Electric Blanket, Really?

Answer to the question. Yes, really!

RV er’s and boaters in marinas with power (on grid) have long known the value of an electric blanket.

Travelers that stay with friends and relatives that turn the heat down can just pack an electric

blanket and sleep warm and comfortable. No power? It still works because it is a blanket. Tiny house and yurt dwellers that are on the grid love the electric blanket.

Another back up I use is to pack a winter -20 sleeping bag in the truck.
I once survived a three-day trip with no heat in a motel due to a power outage caused by an ice storm.
In the end, I just got on the road and headed home.
I was trapped due to a state of emergency and roads that had become impassable.

Make sure each member of your family has a Sleeping Bag for just such an emergency.
Don’t forget that parkas and ski pants can also save you in a low temperature situation.

Keep warm by putting on a warm hat, dry socks and gloves or mittens.

In insulate yourself from the cold ground or floor. Heat leaves with 

Conduction of you to the cold ground. An insulated mat will help stop this

problem.

From John Elden Gibbons Book Shelter Craft

Mechanisms of Heat Loss

Keep from losing heat and use these same mechanisms to cool down in hot situations.

Radiation – Put on a hat or layer up to give you

Add more insulation. Blocking the sun will reduce the sun’s radiation in hot.

Climates. Wearing light clothing with venting will also reduce personal.

temperatures. 

Convection – Heat loss from air flow or wind and wind chill can be stopped

or reduced by getting out of the wind, into a shelter, or

using trees or rocks to create a barrier between you and the

prevailing wind. Hot winds can cook you as well as any convection oven.

Evaporation is a result of getting wet damp or sweat. 

Layer down before you sweat. Put on dry clothing.

wear clothes that wick or that will keep you warm even if damp or wet.

Wool or synthetics are best for wicking. 

Damp and wet clothing can be used to cool you in hot climates. Remember that the desert is cold at night. 

Conduction is caused by your body directly connected to the ground, a rock or some other

Material that sucks the heat from you. 

This is stopped by sitting on an insulated pad or tree boughs. Conduction can be used to cool your body.

 In hot climates: Dig a trench and cover it with a poncho or tarp to prevent the sun 

From warming the soil or sand. The trench will be cooler and pull heat away 

from you as you lay in the trench.

Transpiration can take your heat by rapped breathing. 

Slow your breath to prevent heat loss.

Breath through your nose to heat the air as it enters your lungs.

In hot areas, find cool protected areas to sit. Breathing in cooler air in these areas.

can help you keep your body cool.

From John Elden Gibbons Book Shelter Craft