What Should You Do If Your Heat Goes Out This Winter?

Helpful Hints To Keep Yourself Warm When The Cold Creeps In

To many, the holidays are the best time of the year. People host family gatherings, Christmas music fills the air and the cooler weather provides a welcome relief from the sultry summer months. But with that wintry weather comes an increased reliability on your home furnace or heat pump to keep things toasty and comfortable. So what happens if your heating system goes out? What happens when your home is no longer protected against the encroaching cold?

The first thing you need to do is contact an experienced and capable HVAC contractor to get who can get it fixed without delay (and it just so happens we know someone who is good in emergencies we can recommend). In the meantime, though, you’ll need to keep yourself and your loved ones warm. Obviously, fireplaces and space heaters are good fallback options, but what if you don’t have them available? Read below for some creative tips to generate and preserve heat until you can get your heating system repaired.

1) Downsize

Choose one of the smaller (but comfortable) rooms in your home. Then gather what you might need – blankets, pillows, coats and entertainment. Hang out in this room and close all the other doors in your home to help keep the heat contained. You can also take extra blankets or towels and use them to plug up underneath your doors. Keeping your family members and pets in one room can build up some body heat to help you stay warm, and sealing it off will keep that heat from escaping.

2) Switch Bulbs

If you use mainly compact fluorescent or LED bulbs in your home it’s great for both the environment and your power bill. But if the heat’s out and you still have some old incandescent bulbs around, it’s time to press them back into service. Incandescent bulbs are great for generating heat, so they can serve as a useful stopgap until your heating system is repaired. Just don’t forget to switch them back out once everything is fixed!

3) Generate Some Yum-fort

Been waiting for the right opportunity to try making that new pie you saw on Instagram? Now’s the time. Turning on your oven to bake a new tasty treat has the side effect of putting off a good deal of heat. Plus, once your culinary creation is complete, having a taste hot off the pan will bring you some internal warmth too.

4) Dance Dance Heat Solution

When your body moves, it burns energy. Burning energy generates heat. So get that body moving! Your heat pump might be on the fritz but that doesn’t mean you can’t pump it up! Gather the kids, pull up a disco playlist on Spotify and try every TikTok dance craze you can imagine. If you’re afraid your dance moves aren’t up to par, some light exercise and yoga can have the same benefit. Anything that gets your blood flowing can help you fight off the cold.

5) Snuggle

You can’t stay awake baking or dancing forever, so when it’s time to go to sleep, there is strength in numbers. Curl up tight with your loved ones or your pet under some comfy blankets and you can keep each other warm through the night. It’s a great excuse to have an “indoor campout” with the kids or a movie night with your significant other. The shared body heat can create a comfortable cocoon of warmth so you don’t wake up in a deep freeze.

Hold Down The Fort, Help Is On The Way

Take comfort in knowing that Comfort First is available any time to help you with your furnace or heat pump emergency. In the meantime, the best tip we can offer is to proactively take care of your heating system so you never even have to worry about the others. Comfort First Heating & Cooling can provide expert maintenance of your HVAC to help avoid breakdowns, and professional repair when the unfortunate happens. Call us today at [phone_link] or message us online and let us put your Comfort First.