I Woke Up Terrified Last Night
Any night owls in DC (or people like me who stayed up way too late watching Luka play spectacularly) experienced a widespread power outage. Like most things in life, a power outage is just something you have to wait out.
As I attempted to sleep the outage away, I suddenly sprang up both intrigued and terrified.
If this power outage wasn’t temporary and lasted for an extended period of time (like months), would I have the skills and knowledge to keep my home powered and family comfortable?
This was Husband 101 stuff that I felt woefully unprepared to handle in the moment. It also meant that I wasn’t ready for the zombie apocalypse (sigh).
The first part of the solution was easy - get a generator (or the new electric F-150 pickup truck, but I digress). The second part, using the generator to power the home, is where I was lost.
I realized that even if I had a generator, I had no idea how to use it to power the home. Like, where do you put the jumper cables? Do I just plug it in the wall like a space heater?
These were questions that needed answers. ASAP. I then turned the one source that could help me uncover the mysteries of the universe, Google.
Long story short, you either use heavy-duty, super duper long extension cords to power devices individually or you need to have a transfer switch installed so that you can hook up the generator directly to the home.
Now you know and now you don’t ever have to wake up in the middle of the night terrified as I did.
Hopefully, this gives you peace of mind about your future and some confidence in your survival skills.
#StayZombieApocalypseReady
P.S. I also may just get solar panels installed so I can be both green and prepared. If you have any good recommendations for this process, let me know.