Maintaining A Comfortable and Secure Home in Power Outages and Natural Disasters
Many of us place a high priority on making our homes comfortable and secure for our families and ourselves. We strive to create an oasis from the outside world where we have the ability to do whatever pleases and inspires us. When the power goes out or a natural disaster occurs, our homes can become uncomfortable quickly without advanced preparation. Even the simple things like brushing our teeth or taking a shower are impacted. This article provides ideas about how emergency backup lighting and power can keep you and your family comfortable when the forces of nature or the outside world intrude.
ALWAYS LEAVE A LIGHT ON
Lights are one of the most important but often forgotten aspects of home comfort and safety. Navigating our way through our homes becomes even more difficult as we age. A few simple night lights in the bathrooms, stairwells, and hallways can make a real difference. Lights that operate by motion sensors are an excellent choice for high traffic areas.
GOOD HOME LIGHTING IS A CORNERSTONE OF HOME COMFORT
Proper lighting is essential for effortlessly performing everyday tasks. Good lighting naturally brings comfort to a home.
In a weather-related power outage or one caused by a natural disaster, your home may become uncomfortable quickly. For some, panic may set in. For others anxiety is heightened. Emergency lighting allows you to quickly restore comfort to your home while waiting for power to be restored.
EMERGENCY LIGHTING OPTIONS FOR SHORT-TERM HOME COMFORT
On average, power outages in the United States last less than two hours. Outages due to natural disasters may last days or even weeks. Planning for short-term outages is most important since these are likely to occur most frequently. Long-term power outages require a much more comprehensive strategy that is likely to be quite expensive.
LIGHTING PLANNING FOR COMFORT IN SHORT-TERM POWER OUTAGES
Historically, people reacted to power outages by turning to the only solution they knew, candles and oil lamps. Although these provide some basic light, they have been found to be quite dangerous and certainly do not provide a high level of comfort. Flashlights and battery operated lanterns are now a more common and safer solution. However, with the invention of power outage light bulbs, there is another option to provide safe, comfortable lighting using your existing lamps and fixtures. Installing power outage lights in the lamps and fixtures where you want to have light, even when the power goes out, will provide immediate comfortable lighting. Safelumin is a quality, long-lasting power outage light solution.
A HOME BATTERY OR BACKUP GENERATOR FOR LONG-TERM HOME COMFORT
Home batteries and backup generators may be a good option for long-term catastrophic power outages, but home batteries and back up generators are far from practical for most of us. In fact, if a short term electrical failure strikes and you may be staring at a bunch of equipment that you rarely use.
An automatic standby generator can maintain a steady flow of electricity to your home when the rest of your street is without power. When the power goes out, having a generator means that you can continue to have heat, light, and many of the other conveniences we’ve come to enjoy.
But there’s a darker side to generators that many people fail to consider. The primary hazards to avoid when using a generator are carbon monoxide poisoning from the toxic engine exhaust, electric shock or electrocution, and fire. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, four (4) in five (5) carbon monoxide deaths caused by portable generators occur in the home, and a third of those deaths happen when generators are being used after weather knocks out the lights.
A large home battery may sound like a better idea. So is a battery designed for day-to-day usage for a home a good alternative for brief power outages? Over time, the battery will lose capacity as it repeatedly charges and drains. Therefore, the battery has a limited life span and will lose its ability to hold a charge.
Both generator and battery alternatives make little economic sense. They are expensive with costs ranging from the hundreds to thousands of dollars, depending on size and quality. If money is no object, outfitting your home with either of these choices will add comfort.
WHAT IS THE BEST AND MOST AFFORDABLE OPTION?
Safelumin will automatically handle short term power outages of up to three (3) hours with the flip of your regular switch. For more hours, place several of them around the house and stagger their use. With Safelumin, home comfort and safety is affordable for all.
Your home is a busy place. The moment you’re plunged into darkness, you will regret not having a practical emergency light. It’s not hard to save yourself from this trouble. Safelumin will keep your environment lit in a pinch and keep that rhythm going by providing dependable protection during unexpected power outages. Clean, quiet, automatic backup power – just what your family needs to be safe and comfortable. Going off the grid with your own power generating equipment is another promising solution, but that is a discussion for another article.
A bit of careful planning can go a long way toward protecting and caring for your family.