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How to Stay Warm Without Power: Safe Ways to Heat Your Home
To stay warm without power, gather everyone in one room, close off the rest of the house, block drafts, dress in layers, and use only safe heat sources. Never heat your home with a gas oven or stove, and never bring a grill, camp stove, or generator indoors: the CDC warns these can cause deadly carbon monoxide poisoning. If your home gets dangerously cold, go to a warming center or a friend's house. A temperature below 95°F is a medical emergency, per the CDC.
How to keep warm in a power outage
- Pick one room. Choose a small interior room with few windows. The National Weather Service advises closing off unneeded rooms, stuffing towels or rags under doors, and covering windows at night.
- Layer up. Wear several layers of lightweight, warm clothing rather than one heavy jacket, and add a hat. The NWS says mittens keep hands warmer than gloves.
- Use blankets and sleeping bags. The CDC lists extra blankets, sleeping bags, and warm winter coats as the first line of heat.
- Eat and drink. Warm drinks help, but the CDC says not to give alcohol to someone who is cold.
- Know when to leave. Ready.gov says to go to a community location with power if the cold is extreme, and to check with local officials for warming centers.
Heat sources that are safe, and ones that are not
| Safe with care | Never use indoors for heat |
|---|---|
| A fireplace or wood stove that is up to code, with dry firewood | Gas oven or stovetop |
| A gas log fireplace | Charcoal grill or hibachi |
| Portable space heaters, following the maker's instructions | Camp stove or portable gas stove |
| Kerosene heaters, where your fire department says they are legal | Generator, even in a garage with the door open |
| Your furnace, powered by a generator or battery through a transfer switch | Flameless chemical heaters (CDC says not indoors) |
Sources: CDC power outage and carbon monoxide guidance; Ready.gov Winter Weather.
Space heater safety
The CPSC says portable heaters are involved in an average of 1,600 fires a year, causing about 70 deaths. The NFPA says space heaters and heating stoves cause about 30% of home heating fires but 73% of the deaths. Follow the CPSC's rules:
- Keep heaters at least 3 feet from drapes, furniture, bedding, and anything that burns.
- Plug electric heaters directly into a wall outlet, never an extension cord or power strip.
- Turn heaters off when you sleep or leave the room.
- Never refuel a fuel-burning heater while it is running.
Install battery-backed CO alarms on every level of your home and near sleeping areas whenever you use any fuel-burning heat.
Keep your furnace running
Most gas and oil furnaces still need electricity for the blower and controls, so they stop when the power goes out. A small generator or battery can bring them back:
- Furnace power needs. Honda lists a 1/2 HP furnace fan at 875 running and 2,350 starting watts. See How Many Watts Does a Furnace Use?
- Single-circuit switch. The Reliance TF151W furnace transfer switch ($109.99) lets you run a furnace from a generator or other backup source with a standard grounded extension cord.
- Generator. The DuroMax XP5500HX (5,500 starting / 4,500 running watts, CO alert, $629) runs the furnace plus a fridge and lights. Run it outdoors, at least 20 feet from the house.
- Battery. The Jackery HomePower 3000 (3,600 W, 7,200 W surge, 3,072 Wh, from $1,499) can run a furnace blower indoors with no exhaust. At 875 watts it would last about 3.2 hours of blower run time; in real use the blower cycles, which stretches that.
Pellet stoves need power too: see How Many Watts Does a Pellet Stove Use?
Low-power ways to stay warm
An electric blanket uses a fraction of a space heater's power. Sunbeam rates its blankets at about 100 watts, so the Jackery Explorer 1000 v2 (1,070 Wh, from $559) runs one for about 9.6 hours at full power, and longer as it cycles. See How Many Watts Does an Electric Blanket Use? A 1,500 W space heater, by contrast, would drain the same station in under an hour.
Keep pipes from freezing
- Let cold water drip from faucets. The Red Cross says running water, even at a trickle, helps prevent freezing.
- Open kitchen and bathroom cabinet doors so warm air reaches the plumbing.
- Keep garage doors closed if water lines run through the garage.
- If a pipe freezes, never thaw it with a torch or open flame. The Red Cross suggests a hair dryer, heating pad, or towels soaked in hot water.
Know the signs of hypothermia
The CDC lists shivering, exhaustion, confusion, fumbling hands, memory loss, slurred speech, and drowsiness in adults, and bright red, cold skin and very low energy in babies. If body temperature is below 95°F, get medical help right away. Hypothermia can happen even above 40°F if someone is wet or chilled.
Prepare before the next storm with our power outage checklist.
Need help with backup heat? Call 1-888-855-7286. Tell us your furnace type and what else you need to run, and we will match you to a generator or battery.
Staying warm without power FAQ
How do I heat my house without power? A code-compliant fireplace or wood stove, a space heater on a generator or battery, or your furnace through a transfer switch. Never a gas oven, grill, or camp stove.
How can I stay warm without electricity? One room, closed doors, towels under doors, covered windows, layers, blankets, and sleeping bags.
Can I use my gas oven for heat? No. The CDC and Ready.gov warn it can cause carbon monoxide poisoning.
Will my gas furnace work without power? Most need electricity for the blower and controls. A generator or battery with a transfer switch can run them.
How cold is too cold inside? Watch people, not the thermostat. The CDC says hypothermia can occur above 40°F, and a body temperature below 95°F is an emergency.