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Start with the £100 list
All of it. About £100.
Then add
Allow £200
A 256Wh power station
Router, lamp, laptop and phones for a day
The biggest single upgrade. If your priority is the freezer, save longer and go to a 1,000Wh model instead.
Allow £55
A 4G MiFi
Internet that doesn’t need your house
With a pay-as-you-go data SIM on a different network from your phone.
Allow £45
A heated throw
Warmth from the power station
Runs for hours on very little. Useful every winter evening regardless.
What you can now do
- Keep the wifi, a lamp and the phones going for a full day
- Work a normal day on a laptop
- Eat hot food and drink hot tea
- Stay warm in one room without the heating
- Get online if the broadband fails as well
What it won’t do
Run the heating, the oven, the kettle or the freezer for long. For the freezer you want a kilowatt-hour or more. Use the runtime calculator before spending anything.