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A lot of Amish and Mennonites are thriving without the power grid.
In my region, I know a lot of people who are doing fine off-grid.
Wi has them. Some have large dairy farm operations. I've been in the milk houses. They have electricity like any other operation, as do the homes. The kids dress the part. I am unaware of any refusing the grid.
Depends on the level of technological sophistication you want to maintain. A water wheel running shafts with leather belts is how many old school machine shops worked. A water wheel can of course power a generator as well. If you want to run modern refrigerators and similar, you will need a more sophisticated system than you might think to maintain frequency.
You could consider a solar electric system with a battery, this would work for something like a decade after a SHTF event.
As previously mentioned, Mennonite and similar cultures, and hillbillies, have done without mains power for centuries.
The short film "Alone in the Wilderness" also presents some ways of living quite comfortably in Alaska without mains power.
“Alone in the wilderness guy” still got his supplies from the stores and not from the land. Eventually he would have needed to figure out how to replace and repair his tools.
Clothing/shoes could be easier (animals skins/fur) if he still has hunting supplies and animals are still available - which may not be so…
Last edited by L00k4ward; 04-19-2023 at 08:27 PM..
If you're really into how they did it beforehand...maybe check out Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder. She made a whole set of books but the first one in particular went through great (sometimes nauseatingly so) detail on how they made everything as they didn't have electricity and they didn't buy much from stores either. (and built their own homes in later books)
Would I WANT to live that way....maybe not, but there's some decent information tidbits. Written from a child's perspective, so not a difficult read.
Steam is incredibly dangerous. I have accident reports from railroads in Vermont and some of them involving steam are pretty bad. There is a big difference between a teakettle and steam power. Steam boilers have to be certified and have limited lifespans before retubing or scrapping.
Woodgas is a little better, but when dealing with carbon monoxide as fuel, leaks are deadly.
Biogas requires many many animals and certain conditions to create enough of it to be worthwhile.
Waterpower is very weak compared to the levels of power we are used to. A good sized waterwheel might generate only a couple horsepower. A huge one at Falls Mill in Tennessee tops out at 32 horsepower.
One experiment showed a large tank of water (think transport container which holds what? 400 gallons or so?) on top of a roof. The power generated from it with a small water powered generator at ground level was found to be about equivalent to the power stored in a single AA battery.
Horsepower itself is limited, and maintenance is problematic.
Solar and wind are often viable, but with costs.
There are many things that electricity can do that other forms of energy cannot. A walkie talkie of water jets is not practical.
It is possible to live without electricity of any kind, I know, I have done it.
most modern people though will be unable to function without their gadgets and technology, you have to be a certain type to not only live without these things but to enjoy that type of lifestyle. therefore if any event shuts of the power grid permanently the population numbers will reduce to a much lower level.
It is possible to live without electricity of any kind, I know, I have done it.
most modern people though will be unable to function without their gadgets and technology, you have to be a certain type to not only live without these things but to enjoy that type of lifestyle. therefore if any event shuts of the power grid permanently the population numbers will reduce to a much lower level.
Cholera will kill a significant number of people.
As an historical fact - When the US bombed Iraqi during the Gulf War (1991), we damaged 13 of Iraq's 20 power-generating plants were incapacitated or destroyed and the sewage-treatment systems went off line. The result was of 500,000 excess deaths among young children.*
Back home today - Some US residents have well water instead of city water. Well water requires electricity to pump the water. If you lose electricity, you can't flush the toilets. You'll need a gallon of water to push the toilet contains down. At the same time, the sewer treatment plants will fail. Even city water will be contaminated.
So yeah, many people will die from cholera. Sorry, TamaraSavannah! We are doomed. Maybe a private lake?
On a another note:
Britain's weather beats US weather. In a global meltdown, UK is a far better climate. I imagine it's easier to live without electricity in the UK (excluding water issues).
I'm in Tidewater, Virginia in the historic triangle of Jamestown, Yorktown and Williamsburg. Jamestown was the first settlement in the US. It's humid and hot here so English compared my weather to Caribbean's weather. When Englishmen came, they were advised to dress for tropics in summer.
When I lived in Austin, everyone said the heat was a dry heat. It would be a dry 110 degrees F so it only felt like 95 degrees F! Well, then! So much better than a southern humid heat? Idk. Either way, it's awful!
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