Besides giving us a place to hang our hats, the most important purpose of a house is to protect us from the elements, particularly the cold. Hypothermia, the loss of core body heat, is one of the fastest killers in nature. We heat our homes not only to make us comfortable, but also to protect ourselves from hypothermia.

Unfortunately, all of our modern heating methods require the use of electricity, either to create or to distribute the heat, as well as to control our central heating systems. When we lose electrical power, we also lose the ability to keep our homes warm.

While being in an unheated home is still better than sitting out in the cold, it’s not good enough. An emergency heating method is needed for when all other heating methods are lost. That also means having some stock of fuel on hand to power our heater.