Every winter, severe storms have the possibility of shutting down the electrical power in your area. Are you and your family prepared for this situation? Do you know the best ways to stay warm without having electricity? Here, in the Chicago area, temperatures can drop to dangerously cold numbers, so it is crucial to have alternative heating options for those weather emergency situations when you do not have a traditional wood-burning fireplace in your home. Aelite Chimney Specialties would like to share with you some information from Green and Healthy about how to heat your home safely during a power outage.
Prepare your home.
The first step you should take is to insulate your home from the cold by sealing cracks around doors and windows with towels and blankets. You then want to limit the area to be heated. Choose a room on the “warm” side of your house, which will be away from prevailing cold winds. Avoid rooms with large windows or uninsulated walls. Interior rooms like bathrooms or closets will have the lowest heat loss. Your basement may be another good choice.
Explore your alternative heating options.
Regardless of what type of heating system you may have in your home, it most likely uses electricity for the control circuits. If you have a forced-air system, you will not have any electricity to run the blower motor. We would like to tell you about three heating alternatives you can use during an emergency with no electricity:
- Temporary Wood-Burning Stove. If you have a wood-burning stove, you can use it for heating in an emergency by placing the stove close to a window and the chimney run out through an opening in the window by removing a glass pane. You can close up extra space in the window with plywood. If you want to have a wood-burning stove on hand for emergencies like this, do not choose a pellet stove as they generally require electricity to operate.
- Kerosene Heater. Relatively clean burning, a kerosene heater will produce quite a bit of heat. Radiating heat from all sides, the kerosene heater allows you to receive the maximum amount of heat it produces. You will need to be sure you have a sufficient amount of kerosene fuel on hand. Like wood, kerosene stores well, so you can stockpile this fuel to have in case of emergencies.
- Gas Catalytic Heater. Highly efficient and clean burning, this type of heater uses a ceramic element to provide a bed for the gas to burn in. As the gas burns, it heats the ceramic element to radiate heat into the room. Available in a variety of sizes, you can find one of these heaters to heat either a small or large room. You will not have to stockpile fuel for this emergency heater, which will never need electricity to operate.
Need more winter heating tips? Contact us at Aelite Chimney Specialities to learn more about how to most effectively heat your home this year.