Light up the Night! Tips on Emergency Lighting

Living in the Florida Keys we are tied to the mainland by what I call the extension cord; our umbilical cord of power and water sent to us by south Florida.  Although we do have some limited back-up power in the Keys the chances of losing power here is pretty high. Hurricanes storms and even crashes along our one-way-in-one-way-out road can leave us in the dark.

People are pretty adaptive and can handle a lot of stressful situations, but one that is a real moral killer is not being able to see when you want to. Being without a light source limits your day and also permits your mind to wander about what's out there....in the dark.  Power outages can be even more stressful with small children that might be used to a night light or the comfort of being able to sleep with the lamp on.  One way that families can shed some light on a "power out" situation is to have a ready supply of lighting.  Below I will list some options that will help you light up the night.

 



The first option for lighting is one that I think the majority of households have....Flashlights!  Flashlights come in all shapes and sizes.  If you are in a home without a flashlight, I would recommend that you go to your nearest big box store or online and buy one!  Look for the best LED flashlight you can afford.  I say afford because there are flashlights out there that will blind a mole, but they can be hundreds of dollars!  Also keep in mind that the brighter the light, the more energy it uses.  You are looking for a good quality, sealed, metal framed LED flashlight that has good run time on a set of batteries.

Now that you have your flashlight, buy a back-up, then buy a back-up for the back-up! There are lots of options, like small key ring LED lights that I have on my keys, headlamp lights for working with your hands in the dark (which you never have to do, right?), bike lights for riding your bike to your neighbors house in the dark for a cup of sugar, etc.  The Coleman lantern above is nice and bright and runs the LED light on 4 D batteries for 134 HRs!  Think about what you do during the day and then imagine it being pitch black, get a light that helps you perform that task!

The second option is what I group under the "fuel lighting" category.  Options in this category include propane, kerosene, lamp oil, Coleman type "white gas" fuel, veggie oil lamps and candles.  I consider candles a fuel light cause they burn up like a fuel.  The idea here is to have multiple options and back-ups in case that 1 hr power outage turns into a few days without power.  Look for candles with a long burn time, but the smelly good ones will work too, especially when the food in the fridge starts turning!

With this type of  lighting keep safety in mind; the carbon monoxide produced by these lights can kill you in a well sealed house with no ventilation.  Its also wise to practice with them so that you are familiar with how they work, and so that you know what to expect.  Also keep fire safety in mind.

Crank and solar type lights are available all over the place now.  Although they are a little pricey the option to have "unlimited" power is hard to overlook.  Don't go cheap here go with a good quality item.  The red ETON emergency radio works well, the cheap crank/solar flashlight not as much, so do your research.

Your lighting preps should always be backed up with a robust supply of parts and fuel.  Coleman mantels, wicks, matches, batteries, and fuel all need to be replaced or refilled.  Remember that filling up your kerosene lamps and letting them sit in the garage for 6 months will leave you with a bunch of empty lamps from evaporation.  Store your equipment correctly and in good working order, If you take care of it, it will take care of you when you need it.

I hope that this has been informative and will help you begin your own emergency lighting kit.  If you're reading this that means you have power and that means time to go buy some light!