All of our daily comforts revolve around electricity. The jarring alarm emanating from the iPhone, signaling the start of a new day. Charging the iPhone. Turning on lights to illuminate the way to the kitchen. Brewing coffee. Checking the news on my laptop. Driving to work in the electric vehicle (EV). Air conditioning to keep the house comfortable. Ceiling fans. Countless other activities that we take for granted… it all requires electricity.
So when our home’s electricity was suddenly turned off for tropical storm Isaiah on Tuesday, it came as a shock to all of us — including baby. The house quickly climbed to over 80*F. Our baby had a bad night sleep, really bad.
I’m using this experience to reinforce my appreciation for electricity. A truly amazing innovation.
I’m also filing this experience under my “ambitious projects” category. In the future, I hope to make our home truly independent from the grid, with a dependable solar array linked to an automatic battery backup system. Alternatively, an automatic diesel generator is an option, albeit less environmentally-friendly.
Photo by Jason Blackeye.