What To Do When You Have A Power Outage

You are sitting at your home office, typing furiously, when all of a sudden your computer goes black. After grunting in frustration, you look around to realize that the lights have gone off as well, and there is a silence that has taken over your home. You realize that you have had a power outage. While power outages are not as common as they once were, they still impact people all over the country, and they can be incredibly frustrating, especially when you consider how much we rely on technology today. So, if you have had a power outage, what can you do about it? Read on to discover some useful tips and pieces of advice.

Check your trip switch

The first thing that you should do is check your trip switch. Often, a power outage happens simply because the trip switch has gone off. This can happen when you have too many appliances running at once in your home. Or, it could be that there is a faulty socket or appliance that is causing this to happen. Either way, this is often the stem of any power outage. The good news is that it is pretty easy to rectify. 

Talk to your neighbors to find out if they have had a power outage as well

If it is nothing to do with the trip switch, it is a good idea to talk with some of your neighbors to find out if they have had a power outage as well. If there are other people on your estate that have had a power outage, this is an indication that there is something wrong in the area. The electricity company will be on the case, working to fix it as soon as possible. However, you may want to give them a call to find out what is going on and how long they expect it to take. Of course, you won’t be able to use your home phone. Hopefully, you have made sure that there is still some battery on your mobile phone so that you can use your data to find the electricity company’s phone number and then make the call. This is a listen to us all about the importance of keeping our phones charged, right?

Spend some time doing things that don’t involve electricity 

While a power outage can be frustrating, it gives you the opportunity to focus on things that do not require looking at a screen or being plugged into the power socket. We live in a world today that is very much dominated by electricity. Everything we do seems to be related to the Internet in some way or another, from paying our bills to doing our work. Sometimes it is simply nice to take a break from it all. Why not read a book or go for a walk? There are so many relaxing and peaceful things that you can do that do not involve electricity or the Internet. Sometimes, a power outage, albeit convenient, can be a bit of a blessing. After all, there is nothing you can do about it, and so you are presented with the chance to relax and unwind until the power comes back on. It is a break that you needed. 

Use your backup power

If you have been proactive, you may have organized a backup source of power, and in moments like this, you will certainly be relieved that you have done so. Propane, which you will also see referred to as Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG or LP), is a great choice. This is a gas that is compressed and stored as a liquid. It is one of the purest, cleanest, and least complex hydrocarbons available today. It is colorless, non-toxic, and it barely has an odor. You can learn more about it and how it can be a great backup source of energy online. If you have a power outage, you can still enjoy the heat and stay warm with propane. It is more affordable than a lot of other heat sources and it is 20 degrees warmer when compared with electricity, so it is not hard to see why this is a good choice. 

Do things you had planned for later that day

There may be a few things that you need to do later in the day that you can get on with now while you do not have electricity. For example, you may want to start preparing the vegetables for dinner later. You could also separate your laundry into piles, getting it ready to go in the machine once the electricity goes back on. You could even use this opportunity to clean your home. Of course, a lot of these tasks rely on it still being light outside. We certainly do not recommend cutting vegetables in the dark.

Take your notepad out and do things the old fashioned way

If you were busy working while the power went off, it is a good idea to go back to the way we used to do things. Grab yourself a notepad and start writing instead. While we do heavily rely on computers and the Internet today, we are sure that there are some things that you can do to stay productive and keep the energy going. You may even simply want to make a list of all of the things you need to get done once the energy comes back on.

Final words on what to do if you have had a power outage

So there you have it: some tips and pieces of advice on what to do if you have experienced a power outage. We hope that you find this useful if you ever find yourself in a situation whereby you lose your electricity. While power outages should not interrupt your daily life often, when they do happen, they can be very inconvenient, to say the least. However, there are options that can get your house up and running again.