It’s the coldest time of the year, your settling in for a long winter, and then a disaster strikes. How will you provide your family heating with no electricity? Just like Murphy’s law, some disasters always seem to know just when to strike. That’s how they inflict as much damage as possible.
A disaster striking your neighborhood is bad enough. Now imagine having it happen during the middle of a harsh winter. That’s just downright cruel. But what’s to say it won’t happen that way? There’s a very good chance it may. And that will leave you and your family stuck in the middle of a frigid cold spell with no heating.
The sad reality is that our modern way of life relies on the use of electricity more and more with each passing day. All of our modern conveniences run on power, from cell phones to stoves, to heating and entertainment. But what happens when electricity shuts off, as is very possible if a disaster was to strike?
It sometimes amuses me when I think about how clever we as a civilization think we are. We believe that our modern way of life is the best it has ever been, giving us a huge boost in knowledge and technology.
But the problem is that all that knowledge is virtually impossible to access without power. Whilst your cell may hold the secrets of the universe, there’s no accessing any of it without a charged battery.
That’s why it’s so important for us to remind ourselves of some of the ways of our ancestors. They survived this land for hundreds, if not thousands, of years without modern technology. It’s the first item on the below list that shares a little with them, a great way to create heating with no electricity.
Best Ways to Create Heating with no Electricity
Option #1: Open Fireplace
It wasn’t that long ago that the fireplace was the center of the home. It gave the residents heat, as well as cooking facilities. They had somewhere to sit around and discuss the day’s activities and more. Without an open fireplace, many homes end up cold, hungry, and in the dark.
Should a disaster strike and you already have an open fireplace in your home. Then you have all the workings of a kitchen and heater you will need. The heat put out by an open fireplace is enormous when it really gets going, perfect for those chilly winter nights.
The only downside to an open fireplace is the reliance on fuel. With no woods nearby, or you live in an area scarce of timber, you may find yourself with very little fuel.
When you do have other things to burn besides trees, like broken furniture and things, be sure to take toxic fumes into consideration. If you burn timber treated with toxic paints etc, the fumes may leak into your home, which could have serious repercussions.
If you find that you might need to buy timber, go for hardwood if you can. Yes, it is more expensive than softer timbers, but they burn for far longer and generate a lot more heat as well. This more than makes up the difference in price.
Option #2: Wood Burning Stoves
These beauties are appealing for anyone that doesn’t have an inbuilt fireplace. Wood burning stoves are normally made from cast iron, essentially turning them into a giant hot-box. They double up as stoves, their tops usually flat, which makes them suitable to hold saucepans and frying pans.
The great thing about wood burning stoves is that you fit them into any room, their chimneys simply built through ceilings. This makes them extremely feasible for those who don’t have a fireplace, perfect for heating with no electricity.
But as per the open fireplace, take heed to understand the timber situation. If you burn things other than normal timber, take care of any fumes which may be toxic.
Option #3: Kerosene Heaters
Despite a little odor to their burn, kerosene heaters make great burners when used correctly. The heat output is quite decent and the heat is generated from all sides, making them very efficient. The downside is that they need kerosene and you’ll need a substantial stockpile if you consider this a viable heating solution.
Option #4: Propane Heater
Just like the kerosene heater, propane heaters run on fuel that needs to be kept in sufficient quantity to be a viable solution. They burn clean and produce a decent amount of heat, but given that they only last as long as the tanks have some, you may need to add another solution with this.
Option #5: Hand-held Hand Warmers
So, this isn’t exactly an all-winter kind of solution, but they do come in handy if caught short. These hand-warmers come in substantial numbers if ordered in bulk and store well. If you find that the other solutions are running short, this would be great for a quick fix to get through a particularly nasty chill.
