From Deseret News archives:
Alternative sources of heat
Cost: Prices vary widely and depend mainly on capacity. A 5,500-watt generator with five outlets (four 120 and one 240), for example, is $660 at Lowe's. Extras: extension cords to run from the generator to your appliances and/or portable electric heaters; gasoline.
Precautions: Operate it outdoors. Don't use it inside your home or your garage because it produces carbon monoxide, a colorless, odorless gas that can be deadly. Don't plug the extension cord from the generator into an electrical outlet or into your home's circuit panel or fuse box. Don't overload the generator by connecting it to more appliances that it has the capacity for. Don't use a generator to power the blower fan on your gas furnace unless the generator has a hard-wire connection to your furnace made by a licensed electrician. The electrician will install a transfer switch that will isolate your home from Utah Power's grid, eliminating the chance that power crews working on your power line will come in contact with electrical current feeding into the system from your generator. The switch will also protect your appliances from a power surge when the power comes back on. Other safety tips are available on the Web at www.utahpower.net. Under "brochure library" scroll down to "bright ideas."
Heat Source: Fireplace inserts: Natural gas, Wood burning
Cost: Natural gas: From $1,875, including blower and installation, assuming you have a gas line to your fireplace.
Wood burning: From $1,000.
Precautions: Natural gas: There are two types of gas inserts on the market. One has electronic ignition; it won't work during a power outage. The other, called a safety pilot system, provides its own power for ignition and will work during a power outage. The blower, however, won't work during a power outage.
Natural gas: A stove with a safety pilot system will work during a power outage, but the blower won't.
Wood burning: The blower won't work during a power outage. See general precautions, below.
Heat Source: Free-standing stoves: Wood burning, Natural gas
Cost: Wood burning: From $900 plus installation, which can range from about $300 if the vent pipe is in place to $1,500 to install the vent pipe from the stove through the roof.
Gas-burning: From $1,300, plus installation.
Precautions: Natural gas: Won't work if it's an electronic ignition fireplace but will work if it's a safety pilot system. The blower won't work during a power outage.
