Any kind of a power outage in the winter creates a level of hardship that ranges from inconvenient to dangerous. It makes sense to prepare your home to avoid some of the discomfort associated with the lack of heat and electricity.
Locate the circuit breaker for your heating system and turn it off. Once the utility workers restore the power, it can surge, sending powerful spikes of electricity through the lines that can harm your equipment. Once the power has been successfully restored, turn the breaker back on.
Keep flashlights handy. Put a flashlight in each bedroom and by the front or back door. Check their batteries periodically and have replacements on hand.
Learn how to operate your garage door manually. During a prolonged outage, you may need to leave your home if the roads are safe to do so.
Always have extra food on hand that doesn’t require much heating unless you have a safe way to do so. Bringing in a charcoal or propane grill creates dangerous levels of carbon monoxide. A backpacking stove is a relatively safe heating option.
When the outage is due to a winter storm, select a warm room in your home where you can gather. Body heat will help keep the temperature up and you can close the window coverings to keep heat from escaping.
Consider installing a home generator. Whether it’s a portable unit or a whole-house system, a generator takes the edge off a power outage, even if it’s a small unit used mainly for lights.
Have your fireplace cleaned by a professional chimney sweep annually if you use it frequently. A clean chimney and firebox increase its safety, and be sure to use a spark screen.
Stay warmer by dressing in layers. Keeping the body’s core warm preserves heat, as will crawling into a sleeping bag.
The preparations to cope with a power outage do take time and some expense, but they increase your family’s safety and comfort. If you’d like to learn more, contact Air Assurance, providing trusted HVAC services for Broken Arrow homeowners.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Monmouth County, New Jersey and surrounding areas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). Credit/Copyright Attribution: “openclipart-vectors/Pixabay”