Emergency Heating - Keeping Warm During a Power Outage

My family lives in Minnesota and the winters can be downright bitter. The last few winters we've seen frequent power outages, and when the power goes out, so does the heat. When it's below zero outside it doesn't take very long for a previously warm and toasty home to turn into a freezer.

We decided that we absolutely had to have a plan for keeping warm when we lose power during the winter. See the lovely wood stove over to the left there? I would love to have one, but it just isn't possible to install one where we live so we had to come up with another plan for emergency heat. After spending hours researching different options we came up with a plan that worked very well for heat during a power outage, so I figure I'll share with folks what we've learned.

Thanks to madaise on Flickr for sharing this photo under creative commons licensing!

These are a few of the non-electric emergency space heaters that we looked into when we were trying to figure out what we should do to keep warm when the power goes out. Consider things like the area that you would like to heat, the availability of fuel, and the building and safety codes in your area. Don't expect any backup heater to heat your entire house. Decide on a comfortable area where the whole family can hunker down in the event of a power failure.

We looked at a lot of different options, including these ventless "blue flame" natural gas and propane heaters, but found they weren't legal to use where we live. I wish they were! For us, natural gas would have been one of the most affordable options for emergency heat at our place. They are affordable and reliable, but be sure to check the codes in your area, and make sure to have a qualified professional install the gas line!

Kerosene heaters can really crank out the BTU's, and if you have an affordable source for kerosene where you live, they can be a very good option to heat your home during a power outage. One of the disadvantages is that you have to fill and prime the heater outside, and it's next to impossible to avoid spilling a little bit of kerosene when filling, and well, kerosene does have quite the "aroma"! They can put out enough heat to scorch floors, so be careful what type of surface you put them on, or set up a brick hearth to protect flooring.

The wicks do require periodic replacement, so be sure to keep backups on hand.

Use only 1-K heating fuel in a kerosene heater, other types have more impurities, and are not safe to use for indoor heating.

After much consideration we finally settled on buying the Big Buddy portable propane heater made by Mr. Heater.

The first rule to keeping warm during a power failure is to retain the heat that is already in your home. There are a few simple things that you can do to keep the heat in, before it escapes to the outside.

• Make sure that all of your doors and windows are securely closed and locked. When windows are locked they have a better seal that helps keep warm air in, and cold air out. Keep in mind that anytime you are running an emergency heater, you need to have a bit of a window cracked for safety reasons. After we turn the heater off, we close the cracked window to keep in more of the heat. It's better to lose a little bit of the heat in your room, than to die of carbon monoxide poisoning!
• Close blinds, curtains, and draperies on all windows that aren't receiving direct, warming sunshine. Keep windows covered in the evening, or on a cloudy day.
• Hang a heavy blanket, quilt, or drapery over doors to the outside.

You want to retain your body heat as much as possible, so break out the long underwear, hats, gloves, heavy wool sweaters. Try to dress in layers as this will help hold your body heat in more than a single layer will.

It's a lot harder for our bodies to warm up once we're already chilled. When you are able to, try to keep gloves or mittens on as well.

It's amazing how much this helps. We heat water to boiling on our natural gas stove, fill up hot water bottles, and snuggle up. It really does keep us warm and toasty, especially when we're only using the emergency heater to keep from freezing.

A hot water bottle will keep you really warm under a blanket. I also fill a couple up and tuck them into our sleeping bags to keep us warm overnight when we don't run a heater. It makes a huge difference. I like to put one at my feet and one up by my chest to snuggle up with.

If you don't have a gas stove, you can boil water on a camp stove outdoors.

Calories are heat. Make sure that you have plenty to eat, this will help keep you warmer.

We're fortunate enough to have a gas range that works even without the power, so we do a lot of cooking. It helps warm up the house a bit, and hot food sure is comforting when the heat and lights are out.

Don't ever use a camp stove indoors or try to use your stove as a heater, it's not safe! But the heat from a bit of cooking is welcome when it's cold outside. Warm tummies are just happier...

If you made it this far reading, I'd love to know if you have any other suggestions for keeping warm when the power goes out... I feel so much better knowing that we won't freeze to death during a power failure and I hope everyone in cold climates has a plan for staying safe and warm when disasters strike. There are a few more things that we are going to set up, and I'll keep you posted as we try them out. Health and happiness to you!