The rule of threes.

[Nurseandy]

Shelter - it would take something monumental to move out (fire, roof collapsing) then the old caravan in the garden & assorted hot tents, then friend's farm 1m down the road.
Bugging out to the woods? Never, I wild camp all year round but with the family for any amount of time? Nope.

[Yorkshire Andy]

Shelter. In order......

Parents..

Sisters

Folding caravan

Backpacking tent

Ipk tarp shelter

Mother in law's

[korolev]

Shelter. In order......

Parents..

Sisters

Folding caravan

Backpacking tent

Ipk tarp shelter

Mother in law's

I think you missed out "Shoe box in middle of t'motorway" and "paper bag in a septic tank" before the last one

[Jerseyspud]

Warmth

Heating

Blankets

Duvets

Cats

Kids

(cats don't fidget as much as kids)

[Yorkshire Andy]

Warmth

Heating

Blankets

Duvets

Cats

Kids

(cats don't fidget as much as kids)

The nearly 4 year old has discovered mummy and daddy bed is the place to be at 5am he can vault onto the bed get over daddy and launch himself into the middle before daddy regains any form of consciousness ... All elbows and knees

The cat is happy to sleep on your feet and it lays still.....


For keeping warm.... Hmmm well we live in a rented place and portable LPG and paraffin heating is forbidden. And they removed all the gas fires to save on annual testing and put electric heaters in the living rooms

So well err I've thought outside of the box....

I have got a calor heater in the shed shtf it would be in the house like a shot.. but ...

We have

Gas c/h

I've a generator which I could run it off in a grid down situation to power the boiler.. with a small amount of rewiring.. or run the electric radiator and fan heater

I've 2x bio ethanol heaters (not forbidden)

A diesel heater (12v powered with a couple of leisure batteries and solar/ mains / jump leads for charging ) box sits outside and can duct in the hot air through a air brick easy enough

One standard calor heater a camping heater plus a parabolic reflector heater ..

Heavy curtains..

Plenty of blankets / sleeping bags

Thermal clothes / down jackets / cold store trousers snow suits for the kids. .

Hot water bottles

Hand warmers

Old school lamp on lamp oil pushes out a bit of heat too

Not forgetting several co alarms / smoke alarms / fire fighting kit just in case

One of the single bed mattresses will just about fill the living room window reveal that will massively increase heat retention in the living room the house is very well insulated as it is anyway

[Jerseyspud]

Tbf I've said to the eldest that if it was a prolonged blackout we are pulling my king-size mattress and superking duvet downstairs to the lounge and all their bedding and camping out all in one room

[jennyjj01]

Heavy curtains..
One of the single bed mattresses will just about fill the living room window reveal that will massively increase heat retention in the living room the house is very well insulated as it is anyway

That's one thing that struck me about the Texas situation: Most homes are built with zero or p155 poor insulation. They probably spend all year using electric powered Air-con just to cool the home. Electricity and money they could have saved with just a bit of rock-wool in the walls.

[jansman]

Heavy curtains..
One of the single bed mattresses will just about fill the living room window reveal that will massively increase heat retention in the living room the house is very well insulated as it is anyway

That's one thing that struck me about the Texas situation: Most homes are built with zero or p155 poor insulation. They probably spend all year using electric powered Air-con just to cool the home. Electricity and money they could have saved with just a bit of rock-wool in the walls.

By what I gather,this is a freak situation in Texas. Their homes seem to be built to local conditions. I have never been to the USA ( don’t want to frankly), but by what I see on tv,they appear mostly to live in wooden houses. You only have to see a news report of a tornado,and towns seem to be reduced to a pile of matchsticks.As I say,that is how it appears to me.

[jansman]

Heating:
1. Solid fuel ( two wonderful multi fuel stoves,and fuel to outlast Armageddon )
2.Electric
3.calor gas heater ( and spare gas) I use in the workshop,but easily trundled indoor
5. Dogs,cats, and lots of my wife’s crocheted blankets.Which as I lie here supping tea,are doing a grand job right now!

[grenfell]

That's one thing that struck me about the Texas situation: Most homes are built with zero or p155 poor insulation. They probably spend all year using electric powered Air-con just to cool the home. Electricity and money they could have saved with just a bit of rock-wool in the walls.

I was reading about the energy consumption elsewhere. Everything has to be shut down at some point for maintenance and the winter is normally the time to do it in texas as peak load is summertime running air con. We seem to be pretty poor with regards to insulation and passive heating/cooling in this country but it seems even worse in other places.
With regards to the rule of three thing we are currently without a boiler. It packed up last weekend ( only 18 years old , nothing lasts eh?) . We have a woodburner and some portable heaters so all that is covered. One slight "hole" is that we can't heat large quanties of water. It doesn't bother me too much as i grew up in a house where it was not unknown to have a "bath" with just a sink of hot water but my wife and daughter do miss not being able to just step in the shower although my daughter has said it doesn't really matter as she hasn't got to go to school and she'll be the only one to see her greasy hair and smell her stink