Be Prepared with Candles

Keeping emergency candles on hand is always a good idea. Not only are candles useful for home entertaining and home décor; candles are even more useful in emergency situations. Whether you're at home or out camping, emergency candles are an emergency kit essential.

Even though we're now living in the age of technology, summer storms and winter blizzards can still interrupt our power service, and candles are a quick, easy way to create light and heat in an emergency situation.

While almost any kind of candle will work in an emergency situation, certain types of candles are more effective at providing light or heat than others. The best approach to using candles for emergencies is to keep a separate box or group of new, long-burning unscented candles specifically for emergency purposes. Do not use these candles for home décor or entertaining: keep these candles for emergencies only so that you are sure they will be available should the need arise.

The best types of emergency candles are as follows:

• Use short, unscented taper candles for providing light and some heat. Make sure you also have firm, sturdy taper candle holders that can easily be carried by hand or moved from place to place. Taper candles that are too thin will burn too quickly, so make sure you choose tapers that have a relatively thick circumference.  Place several taper candles together so that the candles can generate a source of heat as well as light.

• Pillar candles are also another good source of light; although pillar candles are less effective at generating heat than taper candles. Long-burning pillar candles also make good emergency candles because they can generate light for extended periods of time – an important consideration when choosing candles for emergency use.