Safety
AROUND YOUR HOME

Preparing for old winter's cold

Bill Campbell

Unless Mother Nature decides to take it easy on us for a month, January means we can expect cold. windy conditions outside that drain the heat from our homes. When conditions worsen or power outages occur, even energy-efficient homes may need supplemental heat sources for localized or short-term problems if temperatures remain frigid.

There are several types of space heating equipment available. The type you choose should be matched to your home's situation. Let's look at a few winter scenarios and possible solutions.

Situation 1: The worst case scenario. Your power goes out in a midwinter blizzard. Conditions look like your home will be without heat for more than a couple of hours. Homes with electric heat and cooking systems, and no fireplace or other heat source, will eventually become chilly for the inhabitants. This situation causes many people to seek one of two solutions.

Many home supply stores sell their entire stock of portable generators and kerosene heaters during these power outages. While both these items give relief from the invading cold, they are potentially dangerous.

All kerosene heaters produce heat in localized areas by burning fuel. Any time a fuel is burned, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and water vapor are produced. The two carbon compounds are dangerous to your health.

Carbon dioxide will replace the oxygen in your home if the heater is used in an unvented location. Venting, such as opening a window in the room with the heater, lets in cold air and defeats the heater's effectiveness. If carbon dioxide reaches high enough concentrations, you and your family will die.

Carbon monoxide, also produced by combustion, increases as the amount of oxygen in the air decreases or is burned in the heater. Carbon monoxide disrupts blood's ability to carry oxygen. If you are considering using a kerosene heater or other combustion source in your home, make sure you install carbon monoxide detectors to alert you to a build-up of this gas.

Water vapor that is produced is carried to your walls, where it condenses and becomes a habitat for mold growth, eventually ruining the insulation in your walls.

Ventilation is always a necessity when using a kerosene heater.

These heaters are also potential fire and burn hazards. If placed near combustible materials or if tipped over, the high temperature of the heating element and external surfaces could start a fire. Use of these heaters with children is especially dangerous since accidental touching or tipping is more likely to happen.

The second alternative, portable generators, can provide power to your home and, if sized correctly, return you to nearly normal conditions until the power company completes repairs. The problems with these units include the combustion of fuel (potential carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide buildup) and the danger of back feeding power onto the supply lines that are being repaired.

Your transformer steps high voltage carried on the power lines down to 120 or 240 volts in your home and will also reverse the process and step the 120 or 240 volts your generator is producing up to high voltage. Unless you disconnect your home's electrical system from the supply, you will back feed power onto the lines supplying your neighborhood. Power company repair people working on lines are in danger of being electrocuted by lines they think are de-energized. Properly installed double-pole, double-throw disconnects will prevent this tragedy from happening. Instructions for properly connecting a portable generator are available from your power supplier or the University of Illinois Cooperative Extension Unit office in your county.

Situation 2: Cold spots in your home when the power is on. All homes seem to have one or more locations or rooms that need supplemental heat to improve comfort without raising the temperature in the entire house.

Two types of heaters are available, radiant and convection. Radiant heaters warm surfaces directly without warming the air between the heater and the surface. Convection heaters warm the air in a room or area. These modes of action define which you should choose to do your heating job.

If you want localized heat in large rooms, radiant heaters can be used to warm you and the surfaces nearby. You must be near the heater to feel the warmth.

In small rooms with low air exchange, convection type heaters equipped with fans will warm the entire room and keep it at a nearly constant temperature.

Newer models are equipped with features including thermostats to control temperature, overheat sensors that shut the heater off if it gets too hot from being covered accidentally, cool surfaces and protective covers to prevent burns and fires, and sensors that shut the heating element off or sound an alarm when tipped over. Older models may not be equipped with some or all of these safety features. Extra caution is necessary if they are to be used.

Remember, all these products can be used safely if the manufacturer's instructions are followed.

Bill Campbell is an Extension Educator, Farm Systems, at the Springfield Extension Center, Cooperative Extension Service, University of Illinois. You can write to Campbell in care of Illinois Country Living, P.O. Box 37 87, Springfield, IL 62708. Telephone: 217-782-6515. E-Mail: campbellw@idea. ag. uiuc. edu

JANUARY 1996 • ILLINOIS COUNTRY LIVING 17