A sudden power outage can leave you without heat, air conditioning, hot water, lighting, and the means to safely store and cook food for hours or even days. There’s no way to know how long an outage will last, but you’ll find it easier to cope if you make some advance preparations and keep three days’ worth of supplies on hand.

These tips can help you prepare for a power outage:

• Put together an emergency kit and store it in an accessible location. Make sure it contains a battery-operated portable radio, flashlight, batteries, a cell phone car charger, matches or a lighter, and camping lanterns or candles. Also include a first-aid kit, hygiene supplies and several days’ worth of any prescription medications.

• Stock up on safe drinking water so you have a gallon per day for each family member on hand.

• Purchase a couple of coolers and store several bags of ice in the freezer so you can keep perishables chilled without opening the refrigerator door repeatedly.
• Keep a selection of canned or packaged foods in the pantry, along with a manual can opener. Choose foods that you can eat cold or easily reheat.
• If you have a camp stove or propane grill to use for cooking, purchase extra containers of fuel.
• Have a few sleeping bags or blankets handy for warmth during a winter outage.
• Test the functionality of your carbon monoxide detectors monthly, and replace the batteries regularly.
• When severe weather is forecast, fill the sinks and bathtub so you have water available for flushing.

• When there’s a risk of an outage, shut down the HVAC system at the breaker, and unplug computers, televisions, electronics and appliances so they aren’t damaged by an electrical surge when the power comes back on.
• During an outage, don’t use any fuel-burning equipment indoors unless it’s properly vented to avoid carbon monoxide exposure.

For more helpful power outage preparation tips, contact the Peachtree City home comfort pros at Powers Heating & Air.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Peachtree City, Georgia and surrounding areas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about preparing for a power outage and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Guide or call us at 770-487-2040.

Credit/Copyright Attribution: “iQoncept/Shutterstock”