindaOHio (191831)
• United States
6 Aug
I hope you got power restored quickly. Try and have a good day.
@VoiceofTruth7 (1210)
• United States
6 Aug
I pray that your power and electricity are restored to full strength soon. I hope this outage is not prolonged, and you quickly regain the comfort and convenience of having full power. Stay safe and take care during this time.
