Rethinking What We Mean When Talking About the Essentials

The modern world is undeniably complex. We can see this even when looking at seemingly mundane moments within our lives. For example, just how much is involved with taking a shower when we get up in the morning? Most of us go through a process of checking our phones for messages and emails after it wakes us up. And saying these devices are complex is an understatement. Our morning shower requires a complex system of internal and external plumbing. Making breakfast uses climate control in the form of refrigerated food. And on top of that there’s the many factors involved with the microwave. And all of this is just the prelude to our daily routine.

However, amid most of that complexity we can find one simple point. The vast majority of those complex experiences are based on electricity. The only point where electricity isn’t the primary source of energy is the shower. And even then we’re typically using electrical lighting, listening to music through our phones or using any number of other electrical accessories.

This goes to show how central electricity is to our lives. And yet we seldom really take much time out to safeguard it. And this is particularly surprising given that many areas are susceptible to blackouts or brownouts. Consider Ann Arbor for example. One will certainly find many examples of generators ann arbor mi style. It’s a type of relationship with generators that focuses on waterproofing and emergency management.

But one doesn’t see them nearly as often as would be expected. The presence of the great lakes tends to create some extreme weather conditions over Michigan as a whole. Two of the biggest issues are thunderstorms and tornadoes. A tornado can directly rip pieces out of the electrical grid. And thunderstorms can push too much power into the system and overload it. Not to mention the many other ways that having giant surges of power dropping from the sky can disrupt an often fragile system. And while Michigan has a higher incidence of this type of event, it’s hardly unique. Most areas of the world have their own natural dangers which can disrupt the electrical grid.

This leads people to the idea of being able to create power for themselves when they’re no longer on the larger electrical grid. One can usually see evidence of this during blackouts. At night everything will be totally black. Except there’s always a few houses with the lights on and a telltale flicker of movies or TV shows. This is usually due to a generator. Even a small one is enough to power something like a tablet or laptop indefinitely.

Medium sized models are usually able to power large appliances. It’s quite feasible for one to set up solar panels alongside this in order to further augment the electrical resources. Combined with some strong batteries one can easily endure even fairly significant damage to the larger grid. It’s true that an electrician should be a part of the process. But once that initial setup is finished it tends to more or less take care of itself. This ensures that one can enjoy the fruits of a complex system without needing to worry about understanding every single piece of it.