Candles vs. Lanterns vs. Headlamps: What to Stock

When the lights go out, most people reach for candles. They're cheap, cozy, and dangerous. Fire departments see a rise in candle fires during outages. A few battery lights cost little and are much safer.

01The problem with candles

• Open flame near curtains, papers, kids and pets.
• Easy to forget when you fall asleep or leave the room.
• Not much light for the fire risk.

The U.S. Fire Administration recommends using flashlights or battery lights, not candles, during a power outage. If you do use candles, keep them in sturdy holders, away from anything that can burn, and never leave them unattended.

02What to stock instead

Headlamps (the best emergency light)

• Hands-free. You can cook, carry kids, fix things and climb stairs.
• One for every person in the house.
• Look for a red-light mode that saves your night vision and doesn't wake everyone up.

Battery lanterns

• Light up a whole room, so the family can gather in one place.
• LED lanterns run a long time on a set of batteries.
• One or two for the main room, one for the bathroom.

Flashlights

• A bright flashlight for checking outside, the breaker panel or the sump pump.
• Keep one in every bedroom and in the kitchen.

Solar and rechargeable lights

• Solar lanterns recharge on a sunny windowsill, good for long outages.
• Rechargeable lights stay topped up on a charger. Some turn on automatically when the power fails, which is great for hallways and stairs.
• A portable power station can recharge lights and phones. See portable power station vs. generator.

Glow sticks

Cheap, safe, and great for kids and marking stairs or bathrooms at night.

03How many?

A simple target for a family:

• 1 headlamp per person
• 2 lanterns
• 1 flashlight per bedroom, plus 1 in the kitchen
• Glow sticks for the kids

04Where to keep them

• Somewhere everyone knows and can find in the dark: a kitchen drawer, a hook by the door.
• A flashlight by each bed.
• Lights in the car kit and bug-out bag. See winter car kit and bug-out bag checklist.

05Batteries

Lights are only as good as their batteries. Standardize on one or two sizes (AA and AAA) so they're interchangeable, and keep spares.

06Test them

Twice a year, when the clocks change, test every light and swap out weak batteries.

A $20 headlamp is the best outage investment most families can make.

Sources (1)

U.S. Fire Administration: Candle safety.

Photo by 705847 on Pixabay.

Related: Batteries: What to Buy, How to Store, When to Rotate