best way to heat a home when power goes out?

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  • OLM-Medic

    Banned
    BANNED!!!
    May 5, 2010
    6,588
    I always wanted a wood stove in my home for this purpose, but that's not going to be an option for now.

    Sure we could be talking about the end of the world, but let's say a snow storm knocks out power for several days. What are good an easy ways to keep the home warm enough?

    Sure I could just get in my arctic sleeping bag to prevent death, but that won't keep the pipes from freezing.
     

    KGB-SPY

    Member
    Sep 30, 2013
    77
    Pikesville, MD
    If there is no wood burning fireplace in the house and no natural/propane gas, your only option would be a generator with enough amperage to run a fridge and couple space heaters.
     

    SKIP

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Mar 5, 2009
    3,248
    Glenwood/Glenelg
    During 1999 ice storm we lost power for three days.
    We heated with a wood stove and ran the whole house on a generator.
    Life was still pleasant.
     

    Biggfoot44

    Ultimate Member
    Aug 2, 2009
    32,877
    Kerosene heaters are inexpensive , and can crank out plenty of heat .

    ( Repeated for extra emphasis )
     

    Mondial

    Colt .45
    Nov 29, 2018
    378
    Columbia
    I would be wary of kerosene heaters inside your living space. Noxious gasses will do you in instead of the cold!
     

    czman

    Banned
    BANNED!!!
    Nov 20, 2020
    97
    One of the two furnaces in our house burns propane but the fan inside it obviously needs electric, so it is hooked up to our generator, which also provides backup power to our well pump, refrigerators, some outlets, the cooling fan on the hot water heater, et cetera, so we're good when the electric power goes out.
     

    Alan3413

    Ultimate Member
    Mar 4, 2013
    16,921
    If you have natural gas, a heating stove in the basement works well. Otherwise, woodburning.

    In either case, make sure it's a direct vent (b-vent) model. These take combustion air from the outside instead of inside the house. You don't want to be sucking heated inside air for combustion.
     

    Inigoes

    Head'n for the hills
    MDS Supporter
    Dec 21, 2008
    49,359
    SoMD / West PA
    vent-less propane fireplace.

    I had one installed right after building my house for such an emergency. It's much cleaner than a wood fireplace, and takes up far less space, because it is mounted on a wall.

    PS - If you are worried about freezing pipes, wrap them with heat tape and reinsulate around them. This option will require a 110V power source, a generator is the most viable. I also did this in my crawl space when I built my house, and I have never had to use this option. It is there, if I need to though.
     

    MattTheGunslinger

    Ultimate Member
    Jul 26, 2010
    1,373
    Baltimore county
    I went the route of the kerosene heater too. Got mine from a Walmart in Virginia a few years ago and it has been worth its weight in gold. I dont see them in Walmarts locally too much though.
     

    Mightydog

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    vent-less propane fireplace.

    I had one installed right after building my house for such an emergency. It's much cleaner than a wood fireplace, and takes up far less space, because it is mounted on a wall.

    I had a vent free fireplace which I replaced with a direct vent propane fireplace. Ran the insert up my chimney. Does the job fine.
     

    Harrys

    Short Round
    Jul 12, 2014
    3,362
    SOMD
    A wood stove wood is still the cheapest per BTU to heat a house. I put in and EPA rated wood stove burns 9 hours on a load of wood heats my entire house.
     

    alucard0822

    For great Justice
    Oct 29, 2007
    17,643
    PA
    Much depends on your normal heat source. We have a gas furnace, the 7.5KW generator runs it easily, so as long as the gas supply is coming in, we have heat. If that fails, I have 2 portable A/C units with heat pumps, they draw about 1,300 watts each and heat or cool about 1k square feet, the gen will run them both. Worst case we have wood fireplaces, and a couple propane heaters, but they aren't as safe to run, and need more attention. Our central AC went out in the summer, got the portable units to get by until I could fix it, but they are AWESOME and really useful, just put the hose adapter in a window, plug it in to a 110v outlet, and all set to heat, cool, dehumidify or just blow air. They are 4-in-1 units, so set one up with a condensate pump and window adapter to keep the basement dry in the summer, and a little supplemental heat when I work on stuff down there in the winter. They blow out a LOT of heat for their size, heats a large area much faster than electric space heaters.
     

    cantstop

    Pentultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Aug 10, 2012
    8,158
    MD
    best way to heat a home when power goes out?
    ...

    OK. It really depends on where you live.

    I'm in Howard County and my little EU-2000 Watt Honda Generator will keep me cozy and warm for the 8-12 hours it takes BGE to get the power back up.

    Generac makes some nice whole home generators that (like Blaster noted) will kick-in without you even noticing a power loss.

    You can get 4000 Watt dual fuel generators cheap with (battery) electric start. This is usually the best choice for folks in the sticks. Combine that with a manual transfer panel and an outdoor power input plug and you're going to be 99% secure.

    If you can keep your abode above 55 degrees, you shouldn't need to worry about pipes freezing.
     

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