How To Be Prepared For A Power Outage
Power failures can occur at any time, especially during in-climate weather. It is important to be prepared to make sure that you and your family make it through the power failure safely, especially if it happens during a blizzard. Power failures caused by blizzards and ice storms can sometimes last for several days, so you will want to make sure that you have your house stocked and are prepared for such an event. Follow these steps to get prepared:
1. Collect all emergency supplies in a place where you will be able to find them in the dark. It is wise to keep candles, lighters, matches, and flashlights in an easily accessible location. Make sure to always have extra batteries, a battery-operated radio, canned food, and a manual can opener. There are also severe weather radio/flashlights that are designed with a crank that recharges the batteries. Some of these radios even have a cell phone charger. These severe weather radios range in price from $15 to $50 and are invaluable in a situation where it takes several days before the power is restored.
2. Know where the fuse box or circuit breaker is located in your home. You will also want to be familiar with how to reset a circuit or replace a blown fuse. This is for situations where the power is only out in your home.
3. Learn how to manually open a garage door that has an electric garage door opener. Typically, there is a latch that hooks the garage door to the carriage assembly of the door opener. There is normally a release cord attached to the latch to disconnect the garage door from the electric door opener. Simply pull the cord and manually push the door open or closed.
4. If you believe that a power outage is likely to occur, turn your refrigerator and freezer to the coldest settings, then try to avoid opening them as much as possible. This will help to ensure that the food inside stays as cold as possible, for as long as possible.
5. It is a good idea to use a surge protector to protect sensitive electronic equipment, like computers, TVs, and other audio/video equipment. A surge protector can prevent a sudden energy surge from causing any damage to your electronics.
6. In case you lose heat during a power outage, it is wise to use cardboard or blankets to cover windows, and add an extra layer between the cold breeze of outside and the people inside the house.
7. Find the warmest room in your home, preferably ahead of time. That is the location that your family should gather in order to keep warm. Burning a fire in a wood-burning fireplace or natural gas fireplace (if you can turn it on) is a perfectly fine way to heat a home that does not have any heat. If your home does not have a fireplace, you can use a gas-powered generator outside and run extension cords into the house to use with space heaters to provide a heat source. You do not want to run a gas-powered generator in the house or in a closed garage, as the carbon monoxide can build up and cause carbon monoxide poisoning. It is also important that you do not try to heat your home with a gas oven, as this can also cause a build up of carbon monoxide and lead to possible carbon monoxide poisoning.
8. If your neighbors have power, you can ask if you can run an extension cord from their house to yours. Of course, you want to be courteous and only use the power to charge appliances that are absolutely necessary, like a cell phone. You do not want to overload your neighbor's circuit breaker.
9. It is smart to leave one light switch turned on. That way, you will be able to tell when the power gets turned back on.
10. Lastly, turn down your thermostat and turn the circuit breaker for the hot water heater off. This will help to reduce the energy demand once the power gets turned back on, and prevent a system overload that could cause the power to go off again.
1. Collect all emergency supplies in a place where you will be able to find them in the dark. It is wise to keep candles, lighters, matches, and flashlights in an easily accessible location. Make sure to always have extra batteries, a battery-operated radio, canned food, and a manual can opener. There are also severe weather radio/flashlights that are designed with a crank that recharges the batteries. Some of these radios even have a cell phone charger. These severe weather radios range in price from $15 to $50 and are invaluable in a situation where it takes several days before the power is restored.
2. Know where the fuse box or circuit breaker is located in your home. You will also want to be familiar with how to reset a circuit or replace a blown fuse. This is for situations where the power is only out in your home.
3. Learn how to manually open a garage door that has an electric garage door opener. Typically, there is a latch that hooks the garage door to the carriage assembly of the door opener. There is normally a release cord attached to the latch to disconnect the garage door from the electric door opener. Simply pull the cord and manually push the door open or closed.
4. If you believe that a power outage is likely to occur, turn your refrigerator and freezer to the coldest settings, then try to avoid opening them as much as possible. This will help to ensure that the food inside stays as cold as possible, for as long as possible.
5. It is a good idea to use a surge protector to protect sensitive electronic equipment, like computers, TVs, and other audio/video equipment. A surge protector can prevent a sudden energy surge from causing any damage to your electronics.
6. In case you lose heat during a power outage, it is wise to use cardboard or blankets to cover windows, and add an extra layer between the cold breeze of outside and the people inside the house.
7. Find the warmest room in your home, preferably ahead of time. That is the location that your family should gather in order to keep warm. Burning a fire in a wood-burning fireplace or natural gas fireplace (if you can turn it on) is a perfectly fine way to heat a home that does not have any heat. If your home does not have a fireplace, you can use a gas-powered generator outside and run extension cords into the house to use with space heaters to provide a heat source. You do not want to run a gas-powered generator in the house or in a closed garage, as the carbon monoxide can build up and cause carbon monoxide poisoning. It is also important that you do not try to heat your home with a gas oven, as this can also cause a build up of carbon monoxide and lead to possible carbon monoxide poisoning.
8. If your neighbors have power, you can ask if you can run an extension cord from their house to yours. Of course, you want to be courteous and only use the power to charge appliances that are absolutely necessary, like a cell phone. You do not want to overload your neighbor's circuit breaker.
9. It is smart to leave one light switch turned on. That way, you will be able to tell when the power gets turned back on.
10. Lastly, turn down your thermostat and turn the circuit breaker for the hot water heater off. This will help to reduce the energy demand once the power gets turned back on, and prevent a system overload that could cause the power to go off again.