YOU HAVE ALTERNATIVES FOR KEEPING THE LIGHTS ON.

TEXT BY JIM JEFFRIES

Solar panels are cropping up across the continent as municipalities and power companies strive to meet the increasing demand for electricity.

PHOTOS BY JIM JEFFRIES

Like many families, we rely on a heat pump to keep our home cozy through the fall and winter months. On most days, it does a good job; but when the temperature falls below 40 degrees (F), our heat switches over to propane. During the coldest days, the propane furnace proves inadequate for our drafty, old farm house, especially when the north winds howl. Fortunately, we have a wood stove to supplement our primary heating system. the wood stove has, more than once, been our sole source of heat—sometimes for several days.

Winter ice storms and blizzards are frequent threats to the power grid throughout the United States. Power lines weighed down by heavy ice snap under the strain or are brought down by uprooted trees. Utility company linemen make repairs at a snail’s pace as gale force winds and sub-zero temperatures chill them to the bone.