The power failure is over and in usual style, I attempted to come up with backup systems that are cost effective. As it turns out, it's hard to beat a hotel room when the outage is during the winter. Generator's are pretty expensive for someone whose just trying to keep a furnace blower, fridge and a few lights going. Using your car and a voltage inverter won't run this mix of items. Some will say that dry ice, a fireplace and oil lamps are a reasonable choice. It takes a considerable amount of dry ice to keep things cold for four days. Washtenaw dairy charges about $10 a pound for dry ice. DTE sells natural gas generators that will do 5kw. Probably ridiculous money. It takes a medical need or life threatening cold away from shelter or a very long outage to make the difference.