One of the things I'd uncovered during all the destruction, was just how dangerous all the electrical wiring was. I decided to condemn it all from the outset and initially set myself up a super simple system which involved a battery charger, the batteries, an inverter (which creates 230 volt from 12 volt batteries) and a single 'mains' cable with one electrical plug socket on the end. The batteries could be charged by either the generator (when outside) or by plugging the charger into a shore power socket.