Tips for Health and Safety

Adequate home heating and cooling are a necessity of life. The inability to heat or cool one's home adequately can put household members at risk for health and safety problems.

Health

Home Heating and Your Health

Winter brings heating bills. High heating bills can force people to lower the temperatures in their homes in order to save money. However, indoor temperatures can be lowered to unsafe levels, which can result in hypothermia (cold stress or low body temperatures). Hypothermia can cause illness or death either indoors or outdoors. Households with an elderly or disabled person, or young child are especially vulnerable to hypothermia.

Every year, hypothermia kills about 600 Americans, half of whom are 65 and older, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Hypothermia (hi-po-ther- mee-uh) occurs when a person's normal body temperature drops from 98.6 degrees to 95 degrees. Older people may be at greater risk for this condition if their body's response to cold is diminished by certain illnesses like arthritis and medications like some over-the-counter cold remedies. According to the U.S. National Institute on Aging's booklet, Staying Warm in the Winter Can Be a Matter of Life and Death for Older People. Printed copies of the booklet can be ordered from the U.S. National Institute on Aging.

The best way to identify someone with hypothermia is to look for the "umbles" - stumbles, mumbles, fumbles, and grumbles. Changes in a person's behavior may indicate that the cold is affecting how well their muscles and nerves work. If you suspect that someone is suffering from the cold, and have a thermometer available, take his or her temperature. If their body temperature is 96 degrees or lower, call 911 for emergency help.

For further information about the dangers of hypothermia, see the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's prevention guide, Extreme Cold: A Prevention Guide to Promote Your Personal Health and Safety and the U.S. National Institute on Aging's booklet, Stay Safe in Cold Weather! Learn why you need to stay warm when it's cold. (PDF - 92KB)

Winter also forces households to seek alternative sources of heat. In a recent year, there were about 10,900 residential fires and about 190 deaths associated with portable or fixed local heaters. There were 15,500 fires and 40 deaths associated with fireplaces and chimneys. And there were about 100 deaths from carbon monoxide from heating systems, ranges/ovens, and water heaters.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) warns of hazards from heaters and fireplaces, including fire deaths and carbon monoxide poisoning. For further warnings, visit CPSC's web site.

Home Cooling and Your Health

Summer brings cooling bills. High cooling bills can force people to raise the temperatures in their homes in order to save money. Also, people may try to cope with hot spells by relying on fans in a home in which the windows are closed due to fear of crime. However, indoor temperatures can be raised to unsafe levels, which can result in hyperthermia (heat stress or high body temperatures). Hyperthermia can cause illness or death either indoors or outdoors. Households with an elderly or disabled person, or young child are especially vulnerable to hyperthermia.

For further information about the dangers of hyperthermia, see the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's prevention guide, Extreme Heat, and Tips for Preventing Heat-Related Illness. Also see the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Excessive Heat Events Guidebook.

Safety

Natural Disasters

Natural disasters can result in the loss of home energy due to fuel supply disruptions and/or damage to a home's heating or cooling system. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Weather Service provides warnings and forecasts of life-threatening weather, including thunderstorms, hailstorms, flooding, hurricanes, tornadoes, and climate events.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) assists the public and businesses recover from natural disasters. FEMA also provides information on what to do when natural disasters strike. FEMA has prepared publications on earthquakes, extreme heat, fire safety during or after a disaster, floods and flash floods, hurricanes, landslides and mud flows, tornadoes, tsunamis, volcanoes, wild land fires, winter driving, winter storms, winter preparedness safety tips, thunderstorms, and lightning. FEMA also provides Disaster Information.

If disaster strikes, communities need to be prepared to assist people with disabilities, people who speak little or no English, and people who are frail, elderly, very young, or homeless? The PrepareNow Alliance in San Francisco has prepared information on community preparedness and response in disasters.

Fuel Disruptions/Equipment Failures

Fuel supply disruptions/home energy equipment failures can occur as a result of natural disasters, fuel shortages, and power outages. In addition to possible health problems, such disruptions or equipment failures can result in safety problems. For example, the use of makeshift heating sources such as unvented or improperly vented portable heaters, barbecue grills or gas stoves, are not only fire hazards, but also create the risk of asphyxiation. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) warns of hazards from heaters and fireplaces and other supplemental heating devices, including fire deaths and carbon monoxide poisoning. For further warnings, visit CPSC's web site.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offer tips to help you prepare for and cope with sudden loss of power in their publication, What You Need to Know When the Power Goes Out Unexpectedly.