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Un-wall the fireplace and install a gas log with a glass door, running on natural gas. It will be as cheap as anything, and will put out enough heat to take the chill off.
If you really want cheap, get a couple 20 lb. propane tanks and a catalytic heater.
A lot of furnaces are gas, but have an electric ignition. I know I had that sort of furnace and also a gas stove and oven. When the power went out, I could use a match and get the stove and oven going, but there wasn't any way for me to get the furnace going. Safely, that is.
I'd get one of those power packs, and electric blankets. You could also power a space heater set on low and just use curtains, etc., to just close off a small room to keep warm.
It would easily power a heating blanket, and you could use it to heat up other small appliances, like coffee grinders, etc., as well as start your vehicle if needed.
I used to live in the boonies in the mountains in WA where it froze and always had several different options as far as power/heat went. It's actually not that hard to do.
Right now, I occasionally am without power when the weather goes bad here, but I keep a can of Sterno around so I can make coffee, etc.
You could also invest in a few space survival blankets, which look basically like aluminum foil. I have a couple of those in my emergency pack. I live in a tsunami zone, so I have a backpack packed with space blankets, etc., in case of emergency.
I'd get one of those power packs, and electric blankets. You could also power a space heater set on low and just use curtains, etc., to just close off a small room to keep warm.
It would easily power a heating blanket, and you could use it to heat up other small appliances, like coffee grinders, etc., as well as start your vehicle if needed.
Electric blanket off a battery and inverter? Maybe for 20 hours or so.
Electric heater off a battery and inverter? Probably fry it.
QUOTE: "I'd get one of those power packs, and electric blankets. You could also power a space heater set on low and just use curtains, etc., to just close off a small room to keep warm."
Power pack?
Again, I'm talking about a power outage as well as the furnace failing (and my furnace IS gas, but is ignited by electricity). A propane-tank heater like Mr. Buddy seems feasible. It sounds safe enough to me as long as I have a CO2 detector there. And I would close off just one room for its use. Again, it would be fore just very brief use, until the power is restored or the furnace repaired.
And nice and cheap (especially during after-Christmas sales, if the power will just stay on that long).
QUOTE: "I'd get one of those power packs, and electric blankets. You could also power a space heater set on low and just use curtains, etc., to just close off a small room to keep warm."
Power pack?
Again, I'm talking about a power outage as well as the furnace failing (and my furnace IS gas, but is ignited by electricity). A propane-tank heater like Mr. Buddy seems feasible. It sounds safe enough to me as long as I have a CO2 detector there. And I would close off just one room for its use. Again, it would be fore just very brief use, until the power is restored or the furnace repaired.
And nice and cheap (especially during after-Christmas sales, if the power will just stay on that long).
CO, not CO2. Carbon monoxide binds to hemoglobin in your blood, and you die of anoxia in the presence of plenty of oxygen. Carbon dioxide is not toxic, and is unlikely to build up to the point that it replaces all the oxygen in a room. The reason people die from running generators inside is that motors release carbon monoxide. Yes, a CO detector is a good idea anywhere there is flame. I am heating with a wood stove right now, as I have for the last 22 years. I have a CO detector that has never gone off, but I service it every autumn just in case.
Open flames generally don't release CO. That's why gas ranges don't kill people, but unburned natural gas will. There is CO in unburned natural gas. It burns. I have used propane catalytic heaters in emergency situations when I was younger. I cracked a window so they wouldn't consume all the CO2 in the room, but CO was never a problem.
If you furnace is gas, I would get a UL listed manual generator feed in and an Honda EU2000i generator and be done.
This will power your lights, furnace, and water heater if it is gas, even clothes dryer if it is gas.
I set something like that up for my mother. She had an oil furnace that ran on electricity for both the burner and blower. I bought a generator and extension cord, then wired a SPDT light switch (commonly called a 3-way) to switch to either house power or generator power. I also installed a 4-gang receptacle that she could run a coffee pot, lamp and hot plate off of. A friendly neighbor was briefed on the installation, so he could start the generator and plug it in for her.
My wife and I just rely on a wood stove and our Kindles when the power goes out. We have a generator, but I don't bother to start it until the second day of an outage. The comfort level of our house doesn't change without power.
Well..
The house originally have baseboard heat and then got upgraded to floor radiant heat.
We also have a propane fireplace for when the power goes out.
Already bought a dual fuel heater for downstairs (burns wood or pellets. Just waiting to be installed.
And if we burn wood.. it will be free.
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