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Build a critical spares register for every system

Most estate systems fail through a cheap part: a fuse, a seal, a filter, a lamp. Holding the right spares turns a crisis into a ten-minute fix.

How

1. Start from the spares list in living-17 and expand it system by system.
2. Power: inverter and DC fuses of each rating, spare MPPT or charge controller if affordable, connectors, cable lugs, battery monitor shunt fuse. Ask your power installer which parts fail most (power module).
3. Water: filter cartridges, UV lamp and quartz sleeve, pressure switch, pump seals and impeller, pressure tank, tap washers and pipe fittings (water-23).
4. Sanitation and waste: toilet fan, seals, hoses and handles (sanitation module).
5. Thermal: stove door rope gasket, glass, chimney brush and flue parts (thermal module).
6. Comms and medical: radio batteries and antennas, medical consumables (comms and medical modules).
7. Rank each part by how bad its failure is and how long a replacement would take, as CISA's guidance on hard-to-obtain parts suggests. Hold one spare at the 3-month tier and two at the 1-year tier for critical items.
8. Store spares labelled, dry and listed in one cupboard, and record model and part numbers.

Do these first

• living-17

Sources

1. Ten Steps of Resilient Power. US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), accessed 2026-11
2. Portable generator maintenance schedule and checklist. Champion Power Equipment, accessed 2026-11

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