2. Have an alternate source of heat
By this I mean some way to heat the house without relying on public utilities — for most people that means firewood. A fireplace will do, but a wood stove is far more efficient and effective. I can keep the main part of my house, 2200 sq. ft (approx. 220 sq meters) at a comfortable 75 degrees even on single-digit nights. I use a Fireview from Woodstock Soapstone Company. It’s massive, efficient, and beautiful.
Go ahead and cut your firewood now. It needs to dry for several months before you burn it for heat, otherwise you’ll waste much of the heat boiling off the water in the wood, and your fire will never get really hot. Besides, you should stock up while you can still get gasoline for a chainsaw. Sure beats using a saw and an axe. I highly recommend the Husqvarna 350 or any of the models in the 400s. I use a 455, but it’s really built for someone who cuts firewood for a living.
All that said, do get a hand saw, and keep your axe sharp, because gasoline may be hard to find at times.
Hardwoods like oak, maple, and hickory are better than evergreens like cedar, spruce, or pine. The latter create more soot and burn out faster. They yield less heat energy per pound of wood. On the other hand, they have more sap and are easier to light, so they make excellent kindling. “Fat” pine is particularly useful for starting fires. It is “fat” with sap and burns as if it were soaked in kerosene.
How much wood you need depends on your climate. By some estimates, if you have an efficient wood stove with a catalytic combustor, an 1800 sq ft (~ 180 sq meter) house in the midwest will need about 3 cords of hardwood to get through five months of winter. A cord is the amount of split wood that stacks tightly into a space 4x4x8 feet. Be sure you’re getting a full cord and not a “face” cord, which is only one-quarter as much as a cord. And if you live in an area where people sell firewood by the “rick,” you’ll just have to measure how much it is when you get it and buy enough ricks to make however many cords you need. No one has ever figured out how much wood is in a rick because it varies from one rick to the other.
If you already use propane for heat, you’re in better shape than those who must rely on a municipal natural gas supply. Consider doubling the size of your tank. In any event, make it a point never to let your tank get below a 30-day supply of heat. As soon as the crunch comes, switch to wood heat and save the propane for cooking and heating water.
Consider switching to tankless or on-demand propane water heaters. I personally use the Rinnai Tankless Water Heater, and this one is rated at 9.4 gallons per minute. We’ve had two showers and the dishwasher going at the same time, no problem. They use less gas because they only heat the water when you need it, instead of keeping several dozen gallons constantly warm in a bulky tank. Also, they heat the water only to the temperature you set, so you don’t waste energy heating the water “scalding hot” only to add cold water to cool it back down for a comfortable shower.
Contingencies: Double the size of your propane tank; double your stack of firewood.
