Don't Use Oven as Primary Heat Source

In a previous column, I made a casual statement that should have been more fully explained. In an article on the future potential of natural gas as a fuel in the state, I made the comment: "We (referring to my family) use propane for cooking only, but have also found the oven to be an excellent source of emergency heating when the power goes off."

As sales manager Dave Webb of Enstar Natural Gas in Anchorage correctly observes, using an oven to heat a room can be an extremely dangerous practice. This is particularly true if it is used in a small, enclosed area with little ventilation. Carbon monoxide can build up rapidly, especially when the water vapor created as a product of combustion freezes in cracks and openings which provide points of entry for oxygen and routes of escape for carbon monoxide.

Every winter we hear of families being asphyxiated in campers or trailer homes when trying to use charcoal, propane, or some other combustible material for heat. It is absolutely essential that adequate ventilation be provided in such cases, and an oven should never be relied on as a primary heat source.

In my own defense (and a lame one, I admit), I will state that our family only uses the oven for short periods of time during power outages, that we have a relatively large volume of interior space, and that there are openings around some of our doors and windows big enough to throw a cat through.

Webb also makes the point that there are already many homes and businesses in the Anchorage area (although not in the Interior) which are equipped with compressors to top off cars fueled by natural gas--something that I insinuated was still in the future for northerners. As a matter of fact, says Webb, there are several fleets of vehicles in southcentral Alaska that have been running on natural gas for years.

Please pass the crow.