How to Keep Warm in a House With No Electric
In emergencies when the power has been shut off, such as a storm or flood, you may find yourself faced with the challenge of keeping warm. Luckily, human beings produce their own body warmth, and by maximizing that while minimizing the amount of cold entering the house, you may be able to make an unheated home quite livable. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Lessen the amount of space you need to heat by closing off unused rooms. Make sure vents to them are closed and seal the doors as well as possible. In picking rooms to live in, look for well-insulated ones that are sheltered from the wind and that do not have large windows.
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Make sure your living space is as insulated as possible. Use shrink wrap to seal windows or hang blankets over them. Get extra carpeting, if possible, to cover the floor. Use rolled-up towels to keep air from escaping under doors.
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Take care when using any sort of non-electric space heater and ensure there is plenty of ventilation to the outside to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning. One person should always be monitoring for fire and ventilation issues. Keep firefighting measures like an extinguisher close at hand.
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Bundle up to compensate for an unheated home. Layer your clothing efficiently, with a T-shirt or thermal top underneath and shirts and sweaters above. Tights can be worn under pants and a double or triple layer of socks will help keep your toes warm. Consider a hat, which keeps a significant amount of heat from escaping your body, and gloves to keep your fingers warm.
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Combine body heat by snuggling together underneath a blanket or in bed with a loved one or, in a pinch, a large dog.
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If you have access to a heat source outside the unheated house, bricks can be heated and wrapped in towels to act as foot warmers.
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Tips & Warnings
Do not use a propane stove to heat your home unless you have adequate ventilation. Any non-electric heat source must be monitored closely.
