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Your EV could save your life(style)

Those living in the Southern regions of New Zealand have probably noticed that there's been a bit of wind recently.

Well more than "a bit". In fact you've had some highly destructive gale-force winds that have resulted in significant damage and even a death.

The "roaring forties" is a region that always gets its share of equinoctial gales in autumn and spring but this time it's far worse than usual. A rather unusual polar vortex has resulted in the huge storms that normally sit around the coast of Antarctica being pushed further northwards, towards New Zealand.

Throw in a strong high-pressure system above the country and you end up with a massive pressure gradient from north to south that generates extremely strong winds from the westerly quarter -- the winds we've seen this week.

One of the most obvious effects of these winds, aside from filling your back yard with every trampoline in the neighbourhood, is that power tends to get knocked out over large areas.

Whether it's trees falling across power lines or simply the poles supporting those lines being blown to the ground, the result is the same. Lights out for many.

Health and safety considerations sometimes mean that crews won't even start working on restoring that lost power until the conditions have improved and the winds have dropped below hurricane strength.

The result is that many businesses and households can be left without electricity for periods that can be up to days in duration.

Such outages can cause significant infrastructure issues related to the pumping of waste-water, the provision of internet and cellular communications and even the ability to make payments for food or drink.

That's before we even consider the horror that is being without access to Facebook for more than a few minutes. I can still hear the screams of my neighbours when the local fibre was knocked out for a couple of days a month or so ago here in Tokoroa.

So if the wind (or other disaster) has knocked out your electricity, what can you do?

I guess you could find yourself a good book and catch up on some reading.

How about a nice cup of coffee or tea while you're reading?

Oh damn, the electric jug won't work and chances are you don't have any other way to boil water without ransacking the garage to find that old camping gear that you put away at the end of last summer. What's more, with the wind blowing at 120KPH, it's probably not going to be a fun experience dashing outside right now is it?

Radio NZ published a story yesterday that hints at the perfect solution to such energy woes.

Yep, this is what I've been suggesting for some time now and I've written several columns in recent years extoling the practicality and virtues of using your EV as a huge powerbank. That story is living proof of the concept.

Having a few tens of KWH sitting in the carport or garage is great insurance against the effects of a prolonged power outage and I guess there are even scenarios where you could suggest it might be a lifesaver.

Plug the freezer in for a few hours a day and in the case of a week-long outage you'd save a lot of food from spoiling. Connect the microwave oven and you've even got a way to heat/cook that food to keep you nourished at times when all around you may have been wrecked by natural or other disasters.

Yes, while your neigbours are chugging down cold baked beans straight out of the can, you can enjoy the finest in microwaved freezer-food, complete with some microwave-mulled wine.

Let's not forget that you'll also be able to recharge your phones so you can remain in touch with news and important CD updates, at least for as long as the cell-towers stay up.

In short, that EV could be a crucial part of everyone's response and reslience in the event of extended power loss.

I recall sitting back with a smug smile on my face when I lived up on the South Kaipara Head where power outages were a very regular occurance. Firing up my generator meant that I could carry on unaffected while almost everyone else was sitting in darkness grumbling about the situation. It's not hard to imagine EV users doing the same next time the cables feeding Auckland City melt down like they did late last century.

Another huge benefit of an EV in such circumstances is that if you have solar panels on your roof then you can recharge that EV whenever the sun comes out. Having juice in the EV's battery not only means you can power your house but you'll also be able to get around, even if the local petrol stations have run dry.

If people didn't already have enough reasons to buy an EV, these are just a few more.

Now the only problem is... the affordability. It'll be a few years yet before even second-hand EVs become price-competitive with cheap ICE hand-me-downs. Until then, I'll just keep walking and smiling that I've only had to put petrol in the truck twice this year so far.

Carpe Diem folks!

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