In any location and during any weather, there’s always a chance that you could experience a power outage. Accidents like crashing into a power pole can cause unexpected power outages. But in many cases, power outages happen due to bad or extreme weather.
So if you know that your area is about to experience some extreme or inclement weather, it’s worth your while to make a plan for how you’ll deal with a possible power outage.
To help you with this, here are three tips for preparing your home for a power outage.
Turn Off As Many Electrical Items As You Can
If you know that there’s a good chance that you could have a power outage in your area, either because you’ve been told about things like rolling power outages or have been informed about a major storm coming your way, one of the best things you can do to save your appliances and other electronics is to turn them off when you’re not using them.
In many instances, appliances or electronics that get shut off unexpectedly by power outages can get damaged. Especially if the power surges, this could be very bad for your electronics. Knowing this, it’s wise to turn off and unplug any electronics that you’re not actively using.
While there are some things that you’ll need to keep plugged in, like your fridge and freezer, you should unplug what you can and know how to safely reset your air conditioner and other appliances when the power comes back on.
Charge Up Your Battery-Powered Items
In your home, you likely have all kinds of things that actually use battery power so that you can keep using them even when the power is off. But in order to have access to these things, you’ll want to make sure that you have the batteries fully charged when leading up to bad or inclement weather.
If you know that a storm or other reason for a power outage is coming your way, consider keeping your mobile phones and other items that you’ll want to use during a power outage with a full battery as the potential outage approaches.
Make Plans For Food And Comfort
When the power is out, it can be hard to stay comfortable in your home or eat the foods that you might normally like to eat. But if you have a plan for this before the power goes out, you can accommodate certain aspects of this.
When preparing for a power outage, consider getting some bags of ice and having them on stand-by to keep things cool from your fridge or freezer. You can also consider having alternative energy sources available to help you cook food or to keep you at a comfortable temperature in your home.
If you live in a place that has frequent power outages, consider using the tips mentioned above to help you prepare for them.