Preparing for a Winter Power Failure

In today’s world, we take power for granted. Although we use it to cook our food, heat and light our homes, we tend to forget it’s even there.

However, you should remember that it is possible for power to go down. In fact, it might go down during the worst of times. There’s nothing worse than being caught unprepared during a winter power failure.

Without proper preparation, a winter power failure can actually be dangerous. Here are some tips to help you prepare:

1) Get a generator – this is probably the best thing you can do in order to prepare for a winter power failure. Make sure that you have enough fuel to keep the generator going until the power’s back up. You should also take care to maintain the generator properly –the winter cold can be murder to a lot of pieces of equipment. Check the various belts to make sure that the cold does not destroy the rubber. Better yet, consult an expert to make sure that you get a generator that can work in extremely cold conditions.

2) Newspapers – Newspapers under your clothes are great for trapping heat for your body’s use. In case you end up having to spend the night without heat, a couple of sheets of newspaper under your clothes should serve to keep you warm.

3) Wood – if you can’t have heat brought by new technology, you should revert to old-school fire. Light up the fireplace and enjoy the toasty warmth. Make sure that you have plenty of wood and you won’t just have heat; you’ll also have a flame to use for cooking.

4) Insulate – make sure that your home is insulated against the cold. Cover the cracks in the bottom of doors and don’t leave any windows open. This will help you trap heat inside the house and drive the cold away.

5) Prepare a common sleeping area – during a winter power failure, a family should sleep in a common area. This will also help keep you warm. Make sure that you have plenty of blankets and beddings in order to ensure your comfort.