Depending on what time of year you experience a natural disaster, planning for heating and cooling can literally save lives and at the least can help limit discomfort. For heating, if having a generator is not an option, make sure to at least have lots of extra blankets, and perhaps some sort of wood-burning stove or fireplace to use for extra warmth. Plan to sleep in a central area of the home, bundled close together for added body heat. For cooling, it is a good idea to have multiple hand fans in your home. Also consider what type of clothing may be best for reducing heat. Research the direction of prevailing winds in your area so you can open the correct windows in your home to get drafts flowing. You can also cover windows with dark blankets to minimize the sun heat.

Featured Posts on this Topic

Coffee Can Heater
Tutorial with instructions on how to make a portable heater out of a coffee can. Useful for small amounts of heat.

Emergency Heat Sources
Print out this handy list of ideas for how to squeeze a little extra heat out of some unusual sources.

More coming soon
 

  • Dan R

    For my winter needs I keep a portable propane heater handy. I bought a Mr. Heater for 75.00 and keep 6 canisters on standby. each can lasts about 6 hours on low. Also has a built in low oxygen sensor. Also remember, a car can also be a generator, My ford truck will go for 3 days on idle with a full tank, My Civic will do 3 times that on half the gas. Pick up a 300 watt inverter at you local hardware store for under 50 bucks and plug in the fans. They won’t run a heater, but 2 box fans and a couple CFL’s will lost a long time.  Make sure you check you cars temp regularly. It only needs to run when the battery is needs a charge. 

  • Dougc

    Dark blankets?  Huh?  Wouldn’t that absorb and store more heat?  Maybe a mylar reflective blanket in the window would be a better choice?

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  • MrsRock

    I ordered 3 small battery operated fans that run on 2 D batteries & am surprised at the air they put out–even on low. There is a larger fan but they used 6 D batteries at once–seems kinda expensive. I am in process of stocking up on D batteries–they can be used in my LED lantern and many of my flashlights. Seems like a good investment to me.

     I would take some time and learn a bit about therapeutic essential oils and making a cooling body spray.

    I could see a spritz or 2 of a peppermint mix and a small fan to be very helpful in keeping cool during a power outage in the summer. Just make sure you do not spray in eyes or if you are allergic.

  • Harmonylds

    I would love to hear more about cooling. I live in Phx, where it has been record highs this past week.A home’s temperature will get into the 90s after only a couple of hours with no AC. A lady here lost her AC a few weeks ago and refused to “inconvenience” her neighbor, who had offered to let her stay at her home until it could be fixed. She was dead the next morning. It got me thinking, what would we do if there was a mass power outage here in the summer and we had no AC for 2 or 3 days? What would we do? What do you recommend?

    • http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net Jodi – Food Storage Made Easy

      We’ll ask on our facebook page for reader tips. We haven’t had to deal with this a lot so we’re not experts on the subject. If you’re not on our facebook page let us know and we’ll email you the answers.

  • Teresa

    I met a very sweet, elderly Native American man several years back during the middle of a heat wave.  He said that what they used to do on the reservation was to soak lightweight cotton quilts in water, wring them out and hang them across open windows and doors.  The breeze coming through the damp cotton would chill the air and the cross breeze kept it very comfortable.  You have to spray or re-soak the cotton as it dries out to keep it damp.  I tried it in my bedroom but the walls with my window and patio doors are right next to each other, so there wasn’t much of a cross breeze.  Battery-powered fans are a great idea.  I think I’m going to have to get me some, too.  And I really need to try this on a larger scale one of these days to see if it really works.

  • Lyndasusan

    Wish there were more suggestions on keeping cool. I have asthma and heat really affects me. Thanks so much

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  • Wehave5boys

    I just saw battery powered fans and bed bath n beyond, going to get one this week

  • Iampevolts

    Here’s an idea for a blanket that would keep you warm. If you know how to sew you can buy a space blanket for around three dollars. They are made from light weight foil like a chip bag. Open up the space blanket and sew it between two regular blankets. These space blankets are small enough to fit into your back pocket so don’t let the size fool you. I’ve used them in the Rocky Mountains in a snow storm while deer hunting and they really work well. Keep one in your glove box if you live in a cold area. It could be used to catch rain or keep you dry. Good luck!

  • CoffeeHeidi

    We keep blankets over drafty doors and windows during the winter. Either make your own out of pretty fleece (we used 2 layers) or other material or simply use store bought blankets. I attached Velcro-sewn-onto-fabric tabs to the tops of ours. We hung a curtain rod a few inches above our door frame and attached the blanket/quilt to it. When we need to leave the house, we simply scoot the blanket to the side. The living room of our 85+ year old home was absolutely freezing, even with the heat on, until we did this.

  • Terry Menger

    I would definitely love to hear more about the heating and cooling issues we could confront and how to deal with them. It’s a topic seldom covered anywhere. Thanks for the cool site and the great information you make available to all of us. Jodi and Julie…you girls ROCK!