Five items to stay powered up and warm

The winter weather in our area, like other places in the country, has been pretty bone-chilling the past few days.  Not nearly as bad as in the northeast, but still chilly.

We learned the hard way a few years back that we weren't quite prepared for a multi-day loss of power.  We had kind neighbors, and that got us through.  The experience motivated us to prepare a bit so that we could be the kind neighbors the next time around.

Our heat was zapped … literally

This weekend, we had gale-force winds on top of sub-zero temperatures.  The winds caused power fluctuations at our place.  We lost power for only about 15 seconds, but a surge blew out the blower motor in our furnace.

We had thought that the main electronic component in these was a capacitor, but more recent models, like ours, have brushless motors controlled by integrated circuits.  These electronically commutated motors, or ECMs, are more efficient than the older models.

But, like most other electronic controls, there's no way to fix them except by replacing the whole thing, at much greater expense.  We got it replaced yesterday, but even with a substantial “friends and family” discount it was nearly $500.  Ouch!

Some very-nice-to-have equipment for cold days like this

This power surge killed one of our two main heating units for a couple of days.  Certainly not a disaster, but a bit inconvenient and a tad expensive to fix.

Here is a list of a few pieces of equipment that are very nice to have on hand, installed and ready to go, when cold weather strikes:

• Whole-house surge protector.  Our HVAC person recommended that we get a whole-house surge protector because (a) the same thing could happen again, and (b) electrical problems like this aren't covered by warranty.  We have surge-protecting power strips on our sensitive electronics, but since the furnace blowers run off of the 240-volt lines, they weren't protected at all.  The whole-house surge protectors we were looking at are around $200.  A friend recommended having them installed by a licensed electrician, since insurance companies tend to base claims on that.
• Gas or diesel generator.  We've had our generator for about ten years now, and have only needed to use it a few times.  We have enough generator power to keep our sump pump, heat, and refrigeration going.  We also start it up periodically to maintain it, and put some gas stabilizer in the fuel to keep it from getting too stale.
• Auxiliary power transfer switch or whole-house generator.  An upgrade for us as of a couple of years ago was a generator transfer switch that got rid of the mess of extension cords from the generator.  This allows proper switching from line power to generator power for pre-selected circuits in your house.  (The model linked above allowed us to choose ten.)  I say “proper” switching because it isolates line power from the circuits being powered by the generator.  The generator plugs into the switch box and everything else stays plugged in as-is.
• Whole-house generator.  A whole-home generator is a step above the power transfer switch.  Once power goes down for a period of time, it just … works.  No need to go out into the cold, even.  These run several thousand dollars, whereas the generator and the switch were about $1,000 together.
• Extra heaters.  Our house has a gas fireplace, so that came in handy.  Also, having a few space heaters hanging around is better than nothing, especially if the electricity is still on.  Those kept the downstairs from getting too cold.  If you have a wood stove or the like, you're already set.

What other pieces of equipment do you have to help hedge against the effects of cold, harsh weather?