Emergency Lighting: Build Layers of Light

When the power goes out at night, the first thing everybody reaches for is a light. It's almost instinct. And if you can't find one, or the batteries are dead, you realize very quickly how much you depend on it.

You can't live without light. You can't cook safely, you can't take care of a sick child, you can't find your way down the hall. Being stuck in the dark also wears on people. Everybody gets a little more anxious when they can't see.

So light is one of the things I make sure we never run short of. I have dozens of lights myself, all kinds that we've used over the years. And the most important thing I've learned is that you don't want just one kind. You want layers.

Why One Light Isn't Enough

Every light source has a weakness. Flashlights need batteries, and batteries run down. Rechargeable lights need a way to recharge. Candles burn out, and they bring fire into your home. Lanterns need fuel.

If all of your light depends on one thing, then when that one thing runs out, you're in the dark. But if you have several different kinds, each one covers for the others. It's the same principle I talk about with heat and cooking. Always have at least two. Don't depend on one, but at least have one.

The Layers I Keep

Here are the kinds of light I'd want every family to think about:

• Flashlights. Quick, simple, and easy to hand to every person in the house.
• Battery lanterns. Good for lighting a whole room instead of a single spot.
• Rechargeable lights. These keep going as long as you have a way to recharge them.
• Wind-up lights. No batteries required. You just wind them up by hand and you have light.
• Candles. Inexpensive, easy to store, and they come in different burn times.
• Kerosene lanterns. A fuel-burning option that can give good light for a long stretch.
• Propane lanterns. Bright and useful, but for outdoor use.

I really like the wind-up lights as one of the layers, because they don't rely on anything you have to store. As long as you have a hand to turn the crank, you have light. When the batteries are gone and there's no way to recharge, that's a good thing to have in the drawer.

A Word About Candles

Candles are great for a lot of things. You can get one-hour candles, ten-hour candles, and even sixty-hour candles. A few of the long-burning ones can carry you through a lot of evenings.

But candles do increase the danger, so you want to be careful. A candle is an open flame inside your home. Never leave one burning unattended, and never leave one burning when you go to sleep. Keep candles well away from curtains, bedding, paper, and anything else that can catch. Keep them out of reach of children and pets. Set them on a stable, nonflammable surface where they won't get knocked over. And make sure your smoke detectors are working.

During an outage, when everyone is tired and moving around in the dark, those little precautions matter more than ever.

Fuel-Burning Lanterns

Kerosene lanterns can give you good light. If you use a kerosene lamp indoors, make sure the room has good ventilation, and follow the instructions that came with it. Treat it with the same care you would a candle.

Propane lanterns are a different story. They have to be used outside, unless a particular lantern is specifically rated for indoor use. They're bright and handy for working outdoors or lighting up a camp, but they don't belong inside your house. Like any fuel-burning appliance, they can produce carbon monoxide, which you can't see or smell. A carbon monoxide detector inside the home is a wise thing to have no matter what you're burning.

Putting It Together

Here's how I'd put it together. Keep flashlights within reach of every bed, a few battery or rechargeable lanterns for the main rooms, wind-up lights as the backup that never needs batteries, and candles and kerosene for long nights, used carefully. Spread them around so nobody has to go searching in the dark, and check them every so often so you're not surprised by dead batteries.

Light also ties right into the rest of your plan. Your fuel for lanterns comes from the same storage as your fuel for cooking and heat, so it all needs to be planned together. I write about those in heating your home safely when the power is out and cooking off-grid.

If you'd like help working out what your family needs, the free Family Planner on this site covers cooking, heat, fuel, and light. It's free, there's no sign-up, and nothing you enter is ever saved.

A Thought to Carry With You

There's a reason the scriptures talk so much about light. "The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light" (Isaiah 9:2). When the power fails and the house goes dark, even one small candle changes the whole room. I think faith works the same way. It doesn't have to be big to push back the darkness. It just has to be lit, and kept burning. So store your flashlights and your candles. And tend that other light too, the one inside you, so that when the dark days come you'll have light to see by and light to share.