Most homes depend on electricity for warmth but without it there is a danger of hypothermia. When I build debris shelters in the woods one of the main design elements is to limit the area that needs to be heated and to provide insulation from below. One popular suggestion to apply this technique to a home situation is to put a small tent on top of a bed to capture body and breathing heat.

A self standing one or two man tent is a logical choice to mount on top of a bed dependent on the mattress size. In that I did not have one of those types of tents I used my improvised “X frame” poncho tent as a substitute to illustrate this concept. In fact, a suspended rope with a tarp draped over the top could be used instead of a tent or in addition to it.

The whole point of putting a tent on a bed is to capture the limited sources of heat and to insulate yourself from the surrounding lower temperatures. Alternately, a nested double tent could be used in the living room with padding on the floor. Care should be taken to not use flammable or carbon monoxide producing supplemental heat inside these tents but hot water bottles could be brought inside or perhaps your four-legged furry pets.

LIGHT – Most folks keep flashlights for various needs but it’s important to make sure that the batteries are fresh. Most smart phones have a flashlight app that works quite well. I buy prayer candles at a dollar store that provide long term light and a feeling of hope in darkness. You can make slush lamps using small cans with vegetable oil and a wick.

HEAT – The first line of keeping warm is layered clothing and blankets. Conserving body heat is primary. You can make a room heater by placing a roll of toilet paper in a tin can and pouring isopropl alcohol (denatured is better) into the roll and place it on an open oven door to isolate it and light it. A personal heater is quite effective when using a lit tea candle at the bottom of a tin can that is placed between your feet where you are seated and wear a poncho or wrap a blanket around your neck and cover your knees like a tent to capture the heat.

WATER – In an urban setting city water will most likely be available vs. well pumps in rural areas that need electrical power to operate. It’s a good idea to keep bottled water on hand. A house’s plumbing system is actually a reservoir of water and can be accessed at the lowest valve and used sparingly. A water heater is also a reservoir that has a drain valve at it’s base. If you use this source, be sure to turn off your circuit breaker first to avoid burning out your heating elements for when the power is restored. If you have a creek or other natural water source it can be filtered or boiled. Snow can be melted.

FOOD – Food that is stored in a refrigerator or freezer in the short term should have limited access to keep the cold in and heat out. If you have snow you can simply fill a plastic bin or cooler with snow and pack the food items in it. Cold water can also serve the same function. It’s best to keep food stuffs on hand in a pantry that are either canned or dry like beans or noodles.

COOKING – A gas grill is an easy way to cook or boil water. Charcoal grills can be used in the same way. On a smaller scale a chimney charcoal starter can be used with a baking rack to cook on. There are various types of camp stoves from gas canisters to wood gasifiers. A rocket stove can be made from concrete blocks. Then there’s always a classic campfire using grills or pots. It is also possible to make and use an alcohol burner.

COMMUNICATION POWER – Some land-line phone services carry their own independent power but cable service phones do not work when the power goes out. It seems that the majority of phones in use today are cell phones that can access transmission towers that are independently powered or outside of an outage area. However, cell phones run on a battery that eventually will need recharging. They are usually charged using a USB cable that can use various power sources. I recently used my laptop computer to charge our cell phones. A vehicle usually has either built-in USB ports or 12V adapters. A 12V to AC converter can charge laptops or other electronic devices. I have a hand crank charger that works on my phone. A 9V battery can be used in conjunction with a 12V USB adapter by placing the adapter’s tip on the positive terminal and using a paper clip to touch the battery’s negative terminal to the side terminal on the adapter.

These are just some of the things that I have experienced during an occasional Winter power outage but for some folks this is an annual event. I would welcome comments on other tips that can be helpful during their Winter power outage.

Unsalted / Salted

On one such occasion there was a mystery death at a home spa where many candles had been lit all around and were still burning but nearly out. There were traces of salt around which seemed out of place and mysterious at the time. The “six hour” candles established a timeline that gave everyone an alibi but the Chief Detective put “two and two together” and realized that the salt had been added to the candles to make them burn longer, thus altering the timeline of the suspects testimonies.

So, what does this have to do with survival skills? I was intrigued by the concept that the duration of burning candles could be altered and extended. In a power outage scenario such as one our community experienced recently, a candle could provide light longer or be used as an ignition source for other purposes, similar to keeping a live coal on hand.

I decided to try this out for myself. I took two tea candles and poured some salt on one, covering the top surface. I quickly discovered that the salted candle wouldn’t lite. The wick burned down and extinguished. It occurred to me that there needed to be enough wax exposed to allow the lit wick to melt enough wax to sustain the flame so I cleared the area around the wick and relit it. Although the candle remained lit it was obvious that the flames of the two candles were different. The salted candle’s flame was suppressed and smaller, thus consuming the wax fuel at a slower rate.

The effective light comes from the unaltered candle but depending upon your circumstances longevity might be a priority so it’s nice to know about this little technique that gives you an option when needed.