After a crisis, a couple of disturbing war conflicts, Trump’s second mandate And a worldwide pandemic, The biggest blackout in Spain I shouldn’t have caused me so much concern. But at home, at three o’clock at the beginning and with the children newcomers of the school, his nervousness was very evident. And ours.
No electricity grid for almost 12 hours And disconnected from the world almost the same hours except for the blessed radio to batteries, at home the tranquility for the tense and indefinite wait came to us in the most unexpected way: the radiant sun of Murcia and some test batteries in Xataka. This is the story of how some Solar panels connected to a large battery The great blackout of Spain mitigated at home.
The reality that everything works with electricity
The entrance/exit door of the work center, which we usually opened through an application installed on the mobile, only paid attention to our need to exit urgently when the concierge, analog key in hand, opened it and threw from it under the almost 30 degrees of two in the afternoon in Murcia. At the end of April.
“Googlear” if the suppliers of the service stations need food to work, something that would have taken me 10 seconds at another time, was the beginning of many hours of energy uncertainty whose solution did not remember that I had at home
On the way by car home, with the deposit near the reserve and without knowing for sure if the suppliers need food to function – or possibility of Googlear the answer to my doubt – the radio was the only point of connection with the real situation. Because the theories about what was happening did not take 10 seconds to run from Boca by ear and another ear … Suddenly, everyone had spoken with a family member abroad who confirmed without any doubt that it was a European issue. What European, world.


An “makeshift” installation of solar panels on the home terrace
With the few news that I could hear about what was happening I got home. The atmosphere was very similar to that of pandemic, with uncertainty dominating everything. And the feeling of living too many things for the first time.
The noon food had to improvise according to very clear criteria: use the perishable of a refrigerator that we did not know when it would be operational and resort to gas barbecue. Yes, the induction cuisine does not get along with the lack of electricity.


Already with the serenity that gives the stomach well attended, as a game to calm the kids, we analyze the situation at home and draw a plan for the afternoon. We are looking for lanterns, laptops, “powerbanks” and any device that could be charged. The smartphones and tablets between them. To do so we had an immense, literally, allied at home: some ecoflow batteries tested in Xataka.
Time to recharge everything rechargeable. And cook the “cooking”
With the internal load of the batteries, a main of 4,000 mAh and an assistant of the same capacity, almost 80%, the four plugs and four USB ports (two of type C and two of type a) they began to recharge everything that we found at home. Including the batteries that we already know that they must be in every emergency kit that boasts.
Without the possibility of loading of any kind, the solar batteries of the house offered a recharge point to family and friends who requested it
The objective was that, if the situation was extended until night, we could have operational devices And of course Lights ready so that, at least at home, the situation was the most similar normality.


Batteries, camping and reading/leisure lights for the long wait
Since it was still the beginning of the afternoon in Murcia, the batteries continued to recharge to the usual rhythm in their “rush hour”, about 1,000-1.200 W per hour. One of the great advantages of these Ecoflow batteries for recharge is that they can be feed both from the electricity and connected directly to solar panels.


The radio we were about to “recycle” last summer
We take advantage of this situation of energy surplus for both less important issues and relax with a fresh coffee and to use certain thermomix type appliances, the microwave or a small electric oven. Everything we could take advantage of that solar energy seemed to us a good idea at that time. Things of situations that are first lived.


Mobile of friends and family who lived near them were recharged with our house battery
We also rejoice at home of having stored an old analog radio because, without data or functional telephone, it was our only source of reliable information.
The great blackout was not this time through streets. No neighborhoods. Not even in cities. But the most alarming was that the duration of it was a great unknown. So the very few moments of connectivity allowed us Offer our batteries to family and friends They lived close to recharge their mobile phones.
And without sun, the batteries take control of the house
With the different official information about everything that happened arriving via radio but on droppers, the sunset reached us at home with the unknown about what would take the electricity grid of our Murcia area to be operational. So without a sun, it was time to start squeezing the Energy stored throughout the day until it exhausts her.
At night, the solar battery was ready to use the stored energy and feed the refrigerator for hours and thereby save food for a very valuable time
The system that we have ecoflow proof does not allow energy injection to the home network itself if it is not connected to the general. But his poOutput tenance of up to 4000 W gives us the possibility to use powerful appliances in a timely manner, as we did with the water tank or microwave.


At night, in the room normality reigned with the usual lighting and even the TV running
Arrival and the night, the portable battery (although of great weight) was established on the first floor of the house, where, with the help of plug -on extensors, we kept several lights of the room lit while the TV with some series stored at home since the DTT was not a possibility either. And most importantly, The house refrigerator remained fully functional.
With that feeling of a certain momentary control of the situation we went to bed all at home. We continued without connectivity or power grid but with the certainty that The battery would endure all night feeding the refrigerator And the security that with the first lights of the day, our momentary energy tranquility It would be loaded again to resist a few more hours if necessary thanks to the sunny day that was expected in Murcia.
Images | Xataka
In Xataka | Normal, with solar load and crank. Five external batteries to have the mobile loaded during a blackout
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