During a winter outage, gather in one room, reduce drafts, and use layers and blankets. Use only heating equipment approved for indoor use, properly installed and vented where needed. Never use gas cooking stoves, barbecues, camping stoves, or indoor fuel generators for warmth. If the home cannot stay safely warm, move to a heated location early.
In a winter outage, the cold isn't always the biggest risk. The danger often comes from what people do to fight it: a barbecue brought into the garage, an oven left open for warmth, or a generator running too close to a window. Carbon monoxide has no smell or colour, and unsafe fuel-burning equipment can let it accumulate in the closed-up rooms people retreat to when the furnace stops. Staying warm safely takes a few early decisions: which room to heat, which equipment is safe indoors, how far your backup power will stretch, and when it makes more sense to leave.
What to Do First to Stay Warm Safely
During the first hour, check outage updates, conserve indoor heat, and plan where everyone can go if your home becomes too cold.
Check Official Outage Guidance
Check your utility's outage map or reporting service. Follow official emergency alerts and forecasts, and locate a nearby warming centre before conditions deteriorate.
Reduce Heat Loss to One Room
Pick one interior room or a compact living area for the whole household. Close the doors to unused rooms, draw the curtains after sunset, push towels against obvious drafts, and keep exterior doors shut as much as possible. If the sun hits south-facing windows during the day, open the coverings, then close them before the temperature falls. A smaller space with everyone in it is much easier to keep warm.
Use Layers and Blankets
Wear dry layers, warm socks, a hat, and insulated slippers. Use blankets or sleeping bags while sitting still, and keep everyone together in a warmer room. Check infants, older adults, and people with medical conditions more often because they may become cold sooner.
Which Backup Heat Sources Can You Use Safely?
Choose heat sources approved for indoor use, with proper venting where required. Check whether they can operate safely with the electricity available during an outage.
Properly Vented Fixed Heaters
A wood stove, fireplace, or other fixed heater can supply useful heat if it's installed, vented, maintained, and operated as designed. Have chimneys and flues cleaned and inspected before winter. Some gas fireplaces keep working during an outage, but others depend on electric controls or fans. Check how your model behaves in an outage ahead of time instead of assuming it will run without utility power.
Electric Space Heaters
A portable electric space heater can warm one room without burning fuel indoors, but many draw around 1,500 W on high. Plug it directly into a properly rated outlet or compatible backup source, following both the heater's and the backup system's instructions. Its high power draw makes prolonged battery operation difficult.
Unsafe Indoor Heating Methods to Avoid
Don't use a natural-gas stove or oven to heat a room. During an outage, the kitchen exhaust fan may not work, which raises carbon-monoxide and indoor air quality risks. Never use a barbecue, charcoal grill, camping stove, portable butane stove, or fuel-burning generator inside a home, garage, basement, crawlspace, shed, or any other enclosed space. These devices can produce deadly levels of carbon monoxide indoors, even with doors or windows open.
How Much Backup Power Does Your Heating System Need?
Your backup system must handle your heating equipment's running and startup power, while the required battery capacity depends on electricity consumption and operating time.
Furnace Blower Running and Startup Power
A gas or propane furnace burns fuel to produce heat but still needs electricity for its blower, ignition, and controls. Many residential furnace blowers draw several hundred watts during operation.
For example, a furnace may require 500 W while running and 750 W at startup. These are illustrative figures; actual requirements vary by model.
A portable power station can provide backup power for heating when its output meets the furnace's running and startup requirements. Hardwired furnaces require an approved transfer connection installed and tested by a qualified electrician. Never backfeed electricity through a household outlet.
Electric Heater Power Draw
Electric heaters generally require more backup power because they use electricity directly to produce heat.
For emergency heat during a power outage, a typical portable electric space heater draws 1,500 W on high, consuming 1.5 kWh per hour of continuous operation. Unlike furnace blower motors, conventional resistance heaters generally do not require a substantial additional startup surge.
Whole-home electric furnaces and heat pumps have different power requirements, especially when auxiliary heating is involved. Check their actual ratings before selecting a backup system.
Battery Capacity and Runtime
Battery capacity depends on your heating equipment's combined power consumption and how long you need it to operate.
Required battery capacity (Wh) = Total power draw (W) × Operating hours ÷ 0.85
This assumes 85% of the battery's rated energy is usable after conversion losses and reserve.
For example, suppose you need to run both a 500 W furnace blower and a 1,500 W electric space heater continuously for 2 hours.
Required battery capacity:
(500 W + 1,500 W) × 2 h ÷ 0.85 ≈ 4,706 Wh (4.7 kWh)
Required continuous output:
500 W + 1,500 W = 2,000 W
Required peak output:
750 W (furnace startup) + 1,500 W (electric heater) = 2,250 W
Under these assumptions, your backup system needs approximately 4.7 kWh of battery capacity, at least 2,000 W of continuous output, and at least 2,250 W of short-duration surge capability.
Actual requirements depend on measured power consumption, startup demand, and operating time. A furnace that cycles on and off may consume less energy than this continuous-operation example.
How to Protect Against Carbon Monoxide, Fire, and Cold Injury
Prevent carbon monoxide exposure, fire, and cold injury by checking alarms, using fuel-burning equipment safely, and leaving before your home becomes dangerously cold.
Keep CO and Smoke Alarms Working
Health Canada recommends certified carbon-monoxide alarms with battery backup, especially near bedrooms. Test them before winter and replace batteries or units as the manufacturer directs. If a CO alarm goes off, get everyone outside to fresh air right away, call emergency services, and don't go back in until a qualified authority says it's safe.
For a fuel-burning furnace, fireplace, or stove, keep outdoor exhaust vents clear of snow or ice where they can be checked safely. A blocked vent can allow carbon monoxide to enter the home.
Keep Generators Outdoors
Fuel-burning generators must stay outside, at least 6 metres (20 feet) from homes and other buildings, with the exhaust pointed away from windows and doors. Never run one in a garage or shed. If a generator will feed household circuits, use approved transfer equipment installed by a qualified electrician. Battery and solar backup systems don't produce carbon monoxide while they run.
Keep Heaters Clear of Combustibles
Keep portable electric heaters at least 1 metre from curtains, clothing, bedding, furniture, and other combustibles, or farther if the manual requires it. Set them on a stable surface. Health Canada advises never plugging them into an extension cord or power bar and unplugging them before leaving home or going to sleep. Don’t dry wet gloves or socks on a heater.
Know When to Seek Emergency Warmth
Head to a heated location if you can't keep indoor conditions safe, anyone shows signs of hypothermia, medical equipment is at risk, or the outage looks like it will outlast your fuel or battery reserve. Numbness, uncontrollable shivering, confusion, slurred speech, and unusual drowsiness need urgent attention. Sometimes the answer to how to stay warm during a power outage is to leave early.
Support Essential Heating and Outage Loads With BLUETTI
For winter outages, BLUETTI solar generator kits combine battery storage and portable solar panels for selected essentials. A home battery backup plan should prioritize compatible heating controls, personal warmth, and communication devices, with solar charging used when winter conditions allow.
The BLUETTI Apex 300 + 350W Solar Generator kit provides 3,840 W of rated AC output, 2,764.8 Wh of internal storage, and a 350 W solar panel. Its power output can support a compatible furnace blower and other essential loads within the system's limits. For extended outages, approved battery expansion can increase stored energy; hardwired furnace circuits still require a professionally installed transfer connection.
The BLUETTI Elite 300 + 200W Solar Generator kit combines 2,400 W of rated output, about 3,014 Wh of battery capacity, and a 200 W solar panel. It can support selected heating controls, lights, and communications equipment within its electrical ratings. The battery provides stored energy during the outage, while solar charging can help replenish it when daylight and weather permit.
The BLUETTI Elite 200 V2 + 200W Solar Generator kit offers 2,600 W of rated output, 2,073.6 Wh of storage, and a 200 W solar panel. It suits plug-in essentials such as an electric blanket, modem, lamps, and phone chargers during shorter outages. Check real device wattage, output ratings, and ECO-mode behaviour for low-power loads before relying on the setup.
Conclusion
To heat a house safely during a power outage, keep heat in first, and use only approved, properly vented, or electric heating equipment. Never use a gas stove, barbecue, camping stove, or indoor fuel generator for warmth. Size your backup power for both running and startup watts, then save battery energy for the loads that matter most. If the home can't stay safely warm, move to a heated location before conditions turn dangerous.
FAQs
Can I use a gas stove to heat my house during an outage?
No. You may be able to cook on a natural-gas stove during an outage if the manufacturer allows it, but don't use it as a space heater. With the power out, ventilation may be reduced, so carbon monoxide and other combustion pollutants can build up indoors.
How can I keep one room warm without electricity?
Close doors to unused rooms, block drafts, draw the curtains, wear dry layers, gather everyone in one smaller space, and use blankets or sleeping bags. A properly installed wood stove or other non-electric heater can help if it's approved for indoor use and safely vented. Never bring outdoor cooking equipment inside for heat.
Can a portable power station run a furnace blower?
Possibly, if its continuous and surge ratings exceed the furnace's measured demand and the furnace is connected through an approved method. Most furnaces are hardwired, so plugging in with an extension cord isn't an option. Have an electrician confirm the transfer setup and test it before an emergency.
How do I estimate battery runtime for an electric blanket?
Multiply the blanket's average watts by the intended operating hours. For example, a blanket averaging 100 W for eight hours needs about 800 Wh delivered to the AC outlet, before battery losses and reserve.
Allow for thermostat cycling and any other connected devices. If a battery's stated usable AC energy already accounts for inverter losses and reserve, do not deduct them again.
When should I leave home during a winter outage?
Leave before conditions get dangerous if the home can't hold a safe temperature, medical needs can't be met, fuel or battery reserves are running low, or local authorities recommend evacuating. Signs of hypothermia, such as confusion, slurred speech, severe shivering, or unusual drowsiness, need urgent medical attention.