On the Western Slope, anytime during the year a storm can bring electric lines down. A summer outage can be difficult, but winter storms bring subfreezing temperatures with them that can chill your home rapidly. And at high altitudes, “winter” can strike most months of the year. Preparing your home for an outage is your best defense against the possible hazards that occur when the lights go out:
- Keep enough batteries on hand for your flashlights and be sure everyone knows where both the flashlights and the spare batteries are.
- Investigate an alternative way to heat a small space in your home if you don’t have a wood stove or fireplace. Tent or battery heaters can warm a room to ward off hypothermia. Make sure any fuel-burning heater is properly vented.
- Seal the air leaks in your home and add insulation if yours is lacking. Caulk, expandable foam and weatherstripping work well for doors and windows. Adding batt or blown-in insulation to your attic reduces the transference of heat through your roof. Besides maintaining the indoor temperature longer, it’ll cost less to heat and cool your home, with or without power.
- Keep shelf-ready food in your pantry. You’ll stay warmer in the winter by eating more and drinking warm beverages. Backpacking stoves are useful in a power outage for heating food and drinks, and they’ll allow you to stay inside where it’s warmer. Never bring a barbecue inside to heat food or drinks. They emit substantial amounts of carbon monoxide and can be a fire hazard.
- Learn how to manage the systems in your home. If you have an electric garage door, find out how to disable it so you can open the door manually. Knowing how to shut your water off and drain the pipes in the winter prevents frozen and burst pipes during a long power outage in subfreezing temperatures. Show everyone in your home how to turn off sensitive electronics in the home, such as your heating and cooling equipment. When it comes back on, the power may surge, damaging components.
Climate Control Company serves Western Colorado and can inform you how to improve the efficiency of your home’s heating and cooling systems. Our company uses NATE-certified technicians committed to your year-round comfort.
Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about power outages and other HVAC topics, please visit our website.
Climate Control Company services Aspen, Vail and the surrounding Western slope communities in Colorado.
