What to do if you lose power during a winter storm?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have the gas fireplace professionally cleaned and inspected, and use that. Ours has battery-powered ignition, so it is perfect for power outages, but you can also ignite any gas fireplace manually if you need to. You should learn how to do this.

If you get desperate for heat elsewhere in your home then, assuming your water is heated with natural gas, you can also take hot showers and leave pots of hot water around for radiant heat.

Also, drip your faucets if the temperature in your home is dropping into the low 50s. You are not going to freeze, but your pipes might.

OP - I called our chimney people to come look at the gas fireplace (fingers crossed they can come before this weekend). We just moved so we haven't had a chance to get it looked at yet so I am too nervous to use it.

Annoyingly we are in the process of getting a whole house generator but it is taking a long time (permits, etc) and probably won't be installed for another couple of weeks.

Our gas fireplace saved us one year when the powerlines were knocked down during a big storm and we had no electricity for 3 days.

You could go to a hotel, but thousands of others will have the same idea and hotel prices skyrocket (and for us it was more comfortable to be at our home with no space and huddled by the gas fireplace as needed).we charged our devices during the day at friends' houses who had electricity, open libraries and kiddie play spaces. The worse part was losing hundreds of dollars worth of groceries due to the freeze/fridge being out.

[Anonymous]

We have a whole house generator switch. We can run our almost whole house on a small portable generator once we flip the switch. There are two exceptions - can not run dryer or a/c - too much power draw. But we have used it in the summer and managed with fans just fine until the power was restored.

[Anonymous]

Turn on your generator if it doesn't come on automatically

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Insulate the house as much as possible - keep the blinds down, stuff blankets around any drafty doors.

Huddle the family together in one room, preferably one with doors rather than an open floor plan space. Body heat generates a fair amount of heat, but you need to keep it contained in one room. If that room has a fireplace, even better.

Light exercise to keep warm - jumping jacks and similar. Not so much that you break into a sweat - you want to stay dry.

Hot liquids - drinks and soup.

Do NOT run a propane camping stove or heater indoors. You can use your kitchen gas stove if you have one, but any portable propane devices need ventilation.

Abso-frickin'-lutely not. Do not do this. If you don't believe me, a simple google search will confirm.

WTF? You can use your gas stove to cook. You shouldn't use it as a heating source, but there's zero difference between baking a couple rounds of cookies during a storm vs. baking them during a regular day. It's the exact same oven, same circumstances. Why would my oven kill me any faster during a storm than it would on Thanksgiving or before a bake sale? Don't spread nonsense.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Insulate the house as much as possible - keep the blinds down, stuff blankets around any drafty doors.

Huddle the family together in one room, preferably one with doors rather than an open floor plan space. Body heat generates a fair amount of heat, but you need to keep it contained in one room. If that room has a fireplace, even better.

Light exercise to keep warm - jumping jacks and similar. Not so much that you break into a sweat - you want to stay dry.

Hot liquids - drinks and soup.

Do NOT run a propane camping stove or heater indoors. You can use your kitchen gas stove if you have one, but any portable propane devices need ventilation.

Abso-frickin'-lutely not. Do not do this. If you don't believe me, a simple google search will confirm.

2nd this - do not do it as it is a carbon monixide issue and could kill you.

You should already have carbon monoxide detectors in your home, and should be testing them at the time changes, just like your smoke detectors. Trust me, they'll let you know if you're creating a hazard.

[Anonymous]

If you have a gas stove: you light the burner with a match because the regular ignition requires power. Just be sure it lights right away and you don’t let the gas run too long without lighting.

You can’t use a gas oven because it needs power to light itself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Insulate the house as much as possible - keep the blinds down, stuff blankets around any drafty doors.

Huddle the family together in one room, preferably one with doors rather than an open floor plan space. Body heat generates a fair amount of heat, but you need to keep it contained in one room. If that room has a fireplace, even better.

Light exercise to keep warm - jumping jacks and similar. Not so much that you break into a sweat - you want to stay dry.

Hot liquids - drinks and soup.

Do NOT run a propane camping stove or heater indoors. You can use your kitchen gas stove if you have one, but any portable propane devices need ventilation.

Abso-frickin'-lutely not. Do not do this. If you don't believe me, a simple google search will confirm.

2nd this - do not do it as it is a carbon monixide issue and could kill you.

Can you explain? Even in a power outage, you can smell the gas (additive), right?

Not a gas oven, but why not use a gas stove if you light it rapidly?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you have a gas stove, you can still use it in a power outage.

Any hacks/suggestions for food options or other things to have on hand for those of us with electric stoves in the event of an extended power outage? (We’re currently in a temporary rental and this is our first time facing this scenario.)

An esbit stove or two so you can boil water, instant coffee/tea, and some backpacking meals. Mountain House makes pouches that don't suck (but they're kinda high sodium). Hotsnaps or other reusable heating pouches, or a big box of those "hot hands" or the like. If your water heater is gas, or you have a backpacking stove or camp stove, you can just get old-fashioned hot water bottles.

If you have small things you need to run, you can get single-outlet packs that are powered by the same batteries that run your cordless drill (if you have one): https://www.homedepot.com/p/RYOBI-18V-ONE-150-Watt-Portable-Battery-Inverter-Power-Source-Tool-Only-RYi150BGA/308460871 That's for Ryobi but dewalt, etc. all seem to have them (and there are knock-offs on amazon, if you're into paying less). Pick whatever system you already have batteries for. Ryobi even makes a generator-type model that can run a fridge: https://www.homedepot.com/p/RYOBI-18V-ONE-1800-Watt-Portable-Battery-Inverter-Power-Station-8-Port-Charger-with-4-6-0Ah-Batteries-RYi818BG/326468515 Not the most economical option (I think that's currently Jackery or the Anker Solix line), but if you already have a lot of the ONE+ batteries, it might be a decent backup for you.

You can also just have wool blankets, shelf-stable food like granola bars, and some bottled water on hand. You're probably only looking at a couple of days. You might be uncomfortable, but you'll probably make it on nothing more than what's already in your home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Kerosene heater

No, no, no…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have the gas fireplace professionally cleaned and inspected, and use that. Ours has battery-powered ignition, so it is perfect for power outages, but you can also ignite any gas fireplace manually if you need to. You should learn how to do this.

If you get desperate for heat elsewhere in your home then, assuming your water is heated with natural gas, you can also take hot showers and leave pots of hot water around for radiant heat.

Also, drip your faucets if the temperature in your home is dropping into the low 50s. You are not going to freeze, but your pipes might.

OP - I called our chimney people to come look at the gas fireplace (fingers crossed they can come before this weekend). We just moved so we haven't had a chance to get it looked at yet so I am too nervous to use it.

Annoyingly we are in the process of getting a whole house generator but it is taking a long time (permits, etc) and probably won't be installed for another couple of weeks.

Our gas fireplace saved us one year when the powerlines were knocked down during a big storm and we had no electricity for 3 days.

You could go to a hotel, but thousands of others will have the same idea and hotel prices skyrocket (and for us it was more comfortable to be at our home with no space and huddled by the gas fireplace as needed).we charged our devices during the day at friends' houses who had electricity, open libraries and kiddie play spaces. The worse part was losing hundreds of dollars worth of groceries due to the freeze/fridge being out.

Since this was the winter, why didn't you put your food in the garage, etc. to keep it cold. Do you live in a condo with no balcony?

[Anonymous]

My concern is just being able to get out of my neighborhood if we really have a foot of snow with ice on top of it. I’ll admit I would go to a hotel rather than suffer days of extreme cold in my house. It takes days for my street to get plowed normally. I’m considering parking elsewhere, but then I won’t have a car to go to to charge things and get a little heat.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Insulate the house as much as possible - keep the blinds down, stuff blankets around any drafty doors.

Huddle the family together in one room, preferably one with doors rather than an open floor plan space. Body heat generates a fair amount of heat, but you need to keep it contained in one room. If that room has a fireplace, even better.

Light exercise to keep warm - jumping jacks and similar. Not so much that you break into a sweat - you want to stay dry.

Hot liquids - drinks and soup.

Do NOT run a propane camping stove or heater indoors. You can use your kitchen gas stove if you have one, but any portable propane devices need ventilation.

Abso-frickin'-lutely not. Do not do this. If you don't believe me, a simple google search will confirm.

2nd this - do not do it as it is a carbon monixide issue and could kill you.

Why can’t you cook with a gas stove when there’s no power? You just light the burner with a match or grill lighter.

[Anonymous]

The latest forecasts show that the truly hazardous amounts of ice are going to stay well away from the DC area. 6-10” of snow plus a coating of ice won’t (ok, shouldn’t … I don’t put anything past the power companies) disrupt the power grid and it’s not going to be particularly windy during the storm either.

[Anonymous]

Can we still get a generator?? I think we really will need a generator !

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Insulate the house as much as possible - keep the blinds down, stuff blankets around any drafty doors.

Huddle the family together in one room, preferably one with doors rather than an open floor plan space. Body heat generates a fair amount of heat, but you need to keep it contained in one room. If that room has a fireplace, even better.

Light exercise to keep warm - jumping jacks and similar. Not so much that you break into a sweat - you want to stay dry.

Hot liquids - drinks and soup.

Do NOT run a propane camping stove or heater indoors. You can use your kitchen gas stove if you have one, but any portable propane devices need ventilation.

Abso-frickin'-lutely not. Do not do this. If you don't believe me, a simple google search will confirm.

2nd this - do not do it as it is a carbon monixide issue and could kill you.

Can you explain? Even in a power outage, you can smell the gas (additive), right?

Not a gas oven, but why not use a gas stove if you light it rapidly?

Carbon monoxide isn't the gas itself, it's improperly burned gas. So stressing a cooking system as a heater can result in the improper burning of gas. Hence why you won't smell it.

Look guys, a few hours of being under a bunch of blankets inside your house won't harm you. People camp in the snow all the time. But flailing around trying to use generators or ovens to heat your house when you don't know what you're doing could.