An Alternative Heating Source

If your electrical service is interrupted and your furnace requires it to ignite, your home will begin to cool in a matter of hours. Running the convection oven with the door open is extremely dangerous and a poor method of heating. Burning wood in the fireplace, without an electric blower running, will cause most of the heat to go up and out the chimney. It's a little known fact that the efficiency of wood burning fireplaces is only about 1%. A wood stove is the easiest and most fuel-efficient option for heating your home without electricity.  If you get a cook stove then it will also provide you with an easy way to cook & bake. Learn how to safely operate your stove, including how to properly ventilate the room to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning.  Stock up on wood and be sure to store it in a dry place. 

If you have a furnace that runs on natural gas, ensure you know how to safely ignite it by bypassing the electric starter, if possible.  This will require you to turn the furnace on and off manually, igniting it with a match or lighter, and extinguishing it by cutting the gas. If your home still has an old coal furnace tucked into one corner of the basement, have it inspected every few years right along with your primary furnace. You'll also want to keep a supply of coal, provided your chute in still in place and functional. Coal can usually be ordered from the same companies that deliver heating oil.

Emergency Food Stores and Supplies

Many people get hurt during blizzards when they are forced to go to a store or pharmacy for items they could have stored ahead of time. Emergency food that doesn't require electricity to cook can be kept in the pantry.  Good choices include canned fruits and veggies, potted meat, crackers, cereals, nuts, and seeds. You should also keep a loaf or two of bread in the freezer, as well as a supply of shelf-stable milk, either powdered or canned.  Having these items on hand at all times will allow you to live comfortably in your house while the storm rages.

Bathroom items, such as toilet paper, feminine hygiene products, and fever reducers, should always be kept stocked. If you have a small child, be sure you have enough diapers, wipes, and extra formula to last at least a week.  If anyone in the home is on medication necessary for survival, they should never dip below a seven-day supply.

Sufficient Warm Clothing

People who live in extremely cold climates often say there is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing.  As soon as you realize the electricity has failed, have everyone dress in layers of warm materials. Cotton is the absolute worst choice possible because it breathes well and draws heat away from the body.  Man-made fibers such as polyester are good, as is wool.  Even if you live in an area that rarely experiences cold weather, every member of the family should have several warm layers to wear in case of emergency. Don't forget about hats, gloves, and scarves to hold in even more heat. 

Surviving a winter power outage is largely about dressing well, having an alternative source of heat, and stocking food and other household essentials in sufficient quantities to weather the storm. By considering your family's needs, educating yourself, and taking proper precautions, you can keep your family warm and safe until electrical service is restored.

In order to properly cut and split firewood, the first thing you need to make sure your properly dressed for the occasion.  Your wood-cutting uniform should always consist of a work boots, safety goggles, work gloves, a long-sleeved shirt, and long pants.  If you're using a chainsaw, you may want to add hearing protection and a face shield to your ensemble.  These articles of clothing will not only protect you from the hunks of wood that may fly about during the cutting process, but they will also safeguard you from the wear and tear that may come from handling your cutting implement for an extended period of time.

Once you're properly suited up, you'll want to prepare the wood for cutting.  The first step you'll want to take is to ensure the wood you're going to be splitting is free from branches and other protrusions.  Next, make sure the logs you will be creating during the cutting process are consistent in length.  You can do this by measuring the piece of wood, calculating how many logs you want to create from its length, and marking off these segments by notching a shallow groove into the log with a chainsaw.

From there, take your chainsaw to cut through the log at each groove.  However, you should not slice the log all the way through.  Rather, you will want to slice around three-quarters of the way through the wood, rotate the piece 180 degrees, and then finish the cut.  Doing this will prevent your saw blade from accidentally slice into the surface below the wood, which could potentially damage your implement.

After you have created your logs and are ready to split them into firewood, you will need to set up a sturdy chopping block in a debris-free area that features solid footing.  Ideally, your block will be a wooden surface that's about six inches off the ground.  You are also going to want to reach for a splitting maul.  This tool looks like an axe, but it's heavier and has a thicker, more wedge-shaped blade.  These differences give the device an extra measure of power that your average axe won't give you.  Once you have placed the log you want to chop securely near the center of the chopping block, examine the log for any hairline cracks on its surface.  If you spot one, you will want to make sure the blade runs in the same direction of the crack.  When you figured out where you want to strike the log, create a target for yourself by tapping a small indentation into the wood's surface.

When you get to this point, it's all about proper posture and technique.  Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart.  Grab the end of the splitting maul's handle with your less dominant hand by your hip and wrap your dominant hand around the top of the handle, just below the blade.  Lift the maul over your head, and then slide your dominant hand toward your less-dominant hand as you bring the tool back down to the wood.  This technique ensures that you'll bring the maul straight down through the center of the log.  It will also allow your wrists and gravity to do most of the work for you.

While it seems like a lot of steps to take in order to create some wood for your fireplace, the amount of frustration that you end up saving yourself from by cutting wood in this manner is its own reward.  Besides, it will give you the opportunity to show off to your friends that may not know the wood-cutting secrets that you possess.

How is it that a wood-burning device is actually the more environmentally sound heating option? After all, it does burn trees and release carbon. Let's look at the ways a wood stove is more environmentally friendly than its more modern counterparts.

In environmentalism, local is king. With a wood stove, you can obtain your heating materials locally, instead of from the grid. We all know of the environmental problems with grid energy: Grid energy is only about fifty percent efficient, losing half of its energy as it travels long distances on the wire. Throw in the fact that grid energy is fossil fuel dependant, and you have the least environmental way to heat your home.

If you can gather fuel locally from wood in your area, you won't contribute to the environmental problems of your power grid. You don't even have to topple forests to heat your home. You can collect wood that has already fallen. You can salvage small logs from neighborhood tree-trimmings. Without putting an ax to a tree, you can find enough wood to heat your home through the winter.

Some people hesitate over the environmental implications of removing even fallen wood from the forest, and they do have a fair point. This wood will rot on the forest floor, becoming mulch and nutrients important to the continuation of the ecosystem.

However, you can look at this dilemma another way. Let's consider forest ecology for a moment: When wood rots, it produces methane, a greenhouse gas that is twenty to thirty times more potent than carbon dioxide. When you burn wood, you only carbon dioxide. By burning some of the wood, you actually reduce methane emissions.

It's true that removing wood from natural forests does create problems. In regions of the world where people depend solely on wood for heating and cooking, the forests are rapidly receding.

We should be responsible and not over harvest from forests. Fortunately, we can get plenty of wood from more human-inhabited areas. Neighborhoods, parks, the edges of farms; these are all great places to gather wood from while not overburdening the wild environment.

Wood stoves also double as a stove or oven. That means you get twice the energy for the price of one. With the same amount of fuel, you can heat your home and cook your dinner. That's much more energy efficient than turning on the heat and firing up the oven.

When you work hard for something, you appreciate its value more. It takes a lot of work to collect the wood for your wood stove. That means you won't want to waste it. You also can't keep your wood stove running when you're out of the house.

Rather than using electricity to heat your home a wood stove is surely the most energy efficient and environmentally friendly way to go. This wonderful device can keep you warm and fed through the winter, all from local renewable material.

Burning wood is an economically feasible way to heat a home. According to statistics compiled by Purdue University, the purchase and installation of a catalytic wood burning stove pays for itself in reduced heating costs in three years, assuming a winter with temperatures that don't vary from the average. However, during particularly cold winters or extended periods of sub-zero temperatures, the ROI on a wood-burning stove is accelerated. Supplementing a central heating system with a wood-burning stove can reduce utility bills significantly and extend the life of fuels that must be prepaid and stored, such as liquid propane or fuel oil. A wood-burning stove can also eliminate the need to use central heat during late fall or early spring. Often, the daytime temperatures at these times brings the temperature of the home up to a comfortable level, and heat is only needed overnight. A wood fire easily takes the chill off.

A wood-burning stove is a dependable heat source during power outages. In those areas of the country that experience ice storms during winter or early spring, a wood-burning stove may be the only heat source that works. Modern gas, oil and propane furnaces come equipped with electronic pilot lights, and their blowers are driven by electricity.  Electric baseboard heat or underfloor heat is also reliant on a steady, consistent flow of power. During periods of widespread power outages, a wood-burning stove can generate enough heat to keep residents comfortable and prevent water lines from freezing and bursting.

Wood is a renewable form of fuel. With concerns over the supplies of fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas, wood is a carbon-based fuel that is regenerated annually. The farmer who maintains a woodlot thinks, plans and farms on a long-term basis; tree cultivation and harvest, if done correctly, provides an income for life. In addition, firewood sold in any area is likely to be locally sourced and sold by a local entrepreneur. Firewood purchases stimulate and support the local economy and generate revenue for small farmers during their off-season.

Finally, a wood stove has esthetic value. The new models are not only designed to burn efficiently, but also to match home styles and décor. Today's stoves offer construction that marries easily with traditional and modern home designs, and unlike their predecessors, come in colors other than black. In addition, a wood fire creates a comfortable and welcoming ambiance to any environment.

Wood burning stoves are most effective in homes that have an open floor plan. Ceiling fans and baffles help to circulate the heat throughout the house. A contractor that specializes in fireplace renovations can provide expert advice on purchasing and installing a wood stove.