Off-Grid Heating: How To Stay Warm Without Electricity

Without electricity or natural gas, heating a home (especially in colder climates) can be difficult. Most modern homes rely on one or both of these sources for all heating duties. Fortunately, these conveniences only became mainstream within the last 60 years.

Prior to that, people figured out ways to live comfortably in various climate zones.

Even today, some people choose to live an off grid lifestyle and are able to do so without electricity or fuel supplies. What do they use instead of electricity, and natural gas?

Wood Stove

The easiest, and by far the most popular, method of heating your home in a survival situation is a wood stove. Typically made from iron, a single wood stove can heat an entire home. In most areas of the country, firewood is readily available. A few days work chopping and splitting wood can yield a couple months supply of wood.

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If you are considering a wood stove, make sure you install a proper chimney to allow poisonous smoke to escape the home. Drilling a hole in the roof is the most common method. If you already have a chimney in your home, an insulated pipe can be run from the wood stove to the chimney instead of cutting a separate hole.

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Wood Furnaces

Unlike wood stoves which are designed for use inside the home, a wood furnace is a larger unit designed for outside use. Due to their larger size, furnaces typically only need to be refilled once a day. The risk for fire or accidental burns is also minimized.

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The only drawback to a wood furnace is that if you have not already set it up prior to an apocalyptic event it is unlikely to be a practical solution for you. …………

Fireplaces

Traditional fireplaces have been used to heat homes for centuries. Unfortunately, they are better suited as an ornamental piece than as a serious home heating solution. A fireplace is better than having no heating solution at all but they are known to be as much as 70 percent inefficient meaning that most of your heat is going up the chimney with the smoke and ash.

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One method that is sustainable is the sun. Specifically, passive solar heating uses the intensity of the sun to heat homes quite efficiently. Assuming you have a well-insulated home, you already have everything you need to take advantage of passive solar heating.

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Portable propane heaters also work well. However, due to their reliance on fuel they are not considered a sustainable asset. Propane can be stored for years without deteriorating unlike gasoline or kerosene making it the only viable choice if you decide to use fossil fuels at all. ……..

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Article source: Survivopedia
Image source: Survival Magazine