Wanna Buy Some Cheap Candles Mate? And AA Batteries 3 for the price of 2.

For a long power cut disposable alkaline batteries are in my view the best bet.

Rechargeable batteries are of very limited use without mains power for charging. Solar chargers are of little use in most UK conditions.

Alkaline D cell has a capacity of about 18 ampere hours. Rechargeable consumer grade D cells are about one tenth of that capacity. Industrial rechargeable D cells at 4 amp hours are a bit better but still much less than a disposable cell.

A  cheap consumer grade solar powered charger will NEVER charge an industrial D size cell in winter. A good quality solar charger should charge it in a week or two. 

Candles are fine with normal ventilation and provide significant warmth. 

For a long power cut disposable alkaline batteries are in my view the best bet.

Rechargeable batteries are of very limited use without mains power for charging. Solar chargers are of little use in most UK conditions.

Alkaline D cell has a capacity of about 18 ampere hours. Rechargeable consumer grade D cells are about one tenth of that capacity. Industrial rechargeable D cells at 4 amp hours are a bit better but still much less than a disposable cell.

A  cheap consumer grade solar powered charger will NEVER charge an industrial D size cell in winter. A good quality solar charger should charge it in a week or two. 

Candles are fine with normal ventilation and provide significant warmth. 

broadgage said:

Rechargeable batteries are of very limited use without mains power for charging.

That's a very good point.

Slightly changing the topic, just before going up to daughter-in-law's new build for the final phase this month, I decided to get a new head torch. The north-facing back of the house tends to be rather gloomy and I was getting fed up of the short life span of AAA batteries so I bought a rechargeable one made by Silva.

On full brightness, it doesn't last a full shift, but neither are 600 lumens required. On that setting, the lamp gets too hot to touch! So for day in, day out working, either I'd get another battery or one with a higher capacity, but also a greater weight to wear around the head.

If push comes to shove, I could recharge via one of the USB sockets in the car, but they also sell battery packs designed for disposable batteries, so the best of all worlds. Highly recommended!

I don't suppose that Price's factory shop in Battersea is still going - it's been a while since I called in.