The UK government’s Be Ready campaign has advised all UK residents to be self-sufficient for three days without power, water or internet, with stored food and water.

Stored food and water are a sensible start. But many of the things we rely on every day, such as heating, lighting, refrigeration and staying in touch, depend on the building itself. That is where property improvements come in.

Thinking it through

A good first step is to ask what would actually stop working if power, water or internet went down, and which of those things matter most to you. For one building it might be heating and lights. For another it might be refrigeration, communications or a safe water supply.

We call this the strategy stage. It means deciding which risks you want to plan for before choosing any equipment.

Power

Without grid power, most buildings stop working. Some of the options are:

Solar panels to produce electricity during the day.
Battery storage to keep that energy for the evening and night.
An inverter system to turn stored battery power into normal “mains” power for key appliances.
A backup generator and fuel storage for long, dark periods when solar output is low.
Changes to the existing electrical system so the building can switch over to backup power smoothly.

Water

If mains water is unsafe or unavailable, stored water only lasts so long. A reverse-osmosis filtration system pushes water through a very fine membrane to clean it to drinking standard.

Communication

Satellite internet connects through a dish to satellites, rather than through local cables, so it can stay connected when normal internet is down.
Citizens band radio, often called CB radio, lets you talk to people within a few miles with no internet or phone network at all.

Heating, cooling and food

Heat pumps powered by solar and batteries can keep a building at a safe temperature when grid power or mains gas is unavailable. Freezers designed for off-grid use can keep food stored safely for longer.

Why an integrated approach helps

Each of these systems can be added on its own, but they work best when designed together. The same solar panels and batteries can run heating, water filtration, communications and refrigeration. Installing everything at once also avoids running new cable routes several times.

Training matters as much as equipment. These systems are most needed when outside help may be hard to reach, so the people using them need to know how they work.