As Winter Approaches Ukrainians Seek Alternative Power and Heat Sources

Russian targeted strikes against Ukraine's energy system threatens to create a humanitarian catastrophe as daily nationwide blackouts can last up to 12 hours or more.

According to Ukraine's largest energy company, DTEK, Russia has destroyed up to 90% of its thermal generation capability along with damage to a large number of distribution substations and several hydroelectric power plants.

During the July 8 Russian missile attack on the center of Kyiv, which included the targeting of the Ohmatdyt children's hospital, three DTEK substations were destroyed, which further exacerbated the already severe blackout schedule in the capital.

In summertime, the shortage of light and heating is not critical but as autumn approaches, electricity consumption for heating will increase. Faced with the reality of their situation, Ukrainians determinedly and intensively prepare for the cold times ahead. The demand for generators and portable charging stations has increased – everyone is stocking up on them along with flashlights, batteries, and even candles.

But many Ukrainians go even further.

In Irpin, a city that saw intensive fighting during the battle for Kyiv in the spring of 2022, Oleksandr and his family returned home and began to look for ways to improve the energy efficiency of their apartment. He has now installed a powerful charging station to power the entire dwelling.

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“The station's volume is one and a half kilowatts, sufficient to power any device in the apartment: the washing machine, the air conditioner, the induction cooker, even grilled sausages were fried without light,” Oleksandr said.

He took fit one step further by integrating the charger into the power grid of the house. Now, when the electricity goes off, it switches on automatically, and when the power comes back on, the station starts charging.

“I installed two additional modules. The first is an automatic adapter. When the light goes out, it automatically switches the system to the charging station, and when the light comes on, it automatically switches back to the network, and the station starts charging. The second module, controlled via Wi-Fi, controls the station's charging. When it stops charging, it turns it off so that it is not under load,” Oleksandr said.

To have an additional source of energy for small appliances, he purchased a solar panel. It is portable, so it can be installed on the window or balcony on the sunny side of the apartment.

“The panel cost approximately 2000 UAH (about $50). It is rated at 100 watts, but in fact, it gives 40-50 watts. It can power a router, phone, laptop, and other small devices. It is hung on the place where we used to grow cucumbers. That's where we placed it because they didn’t grow” Oleksandr explained.

Even more interesting is what is in the basement. Many people in his new building work from home, so together with their neighbors, they bought a large battery, a current converter, and a stabilizer. The internet equipment is powered by them, ensuring it works smoothly regardless of whether there is power in the house or not.

“We connected a cable to the [internet] providers’ equipment. We have two providers and we have linked all the connections on the same cable, so now we have internet all over the house run from the battery. We reckon the system requires only four hours of electricity a day to give us internet around the clock,” he told us.

Now solar panels, charging stations, and batteries are becoming more popular, and you can see them on the streets and balconies in Ukraine. Many people are turning to cheaper and more traditional ways.

Like Volodymyr from the southern suburbs of Kyiv, who, rather than depending on electricity and central heating systems, built a classic wood stove in his house in a middle-class cottage town. It has everything – a firebox, a blower, and even hotplates for cooking food.

“Here you can cook or bake something if there is no gas or electricity. This is the ordinary rural oven that our ancestors used long before modern times. It provides enough to heat this room, the corridors, and the next room – 45 square meters heated at 20 degrees Celsius for the whole day using two buckets of firewood,” Volodymyr said.

With his wife, they regularly prune the trees in their large garden turning pruned branches into fuel.

“We crush the branches and put them into bins with a volume of 4-5 cubic meters that we made ourselves. This is our firewood. We don't need to buy it and we have enough to last for six months, up to and including February. After that, we will switch to larger firewood. The cost is only our labor. The crusher is very efficient. All you see here took less than 2 liters of gasoline,” Volodymyr said.

No gas, no electricity. Clean heat at no extra cost. But if there are not enough scraps, Volodymyr has secured a supply of firewood and has started a new hobby by making eco-friendly furniture from the wood.

“This is 100 percent dry firewood. The humidity here is around 12 percent. To heat a room of 30 square meters, you need around 20 pieces to get 18-20 degrees. If we use large pieces which I call ‘dumplings,’ then 10-15 maximum,” Volodymyr said.

Meanwhile, Ukraine's NATO allies are preparing to help strengthen Ukraine's air defenses, and power company engineers are working wonders by repairing damaged lines right after the shelling. But Ukraine’s ordinary heroes primarily rely on themselves, and they say that no amount of Russian terror attacks will break them. Their example is inspiring and is beginning to be adopted by others.

“When I built the oven, my neighbors laughed at me – ‘What are you doing?’ they said. Because everyone is dismantling stoves, and I am building them. And now they recognize that it is necessary,” Volodymyr said.