If you are concerned about your own home or family being warm and safe during power outages then you should contact your HVAC dealer and discuss options for your home generator too.
Even when the wicked winds of winter blow I can rest knowing that my family, home, and belongings are safe and secure. We don’t live in a region that is prone to hurricanes, earthquakes or even wildfires so the worst that winter throws at us is an occasional snow or ice storm. These can be damaging to powerlines and trees but for the most part are an inconvenience that strands us at home or work for a few hours. The power can go out and that is really the thing that many in our region worry about. For this reason most of our HVAC dealers in the area deal with whole house generator installation as well. They sell systems that will work alongside these units and run even during lengthy power outages. These do require the use of natural gas or propane as a fuel source but that is common in our area too. Heating with natural gas is more economical than using electricity anyway so it is a natural choice. We even use gas to power our hot water tank, clothes dryer and stove. Installing our whole house generator was a hefty expense but knowing that my heart will stay on makes every dollar spent worthwhile. If you are concerned about your own home or family being warm and safe during power outages then you should contact your HVAC dealer and discuss options for your home generator too. There are many options on the size and power of generators out there. Some are only designed to run the HVAC system while others are powerful enough to run other appliances too. Either way an installed unit is safer than a portable one and it kicks on automatically as soon as the power goes out.