To those houses that rely on electric-powered heating systems to keep their houses warm during the cold days, to have power outages during these times is not only an inconvenience but may be dangerous. If we are not able to keep ourselves warm during extremely cold temperatures may lead to deadly consequences. Let us prevent that from happening.
Here are some ways we found on how to heat your house during a power outage.
- Fire up your generator or any other alternative power source. If you do not have one, why?
- Have a fireplace? How about firing it up? No fireplace, then how about other alternatives like maybe a portable heaters?
- If you have any pre-power outage warning, take advantage and heat your house ahead before the power went out.
- If you do not have alternative heat sources, then designate a heated room.
- Block any possible holes where cold air can pass through to your house. Make sure to keep your house insulated.
- Avoid opening windows, doors, and refrigerator doors frequently. Don’t invite the cold in.
Take advantage of Mr. Sun whenever he would take a peek.
There are plenty of ways that we can use on how we can keep ourselves warm during cold days when a power outage occurs. So do not panic, chill — on the other hand, no, do not chill but keep calm instead. Keep calm and make sure to keep warm.
Invest in a good generator.
I mean, you did opt to have an electric heating system, surely you have thought of how are you going to rely on it when there is a power outage, right? Surely you have.
There are plenty of types of generators that we can purchase in the market to better prepare us in case such time comes where we will not have any electricity. A good generator can come a long way to sustain us during these times.
If you have yet to purchase one or is still contemplating in doing so, I say pull the trigger. Generators will not only be useful on times that we experience a simple power outage but can also sustain us on prolonged power outage especially when calamity hits.
It’s time you fire up that fireplace.
Stock up on some wood and let us all gather around the fireplaces while we exchange funny stories that aren’t funny at all. This is a good alternative because it does not rely on electricity to work. Just throw some blocks of wood in, fire it up, and you are good to go. Warm and cozy.
If you do not live on such a house with a chic and luxurious fireplace, worry not as there are plenty of alternatives we common folks can afford. Wood stoves are more of the same thing. Pop some wood in, fire it up, and voila! Heat.
You can also opt for other alternatives such as candles, not only is it a source of heat but a source of light as well. We love a multi-purpose alternative. Just make sure that you put it somewhere safe and will not cause more disaster. Pro-tip, put it on a glass base with a little water on it to make sure, especially if you have wooden floors and furniture that you cannot find a place to put it where it will not cause a bigger fire in case you forget it.
We can also buy kerosene or propane-powered lamps or heaters, just make sure that you use it in a room with proper ventilation if it isn’t the nontoxic ones. Remember that this gas may cause carbon monoxide poisoning if it is put in a confined space without ventilation. So be cautious.
If you have been warned, prepare
Take advantage of the electric power while you still have time. Heat your house ahead of time and keep it that way. Stock up on warm water. One really good tip is to fill any empty containers, even your bathtubs of warm water beforehand. Not only will it help keep your house warm but can also be a source of food, warm baths, and clean warm water you can use throughout the time that the power is out.
Just like in any other situation, it pays to be prepared. Stock up on anything you think can help you warm up when the power went out and your electric house heater system is rendered practically useless. Be prepared.
Have one room dedicated as the “warm room”
It is proven that the more people occupy a certain room the warmer it is compared to those that only have a few numbers of people. So move to one room that is designated to be your warm room and close the other rooms you will not use.
To best conserve the heat in our houses, it is better to stay in one room altogether to keep the heating concentrated in one space. Staying in one room together will also make it easier for us to warm up easily and conveniently, especially if we need to sustain it for a prolonged time.
Keep your house properly insulated
Before winter comes or maybe even before building our houses, we need to make sure that proper insulations are installed to help keep us warm during the cold days. It is crucial to be included in the plan when we build our houses, specifically, to those located in the colder regions.
To further help to keep our houses properly insulated during winter, make sure to keep the curtains or blinds down at night. This helps block the cold from entering our house. We can also use towels, duck tape, and other things that we can put on the door gaps, window gaps, and any other holes that the cold wind may passthrough. Aside from keeping the cold from coming in, we are also preventing the heat from getting out.
Keep the windows, doors, and refrigerator doors closed
We need to minimize times we have to go out, open a window, or use the refrigerator to prevent cold winds from getting in. Remember our goal is to keep the inside of our houses warm as long as the power is out.
If it is inevitable to go out, do not keep the door open for a long time. Close it immediately. If you have a door that leads to a closed garage that you can use to go out or a closed porch door to passthrough instead of doors that directly leads to your house, use those instead. That way we can minimize the cold wind we let in as it will not go directly inside our houses.
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Take advantage of the sun
Sunlight is one of the best sources of heat that we can get. Maximize the time we have with it to generate heat in our houses. Open up the curtains, put the blinds up and maybe even open some windows if no harsh winds are blowing.
Harness the energy it is giving to power up everything we can to help us sustain the warmth in our houses for as long as we can. Maximize it to its fullest. Soak up on it while it is giving us the chance to do so before it hides once again.
Related questions
Aside from keeping our houses warm how can we keep ourselves warm?
Making sure that we keep our house warm during winter is only half the battle, we need to also make sure we keep ourselves warm as well. We can do that in several ways.
Wear warm layered clothing
One of the easiest ways to keep warm is to stuff ourselves in warm layered clothing or roll ourselves in a blanket to protect us from the cold. Wear gloves, scarves, and jackets or sweaters to keep us warm. It is best to have some clothing items that are made out of wool materials.
Indulge in warm treats
Help yourself to some hot soup, hot coffee or tea, spicy noodles, and so many more warm foods that we can consume to keep us warm. Eating will not only supply us with nutrition and energy but the process of digesting food also generates some heat from our insides to keep us warm. Coffee anyone?
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Stay active
Move. Do some simple or intense exercise to produce heat and sweat. It helps us keep fit, healthy, and warm as well. Run or just walk if you want.
Do some push-ups, pull-ups, jumping jacks, and squats to keep the energy pumping through your veins to warm you up. Just keep moving.
Give each other some good old hug
Cuddle with each other. Cuddle with your sister, brother, mother, father, dog or cat. The body is one good source of heat so let us share that. Hugging will not only give you heat but also comfort. It is also a proven fact that hugging can relieve stress, stress that may have been triggered by having a power outage.
Can the cold weather affect electricity?
Most of the electric power is being generated by power plants by processing the fuels which can be affected by higher winds and colder water temperature. These fuels are being burnt to generate steam that drives the turbines that generate the electricity we consumed.
The slower the fuel burns, the less steam will be produced to make the turbines work, the lesser electric energy will be generated. Add to that the surge in electricity consumption due to the demand of running house heaters throughout the day to keep us warm. So the answer is yes, cold weather has an effect on the power outages we experience during extremely cold weather.
What are the dangers of using alternative sources of electric power?
Naturally, in this day and age where it is almost impossible for us to live without electricity, we always seek out other alternatives whenever we would experience power outages. But we have to be careful about what we use and how we use it to avoid any disaster.
Some of the most common alternatives we use are fuel-powered generators or kerosene powered heaters both of which if not used properly may have dangerous consequences. These can cause carbon monoxide to build up which is dangerous for us. We can die of carbon monoxide poisoning without ever showing any symptoms.
While there are some dangers with using these alternatives, these are some of the most common and most affordable for us that is why we need to study how to use it properly, what not to do while we are using it, and how we can avoid carbon monoxide build-up.
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Conclusion
We must do everything that we can to keep warm and keep our houses warm during the cold weather to not only live comfortably but also avoid any fatal consequences if we fail to keep our body heat. So be sure to keep in mind the tips we give to still keep the heat inside our houses and keep ourselves warm during winter even if we experience power outages.
Be sure to have alternative sources of heat to prevent us from freezing. Be active. Move. Exercise. Play. Consume that energy. Stay in one room to contain the warmth. Snuggle with each other and keep warm.
