Load shedding is sweeping across the country bringing darkness, frustration and major disruptions to all households.

When the lights dim and electrical appliances shudder to a halt, you know you’ve been struck by the scourge of long hours of ZESA’s stage 2 load shedding.

Productivity stops for hours seriously crippling the economy and leaving citizens in a precarious position. This is all thanks to ZESA, the national power utility, which, through a number of calamitous miscalculations and mismanagement has been unable to meet the country’s electricity demands.

The damage done by load shedding

The ominous reintroduction of Stage 2 load shedding has seriously debilitated the nation, with some unfortunate households being cut from the power grid for up to fifteen hours a day. The effects of these rolling blackouts are far reaching, encompassing financial loss, damage to appliances and a general frustration which is swiftly approaching a fever pitch.

Despite assurances from President Emmerson Mnangagwa and his numerous task teams employed to quell ZESA’s operational incompetence, it seems likely that load shedding will, at the most inopportune moment, continue to disrupt the lives of Zimbabweans for quite some time to come.

Until the situation at ZESA improves, citizens are forced to live with the reality of load shedding, uncomfortable as it may be.

Luckily, there are a few gadgets available on the market which have the propensity to make life a bit more bearable during the severe strain of load shedding. While most citizens would love to get off the power grid altogether, the sheer costs involved in setting up a fully functioning renewable energy system are just too great for the majority of Zimbabweans.

If you’ve got the money to invest in solar panels and diesel generators; go for it. If you’re just trying to see out the dark times on a budget, take a look at the following gadgets; they won’t break the bank, and they’ll be able to get you through a few hours of powerlessness.

Surge protector plug

The simplest and cheapest gadget on this list is a must have during these dark times. Electrical appliances take a massive beating from rotational load shedding; the constant on-off drastically diminishes the life expectancy of many appliances.

While you’re advised to turn off all plugs prior to load shedding, for many people and appliances this simply isn’t feasible. Electrical surges, usually experienced when the power comes back online, has the propensity to fry electronics. To better protect your most valuable appliances, you’ll need to get a surge resistant plug.

These plugs ease the electrical load back into your appliances, effectively mitigating the surge of electricity. These plugs are available at most electronic and hardware.

Compact gas stove

Even in darkness, humans still need to eat, and we like our cooked food. Unless you already have an independent gas stove, you’re going to need a source of heat to get the job done. Luckily, compact gas burning stoves – intended for camping trips – are perfect in times of load shedding.

These single burner canister stove can cook and heat up food in minutes. They’re portable and require no electricity.

The cast aluminium burner is robust and includes a variable heat control system. It’s powered by an EN417 approved 220g butane canister, which can be purchased at most hardware stores and garages.

Simple solar lighting system

If you’re hit by load shedding at night, which, at Stage 4, is a great possibility, you’ll need some light. While you could invest in battery operated lights, or even rechargeable ones, it’s better to go with a dual-charge solar option for two reasons. One, the dual system allows you to charge the battery pack via the grid, if it’s a particularly cloudy day and, two, the sun won’t charge you for the power you use.

The most common system uses a 9V 3-7W solar panel, which comes with three LED lightbulbs and a torch built in the rechargeable battery pack. Using the solar panel, it takes about 13 hours to charge the battery to full capacity. According to the product suppliers, one full charge will be able to keep things lit for at least eight hours – long enough to see you through a serious bout of load shedding.

The battery pack can also charge cell phones and tablets.

Solar Power Bank

Despite darkness, we need to stay in contact with one another and, as humans, we need to be entertained. That’s a hard task when there’s no electricity – it’s even harder when, in darkness, our cell phone batteries, under increased use, hover in the red zone. There’s only one way to ensure consistent usage through recharging during load shedding and that’s by using a heavy-duty power bank – preferably one that is powered by the sun.

As is the case with most solar systems, the power-bank can be charged via the grid, but that’s not of much use when the grid is offline. The 10000mAh solar power bank can charge two devices simultaneously. Naturally, power banks have a limited lifespan and can only provide a certain amount of charges.

Portable thermo cooler

Load shedding is ruining the food in fridges, infuriating homeowners and driving up grocery bills. If you have a gas fridge-freezer, you’re in luck. For most people, when the electric cuts, defrosting ensues. There is one workaround to ensure that your most valued groceries stay cool.

A portable thermo cooler – originally intended for camping – sips a small amount of electricity, which it can gather from a car input or simple UPS system. Most of these coolers run off of 12V, perfect for plugging into your car.

UPS power supply

It’s the most expensive item on this list but, also, the most versatile. An uninterruptible power supply (UPS) system charges off the grid and as soon as the electricity goes off it switches on to power your most valuable electrical appliances.

These battery systems come in various shapes and sizes, yet they all do the same thing. Naturally, more powerful systems – which are able to power more appliances – can be heavy on your pocket. But to keep your laptop and Wi-Fi alive for a couple of hours, you don’t need to break the bank. Work doesn’t need to stop when the lights go down.

A reliable 500VA 300W UPS system can be bought for under a hundred US dollars. It won’t be able to power your television, microwave or fridge, but you will be able to charge your mobile phone and laptop. It can also keep your wireless router going and as long as your line doesn’t go down with load shedding, you should still be able to access the internet.