I keep my eye open for candles at garage sales, just for this purpose. Making survival candles is an easy project that can be done in an afternoon. While there’s nothing wrong with using tactical flashlights, we need something else for low-level lighting, saving the flashlights and batteries for when they’re needed. While most of us are accustomed to depending on flashlights for emergency lighting, batteries only last so long, especially in the modern tactical flashlights. But that doesn’t mean that we don’t need to be concerned about it. Related: Never Throw Away Your Wood Ash! Do This Instead Making Survival CandlesĬompared to heating, lighting uses much less electricity. If the stove is close to the wall, then tile or some other fireproof material should be mounted on the wall as well. Once such a location is found, a fireproof pad needs to be installed for the wood-burning stove to sit on. Chimneys passing through the enclosed spaces and attics need to be triple-walled, so as to prevent the risk of fire. This isn’t too bad in a one-story home, but can be extremely difficult in a two-story one, as the chimney would then have to pass through an upstairs room.įinding someplace to do that can be very difficult. There are two main issues in installing any wood-burning stove:
Installing a wood-burning stove is a better solution than a fireplace, both because it is easier to install and because it provides more heat per lo burned. Throughout history, mankind has heated our homes with wood, as it is about the only form of fuel that we can harvest from nature ourselves, with little special equipment. The most practical solution for heating without electricity is wood. Yet when the power goes out, our home heating systems are unable to function, even if we’re heating with natural gas. Of all the electrical power used in the home, heating is the largest, with some families heating accounting for as much as 42% of the energy they use. One of the biggest problems facing us if the power goes out is heating our homes.
Related: How to Tell in 5 Minutes If It’s a Power Outage or an EMP and Get a Massive Head Start Installing a Wood-Burning Stove Taking the time to do some preparation can make all the difference in the world. How much of a problem those cause for us is another thing altogether and depends largely on how ready we are for it when it happens. The truth is, any of us can be hit with a power outage at any time, even without an obvious cause.
The truth is, we had problems with blackouts before green energy even became a thing and we will continue to have problems with them, as long as mother nature is uncooperative. Nor can problems associated with drastic weather events be blamed on green energy. There are other factors involved, such as there being no incentives for electric companies to have emergency power in place, should something happen to one of their power plants. Should even one thing go wrong, chances for a blackout are high.Įven so, it’s not fair to lay all of the problem at the feet of green energy. This leaves little extra generating capacity for those times when it is needed. State public utility commissions are forced to treat these unreliable electrical sources as if they are reliable, all the while knowing that they are not. Part of this problem can rightly be placed at the feet of those who are pushing for a higher percentage of “green energy,” specifically wind and solar power, which are not reliable. We saw the same thing in California last summer, when the local electric company had to use rolling blackouts to help avoid causing forest fires.īoth states public utility commissions have already announced that they are looking at the probability of rolling blackouts again this summer, because utilities are unsure of their ability to produce enough power to meet everyone’s needs. We saw a very real example of this in February, when unexpectedly cold temperatures caused blackouts in Texas. Much of the system is old and can’t handle the strain. Not only is there the potential for a major disaster, such as an EMP, but we are also faced with the fact that our electric infrastructure just isn’t up to the task.
If anything, that risk is greater today than it has ever been.
The risk of losing power is one that we face every day.