Every year weather warnings go out and people panic. They scramble to the grocery stores to clear the shelves of bread, milk, and batteries. It always looks a bit like a bad apocalypse movie, though I’ve never understood why people wait until a storm is imminent to start thinking about what they need to be comfortable during a possible power outage.
Granted, the power outages are nothing like they were 30 years ago when there was very little available that homeowners could afford. Back then we relied on firewood and those families that didn’t have a fireplace moved in with the neighbors during the weather emergency.
While I remember those times fondly, I don’t know my neighbors well enough to really want to spend several days locked in a single room trying to stay warm with them. Thankfully most of our power lines are underground now so we rarely lose our power, but we’re still ready should it happen.
Weather Emergency: Staying Warm
Several years ago we purchased a generator (READ: Power Outage Safety and Supplies – Be Ready!). We’d had several years with multiple outages so we thought it was time to finally invest in one. As luck would have it, I think we’ve had two outages since we purchased it. Still, it was a lifesaver during those events in keeping our freezer from thawing and allowing us to have lights. The one area we were still behind the times on was how we kept warm. We continued to use firewood which isn’t the most efficient way to stay warm and in severe cold, the inversion layer of clouds often forces the smoke back down into our house. Plus someone has to keep the fire going all night carrying wood in from outside which lets in the cold air we’re trying to keep out. We had a few small portable heaters, but none were powerful enough to heat the room.
To update our heating option during emergencies we’ve added a Holmes® Smart Console Heater to our cold weather emergency kit. It can heat a large room and because it can be run in high, low, and eco mode, it won’t likely break the circuit on the generator.
It’s also useful every day (read: Heating Our Empty Nest: Holmes Smart Console Heater with WeMo), so it’s not a piece of equipment that’s packed away in the garage until we need it. On the contrary, it’s something we use every day that we’ll be able to take advantage of the next time Mother Nature decides to show her might by taking out the power. The Holmes Smart Console Heater has several safety features to be sure it doesn’t overheat and in addition to the high/low/eco heat settings, it has a timer so we can set it to shut off up to 8 hours later. It’s large and stable so we don’t have to worry about it tipping over and it has led controls so we know we’ll have a minimum amount of light available so we don’t have to worry about tripping over it. I’m pretty happy to know that next time an emergency comes up, we’ll be warm and cozy without having to worry about starting a fire and keeping it fed. Now I just have to get more comfortable about starting the generator myself.
Have you prepared for weather emergencies? Would a Holmes Smart Console Heater work for you too?
It’s so important to be prepared. We live in Southern California. Thankful that we don’t have these weather emergencies. I grew up in the Midwest and know the weather woes all too well.
Well you do have those pesky earthquakes 🙂
I need something like this. I have a generator for if the power goes out. But since we have oil heat, that certainly won’t help with heating the house.
I think it’s very important to be prepared always instead of waiting for the bad weather before we think about it. Its not too bad in the UK weather wise but we are prepared with the essentials
WOW, I totally need this. It is so cold right now in Canaada but, this would be great to have for emergency.
Its been so cold here! Freezing. I need to invest in another heater!
We’ve been fortunate enough to have never run into this situation. Hopefully it never does happen, but we’re pretty prepared for it.
We have a backup generator just in case but we also have a fireplace that we can use if need be.
It’s really cold where I love, a heater is amazing and needed to stay warm; the weather has been crazy this year!
Buying this! Need a new one since we’ve been using the same one for years!!!
I used to live up north and it was so hard to keep warm sometimes. That heater would have been so useful.
I can’t say that we are perfectly prepared but I think we would be o.k. My hubby has things organized pretty well. Good post. Thank you for sharing.
I would love to have a heater like that. Looks like a very nice one! I normally just keep warm but bundling up and wearing warm clothing.
I love a little heater in my room or near my desk when i am blogging. I don’t need to heat the whole house when i am alone. Just my little corner of it.
Those are great tips! For us, if we lose power, we lose heat, so I always have lots of blankets on hand in case we need to bundle up.
I am terrified about generators, but this unit looks awesome. We lost power during Hurricane Sandy for 4 days and it was a total nightmare!!!! This would have really helped to keep us warm.
I live in Texas, so fortunately it’s pretty easy for me to stay warm during our nonexistent winters 😉 I can’t imagine what it would be like to live somewhere that actually snowed for days (or months!) at a time!
We always try to stay prepared for weather emergencies. We have an emergency box in our car and in our closet at home.
Love your tips, will share them with my friends!
I love that your heater can run on eco mode! I also would love to have a generator. It looks like you have a great plan.
I live in California where we don’t have to worry so much about the cold. but It would be smart of us to pick up a generator for power loss since we do have earth quakes. We have lost power before but only for a few minutes to hours never for days at a time. Still with the “Big One’ looming it is a smart investment.
The main thing I have to prepare for in the winter is making sure I have long pants. I live in Florida. =D BUT I have a few friends who aren’t as luck as I am, and I’ll be letting them know about this.
That heater looks really awesome…we live in Texas and don’t really have a great need for this…but I always wonder what I’d do in this situation.
Great post. These are the best tips to stay warm. Very helpful and informative.
I should look into buying something like this! Thanks for the info!
Sadly, we aren’t prepared like we should be! We will work on that!
Thanks for the info on this heater. I live in Minnesota so staying warm is key!
Knock on wood power outages rarely occur where I am-my apartment usually stays with electricity. Heat is another story–For now I huddle under my quilt and let my own body heat keep me from freezing! I am definitely going to have to look into getting one of these–maybe a smaller one.
We are actually not prepared for bad weather like that. I have to look into a heater like that.
We have oil heat and the prices are low right now, so we just filled up.