How to stay warm when the power's out in winter
Heat one room, not the house
Pick a single interior room and close its door: when the heat goes out, the National Weather Service says to close off unneeded rooms to avoid wasting heat, stuff towels or rags in cracks under doors, and close blinds or curtains to keep in some heat. Layer clothing and use blankets and sleeping bags; body heat and insulation do more than most people expect. If your home still gets too cold, the American Red Cross advises going somewhere with heat; communities often open warming centers.
The carbon-monoxide rule: no unvented fuel-burning heat indoors
Never heat a home with a gas oven or stovetop, charcoal or gas grill, camp stove, or a portable generator — indoors, in a garage, or in any enclosed space. All produce carbon monoxide (CO), which is odorless and kills, and the CDC says not to burn anything in a stove or fireplace that isn't vented. The CDC counts more than 400 people in the US who die each year from accidental carbon-monoxide poisoning not linked to fires. If you run a generator for heat via space heaters, the generator goes outside, more than 20 feet from windows, doors and vents — see our generator-safety guide. Put a battery-powered CO alarm on every level of the home.
Safer heat sources
Safer options are an electric space heater that carries an independent testing lab's label (such as UL), powered by a properly sized generator running outdoors; a wood stove or fireplace with a working, unobstructed flue; and simply layering and insulating. Each still needs care: the Red Cross says to keep anything that can catch fire at least three feet from anything that gets hot, and to turn portable heaters off when you leave the room or go to sleep.
Know the signs of hypothermia
Per the CDC, warning signs in adults are shivering, exhaustion or drowsiness, confusion, fumbling hands, memory loss, and slurred speech; in infants, skin that is bright red and cold, and very low energy. Hypothermia is a medical emergency: if the person's temperature is below 95 °F (35 °C), get medical attention immediately. If you can't get medical help right away, the CDC says to get the person into a warm room, remove any wet clothing, and warm the center of the body — chest, neck, head and groin.
Protect the pipes, protect the food
Let a faucet served by exposed pipes drip, and open cabinet doors so warm air reaches the plumbing, per the Red Cross. Keep the fridge and freezer closed — a full freezer holds safe temperature about 48 hours (see food safety). In deep cold, don't use the outdoors as a fridge: the USDA warns that outside temperatures can vary and food can be exposed to unsanitary conditions and animals.
Cars and CO: the garage rule
The same carbon-monoxide physics applies to vehicles: never run a car in a garage attached to the house, even with the garage door open, whether to warm up or to charge phones — per the CDC. If you charge from a car, do it parked outside. After heavy snow, clear the tailpipe area before starting a car that's been sitting — a blocked exhaust routes CO into the cabin.
Dress like you're camping
Layers beat one heavy coat: a base layer, insulation, and a shell trap warm air, and you shed layers before sweating (damp clothing chills you later). Cover heads and hands, wear dry socks, and get anyone who got wet out of wet clothing right away: the Red Cross and the CDC both list removing wet clothing among the first steps against hypothermia.
Check on the people the cold finds first
Older adults, infants, and anyone with limited mobility or illness lose heat faster and may not notice or report it. If the outage is hours old and the indoor temperature is dropping, a phone call or a knock on a neighbor's door is part of winter-outage safety — hypothermia's confusion (above) means the person affected is often the last to know.
If pipes do freeze
Keep the affected faucet open so water can flow as the ice melts, and warm the pipe gently — towels soaked in hot water, or an electric hair dryer or heating pad once power returns. Never use an open flame, or a kerosene or propane heater, on a pipe, per Red Cross guidance, which also says to call a licensed plumber if you can't find or thaw the frozen section. If a pipe has burst, turn the water off at the main shut-off valve and call a plumber for the repair, as Gresham, Oregon's water utility advises; it also tells residents to find that valve and test it before freezing temperatures strike — find yours today, not then.
Know how long you're planning for
The decision to relocate to a warming center or a relative's home is easier at hour one than hour six. Check your address for the current restoration outlook — the utility's posted time and our independent estimate, side by side where both exist — and turn on free alerts for when the outage in your area looks mostly restored.
- American Red Cross — Power outage safety
- American Red Cross — Home fire preparedness (space heaters)
- American Red Cross — Winter storm safety
- American Red Cross — Preventing and thawing frozen pipes
- CDC — Carbon monoxide
- CDC — Preventing hypothermia
- USDA — Keeping food safe in a winter storm (Jan. 2026)
- National Weather Service — Winter weather safety: during
- City of Gresham, Oregon — Winter water pipes
General safety information drawn from the public sources linked above, not medical, electrical or legal advice for your situation. In an emergency, call 911.