Idea for keeping warm after PO

one_more_day · Tar Sands Joined: Aug 27, 2006 Posts: 77

For those of us who rely on electric, gas, or fuel oil heat, it may indeed one day be a reality that the supplies run out when we need them most. I can just see the frost forming on my eyebrows while the temperature in my house heads below freezing.

It seems that the typical response is to burn anything and everything in an attempt to stay warm. This leads to house fires, carbon monoxide poisoning, etc.

I had an interesting thought about a possible solution the other day. What if you were to purchase warm sleeping bags and a good tent for indoor use. There are many sleeping bags that are rated to sub-zero temps. The tent could also act as an insulator to keep your body heat from escaping. Compared to the alternatives, it seems like not such a bad idea.

Anyone have any ideas about why this would not work?

It seems like worthwhile investment to me.

kevincarter

Kingcoal

Drain out any water in any pipes if you're going to do that. If you have any money to spend, spend it on sealing up your house, it makes good sense anyway.
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culicomorpha

one_more_day · Tar Sands Joined: Aug 27, 2006 Posts: 77

seahorse2 · Expert Joined: Oct 18, 2004 Posts: 1956

Using a good sleeping bag has been discussed before on this forum and others. This quote is from an article on Preparing for Peak Oil on a Limited Budget.

diemos · Tar Sands Joined: Sep 23, 2005 Posts: 69

The sleeping bag is a good idea, I have one in my emergency kit.

It's good to recall that the eskimos lived in the artic without any fuel except for a limited amount of whale blubber. It's possible to stay warm even in those conditions but you have to be smart about conserving body heat.

A sleeping bag plus, say, 50W of electric blanket should keep anyone plenty cooked even in severe cold.

Cornelian

Yes, four poster beds with heavy draperies were designed to keep in the warm and keep out draughts, but also for privacy and to keep plaster and insects etc dropping down from damp ceilings.

the best idea is to either go for the tent, or to try and heat the smallest room in your house, making sure it has been insulated as much as possible. You could also, for instance, decide to sleep under a heavy table with cartons of books piled up around the sides - that would be a small space that would heat up pretty quick, esp if you piled in your cats and dogs as well. Smile

sirrom

my suggestion,move somewhere where it doesn't get so cold.

it only gets down to -5 degrees in SE england,so if i had to go without heating i would just wear a coat indoors and rap a duvet around me.

i may have to do that sooner than others as we use heating oil for the central heating Sad

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Judgie · Last edited by Judgie on Thu Nov 15, 2007 5:06 pm; edited 1 time in total

RedStateGreen

I just wrote about this on my blog: Green heat
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Andrew_S · Intermediate Crude Joined: Jan 09, 2005 Posts: 683

gnm

Blacksmith

Tyler_JC

Maybe a geothermal heat up system?

Video about Geoxchange

Or if digging up your lawn isn't your style, a solar thermal system might make more sense.

Book about planning and installing solar thermal systems

Good Luck. Smile

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