Keep Your Lexington Home Warm during a Power Outage

Do you know how to keep your home warm if the power goes out this winter? Winter power outages pose a challenge when it comes to keeping a Lexington home at safe temperatures – if outages are caused by storms, it may not be possible to travel to a warm location.

Should a winter power outage knock out your heating system, follow these tips to stay warm.

Keep heat inside the home

If your furnace or heating system was running prior to the outage, your home is likely at a decent temperature. Work on retaining that heat for as long as possible.

• Shut all windows and exterior doors tightly. Use draft blockers around doors and pull curtains tight around windows to seal in heat.
• If you need to go outside, use doorways that lead to a protected area, such as a garage or covered porch, to prevent substantial heat loss.
• Gather your family in a central location, and close all interior doors leading to unused areas. Focus on keeping heat in the area your family will stay throughout the power outage.

Adding heat safely

Should you need to add heat to the home, do so wisely and safely.

• Do you have a wood-burning stove or fireplace? If so, make sure it is properly vented, chimney flue open, before lighting a fire. If you have plenty of wood, keep the fire going constantly. If you are running out of wood, burn a fire and wait as long as it’s comfortable before starting another – allow temperatures to fall indoors significantly between fires to reserve your fuel.
• If you’ll use a portable gas heater, ensure there is ventilation to the outdoors before using. Keep the heater away from kids and pets who could knock it over. In case of emergency, have a fire extinguisher ready nearby. Turn the heater off before going to sleep, as portable gas heaters should never be used without constant monitoring.

Retaining heat in the home is also beneficial if your furnace or heating system breaks down. Use the tips above to keep your home warmer while you call for emergency heating repair from Climate Control.