Tips To Heat Your Home In Power Outages
The use of gas-powered appliances, such as generators
, and charcoal or gas grills, increases the number of carbon monoxide poisoning cases and fatalities due to improper use of this equipment. Carbon monoxide is known as a "silent killer."
It is an invisible, odorless, tasteless gas and is highly poisonous. Depending on the level of exposure, carbon monoxide may cause: Fatigue and weakness, chest pains for those with heart disease, shortness of breath upon exertion, nausea, vomiting, headaches, confusion and lack of coordination, impaired vision, loss of consciousness and, in severe cases, death
The first step is to insulate everything in your home from the cold, the best you can to keep as much heat as possible inside the house. Seal cracks around doors and windows with towels and blankets.
Limit the area to be heated. Select a space on the "warm" side of the house, away from prevailing cold winds. It's best to avoid rooms with large windows or uninsulated walls. Interior rooms, such as inside bathrooms or closets, probably have the lowest heat loss.
Your basement may be another great option in cold weather, because of the heat gain from the earth. Isolate the room from the rest of the house by keeping doors closed, hanging bedding, heavy drapes, blankets or towels over entryways or erecting temporary partitions of cardboard or plywood. Hang drapes, bedding, shower curtains, and such other insulating items over doors and windows.
If you have a generator, obtain fuel. DO NOT store fuels in heated areas.
This is particularly true for highly combustible items such as gasoline and kerosene, or even paper. When in use, generators need to be kept OUTDOORS with cables leading into the house and to the appliances they are powering up.
It is deadly to operator generators indoors. To warm up the house, you can heat bricks or even rocks on the grill. These hold heat for quite a while.
"Green" Heat is a great idea. A simple and cheap heater can be made by taking any leaves from the yard as well as kitchen table scraps and like items.
Place them in a double layer trash bag, wet the contents until they are slightly damp, then tie the bag closed. Put it in a trash can with a lid. This is my emergency heater for cold weather.
The stuff in the bag starts composting and in several hours starts building up heat. Within 24 hours, it can almost get hot to the touch, and will radiate heat for a few days.
Solar heat can be used as well. an appreciable amount of heat can be gained through large windows on the southern side of the house.
If you have a gas oven or fireplace, you can heat bricks up to a high temperature. If you have an electric oven and expect a power outage, you can warm the bricks up as a precaution.
Remove the bricks when they are warm, but still touchable. Bricks hold warmth for a long time, sometimes days.
Do not burn anything larger than candles in your home without providing adequate ventilation to the outside. All heaters, except electric heaters, should be vented to provide oxygen and to safely remove exhaust fumes, gases and smoke.
Do not ever operate generators indoors, not even in the garage. Operate them outside and connect them to your appliances via cables.
There are also ways to connect them directly to your home's electric system, thereby allowing you to run all your appliances as you usually would. Ask a professional for guidance, if this is your choice.
Toxic gases present a serious danger when there is insufficient ventilation. For safety, provide cross ventilation by opening a window an inch on each side of a room.
During these crises situations, it's best to have one person stay awake to watch for fire and to detect other problems, such as fumes. Drowsiness is one sign of carbon monoxide poisoning.
If the "watch person" feels sleepy, it may be a sign of poor ventilation. Introducing fresh air into the room may be life-saving.
Discuss emergency procedures with all members of your family: Finally, discuss safety, firefighting techniques and a home evacuation plan with all members of your family.
by: Jack Landry
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