Sir,
Probably the biggest gap in our survival preparations at present is having a good source of energy if we have to stay underground for an extended period. If surface conditions are such that we cannot venture outside, then most likely there will be problems with our photovoltaic panels, solar water heater and hydropower, all of which are above ground. With currently available technology, propane seems to be the only reasonable solution to support heat, hot water, and electricity. Propane can be stored indefinitely and furnaces, stoves and generators that run on propane are readily available. However, storing enough propane underground to support our group for several years would be impractical. I’m also uncomfortable storing large amounts of propane for many years, since it seems inevitable that it will leak eventually, presenting a safety issue as well as a loss of the resource. Most people, including serious preppers, don’t plan to rely on propane for more than a few days. For those with solar and hydro solutions that can work without pause for years, a 3-day backup system in the form of propane seems superfluous.
I keep coming back to coal. Like propane, it can be stored forever [if protected from weathering.] (Before it’s mined, it’s basically being stored indefinitely underground in a mine.) With existing, mature technology, coal can support all the things propane can be used for: heat, hot water and electricity. Unlike propane, there’s no danger of leaking, and it’s much more practical to store tons and tons of coal underground than it is to use buried propane tanks. There’s only one problem: unlike propane, electrical generators that run on coal are not readily available for individual household use. This seems strange, since coal is the number one energy source for electricity generation at the utility scale.
Are you or my fellow readers aware of any practical, reasonably efficient solutions for home electricity generation using coal as an energy source that don’t require an engineering degree to implement (if I had the skills I’d just build the generator from scratch myself)? I would be willing to pay a significant amount of money for such a system.
Thanks in advance, and best wishes. – Dale from Vermont
[JWR Replies: When ever wood heat or coal heat are mentioned in the blog, invariably someone will then Thermoelectric generation (TEG) technology . Unfortunately that technology hasn’t matured sufficiently to be reliable. Sadly, TEG circuits burn out with alarming regularity. So steam power–at least for now–seems to be the only reliable way to turn heat into electricity. Perhaps some readers would care to chime in with some alternatives.]