How to Heat Your House During a Power Outage

Which heating still works when the power is out

Start with what you already have. It decides whether you need a power station at all.

• Wood stove or fireplace: keeps working. Unlike pellet stoves, wood stoves and fireplaces do not need electricity to operate ¹. Have the stove and chimney inspected before winter ⁶.
• Gas fireplace with a standing (continuous) pilot: keeps working. Natural Resources Canada says such a fireplace will operate even when there is a power failure ². Its fan, if it has one, stops. A model with electronic ignition may need power: check its manual.
• Gas furnace: stops. It will not operate during an outage ³, because its blower and controls run on electricity ¹².
• Hot-water boiler: stops. Its burner controls need power, and so does its circulator pump: one common model draws 60 to 87 W ⁹. If an outdoor wood boiler sends heat to the house with an electric pump, the same applies: follow its manual for what to do in an outage.
• Pellet stove: usually stops. Most pellet stoves need electricity, because an electric device feeds the pellets ¹.
• Electric heat (baseboards, space heaters, heat pumps): stops, and the loads are large. Baseboards are wired to the panel, and many run on 240 V: Ouellet sells its standard line in 240/208 V and 120 V versions ¹³.

Gas furnaces, boilers and pellet stoves: what they need

These systems burn fuel but need a little electricity to run. That is where a battery helps.

• Gas furnace. In a field study of 31 furnaces, measured in fan-only mode, standard (PSC) blowers ran at their heating speed and drew a median of 500 W; variable-speed (ECM) blowers drew about 100 W, and more when heating ¹². Full numbers and runtimes are in can a power station run a gas furnace.
• Boiler. One common circulator pump draws 60, 80 or 87 W at its three speeds ⁹, plus the burner controls. Read the rating plate for the total.
• Pellet stove. Harman rates three of its stoves at 2.8 A while running and 4.2 A at start-up, at 120 V ¹⁴; that is up to about 336 and 504 VA, rating-plate maxima rather than the average draw. When the power goes out, the combustion blower stops and smoke can enter the room: Harman strongly recommends a battery backup to limit it ¹⁴. Forge & Flame, which sells Harman stoves and calls them “our pellet stoves”, says most stoves draw 300 to 500 W to ignite and 80 to 150 W once running ¹⁵. Makers set rules for backup power: Harman approves only certain backup units, some needing dealer settings ¹⁵, while Comfortbilt requires a pure sine wave with at least 1,000 W peak ¹⁶. Read your stove’s manual before you buy anything. More in pellet stove battery backup.

Many furnaces and boilers are wired into the house rather than plugged in. Connecting one to a power station is a job for a licensed electrician (see the safety note above).

What a power station can keep running

A power station is a big battery with outlets. It runs the small electric parts of a fuel-burning system for hours, but it empties fast on electric heat. Runtimes below use our usual method: capacity × 85 % usable ^17,18 ÷ (load + 20 W the station uses on its own, our assumption). Small loads can do worse ¹⁸.

These are planning figures for station sizes, not for one model; the furnace page uses each station’s own figures. A furnace or a heater cycles on and off, which stretches the time; a boiler or stove also powers its burner and controls, not counted here. The furnace page shows how to estimate from your gas bill.

Three stations from our catalogue, as examples:

• Anker SOLIX C1000 Gen 2: 1,024 Wh ¹⁹, 120 V.
• EcoFlow DELTA 3 Plus: 1,024 Wh, 120 V, and the only one of the three whose maker publishes a pure sine wave output ²⁰. On 2026-11-10 it was on pre-order in the US and out of stock in Canada.
• BLUETTI Elite 200 V2: 2,073.6 Wh, 120 V ¹¹. Its ECO mode is on by default; BLUETTI says to turn it off for small or critical loads ¹¹.

None of the three gives 240 V, so none can run a 240 V baseboard, and none charges below 32 °F (0 °C) ^11,19,20: keep the station inside. Larger stations are compared in the furnace guide. To add up your own list, use the power station calculator.

Keep the heat in

The less heat you lose, the longer any source lasts.

• Choose one room and heat only that one, ideally the room with the wood stove or fireplace.
• Use the sun. Open curtains and shades during the day and close them at night ⁵.
• Before winter, seal drafts with caulking and weatherstripping, and hang heavy curtains ⁶.
• Dress the people, not the house: extra blankets, sleeping bags and warm coats ⁴.

Never heat with a generator, grill or stove indoors

Carbon monoxide is an odorless, colorless gas that can cause sudden illness and death ⁴. Every fuel-burning heat source can make it.

• Never use a gas range or oven to heat a home ⁴.
• Never use a charcoal grill, hibachi, lantern or camping stove inside ⁴, nor a barbecue or portable burner, even in a garage or basement with the windows open ⁷.
• Never run a generator inside your home, basement or garage, or less than 20 feet from a window, door or vent ⁴. Canada says at least 6 m (20 feet) from any building ⁷.
• Battery stations are different: they produce no carbon monoxide and can be used indoors ⁷.
• Fuel heaters (wood, gas, kerosene) need care: follow the maker’s instructions ⁴, and check with your fire department that kerosene heaters are legal where you live ⁴.

Have CO alarms on every level of the home, outside sleeping areas, with battery backup ^5,7. If it sounds, get everyone outside and call 911 from there ⁷.

Plan before winter

• List your heat sources and what each one needs: fuel, a chimney check, or power.
• If your heat needs power, get advice from a licensed electrician ⁷ and have the connection installed before the storm.
• Size the battery with the table above, then charge it fully before a storm.
• Know where to go: if your home becomes unsafe because of extreme cold, be ready to leave ⁷, and find out where temporary shelters are available ⁶.

Related guides: running a space heater on a power station, heat pumps, tankless water heaters, the fridge and freezer, sump pumps and internet and Starlink. For generator safety, see our carbon monoxide guide; for wiring, connecting a power station to your house. Our method is on the how we research page.