This is what I'm working on now. Trying to get consumption to meet supply in a grid down situation. Right now I'm all electric. While there was a kneejerk reaction of "switch to propane", the problem with that for an extended period (years? forever?) is that propane will always be finite no matter what. In some cases I'm looking at a sizable initial investment (washer/AC), and propane would be a large initial investment as well. So for the time I'm looking at staying all electric, though I do store a lot of propane and have generators, stoves, grills, and heaters.
There are several categories to think about. Not in any particular order.
Light Bulbs: LEDs - no brainer. For living rooms, bath, etc you can get the "warm white" that aren't as glaring. Also of course is solar lighting that can be brought inside at night.
Water: This is a tough one for me. I have a 570 foot well. My water pump is 60 amps. Not entirely sure what I'll do. One option would be a water tower. And every time my batteries hit 100%, start pumping into the tower. Some things can be done with rainwater when it's available - ie not during a drought. I have a pond, but it's far enough away that if I'm short on electricity and rainwater both, it's going to be a bucket deal.
Hot Water: Lots of opportunities here, from full solar hot water to supplemental to blanket/wraps. I'm leaning toward doing a supplemental heater on the roof and teeing it in to the cold water inlet of my existing heater, so I have the capability to heat water conventionally, but a fair chunk of the work is done for me for free in advance. Also, working in some sort of timer, switch, or other home automation unit to control when it's allowed to expend energy.
Washer: Invest in a modern washer. This helps in two ways. It uses less energy itself, but also uses considerably less water, which in my case, is also electricity. A case could also be made here for utilizing filtered rainwater for a washer, as available.
Dryer: It's 1899 all over again. The dryer is out the window. Maybe the occasional 65 degree sunny day with the windows open and the lights off, you could use it as a special treat. But then those would be the best days to enjoy hanging laundry, too.
Oven/Stove/Range: Pretty much the same as the dryer but maybe not as bad. Stovetop cooking won't be much of a challenge while there's plenty of propane. Then there's the wood stove in winter, and lastly a rocket stove or even campfire cooking. I have a couple Coleman camp ovens I should probably test out. They sit on top of a stove. The oven might be another one that I get to use on certain occasions. I could pick up some efficiency with an induction cooktop mentioned in another thread, but as I've said, I don't want my whole SHTF cooktop to be one clumsy fumble away from useless. Also lots of 110V appliances for specific tasks - panini press, bread maker, toaster oven, contact roaster, etc.
Heat: Wood heat and fans. That's a pretty simple one for me.
AC: Therein lies the rub. This is the monster, but it kind of makes life worth living. I could maybe get limited AC (no dryer or oven, definitely) with my current setup, but certainly not a satisfying amount. Here I'm looking at backup plans. One would be to hole up in a room with a window unit. but the problem with that is the energy efficiency is even worse than the central air, BTU to BTU. A window unit might have a SEER of 11, while there's a new Fujitsu mini split available in different sizes that has pretty much shattered the record with a SEER of 33. I'm not an expert on air conditioning math, but 33 is three times 11. So right now I'm kind of looking at a mini split as a backup. A mini split, even a small one, wouldn't offer the comfort of conventional central air because it doesn't flow into every room, but it would be a great backup. Even in the good times I could probably set up something like turning off the central AC at night and running the more efficient mini split in the bedroom. I'm thinking that thermal blackout curtains for all windows would be a big plus here. Even if I don't hang them all unless there's an SHTF. I've also got some of those cling film window kits that go over a window and seal it, but those would only work when it's too hot to open the windows, and I don't think they're reusable.
Home Automation: Most of the other stuff has been pretty straightforward and unsurprising, but the role of home automation in energy saving is quite drastic. Specifically voice control. I'm bad about running around doing chores and then sitting down with all the lights on. I'm sitting at my desk now looking at lights on in the next room, but... sitting. So if you wire up for voice control, you can sit down and say something like "All lights off", and then "Turn on [room where I am]" light. Also the thermostat. Once you've come in from a long day and get settled and cooled off, you can reset the thermostat. Or change it from your phone if you leave the house and forget. That kind of thing. I'm definitely going down this rabbit hole. the most obvious solution here is Alexa, but I wouldn't want it live to the internet (pre-SHTF). I'm sure there are workarounds to just use it locally.
Any other thoughts or experiences on trying to get demand to meet supply? Ideas for energy savings?
