Good day!
I am wondering whether it makes sense to prepare for a power outage this winter. And if so, in what form. Having a full oil tank is useless if the heating system doesn’t have power. There are these battery storage systems like Ecoflow and similar devices. My heating system is permanently wired. Of course, I could modify the wiring so that a plug-in connection is added. If the power actually goes out, I would unplug it and use a short cable to connect it to one of the outlets on the battery unit.
However, I have no idea what the actual power consumption of the heating controller, burner, and circulation pump is. The heating controller is a 20-year-old Vitotronic, the burner is also of similar age, but the circulation pump from Wilo is fairly recent.
Let’s assume the system consumes 200 watts. If you want to keep it running for 24 hours, you would need a battery capacity of 4.8 kWh (4.8 kilowatt-hours), or am I mistaken?
I consider operating additional devices such as a computer or telephone system to be less important, since in the event of a power outage, internet and phone connections usually don’t work anyway, and working is not really possible. Refrigerators and freezers can also be spared in cold winter conditions since you can store items outside somewhere. But heating really should keep running...
Looking ahead, I am working towards greater self-sufficiency with rooftop photovoltaic panels, battery storage, and a heat pump with flat collectors, but that will take time, so for now I am looking for a minimal solution for the coming winter.
Matthias
I am wondering whether it makes sense to prepare for a power outage this winter. And if so, in what form. Having a full oil tank is useless if the heating system doesn’t have power. There are these battery storage systems like Ecoflow and similar devices. My heating system is permanently wired. Of course, I could modify the wiring so that a plug-in connection is added. If the power actually goes out, I would unplug it and use a short cable to connect it to one of the outlets on the battery unit.
However, I have no idea what the actual power consumption of the heating controller, burner, and circulation pump is. The heating controller is a 20-year-old Vitotronic, the burner is also of similar age, but the circulation pump from Wilo is fairly recent.
Let’s assume the system consumes 200 watts. If you want to keep it running for 24 hours, you would need a battery capacity of 4.8 kWh (4.8 kilowatt-hours), or am I mistaken?
I consider operating additional devices such as a computer or telephone system to be less important, since in the event of a power outage, internet and phone connections usually don’t work anyway, and working is not really possible. Refrigerators and freezers can also be spared in cold winter conditions since you can store items outside somewhere. But heating really should keep running...
Looking ahead, I am working towards greater self-sufficiency with rooftop photovoltaic panels, battery storage, and a heat pump with flat collectors, but that will take time, so for now I am looking for a minimal solution for the coming winter.
Matthias
I’ve roughly calculated this: to cover my unavoidable base load for 24 hours, I would need to spend about 10,000 EUR on batteries. I’d rather wait to invest in that until I go for a complete solution including rooftop photovoltaic panels and a ground-source heat pump.
A generator is not ideal since I would have to place it outside, and there’s no reasonable way to run a cable inside without leaving a window open.
I’ll probably just wait it out. Maybe the situation won’t be that severe. Otherwise, during that time, we’ll move onto our boat, where we can be self-sufficient for about a week.
Matthias
A generator is not ideal since I would have to place it outside, and there’s no reasonable way to run a cable inside without leaving a window open.
I’ll probably just wait it out. Maybe the situation won’t be that severe. Otherwise, during that time, we’ll move onto our boat, where we can be self-sufficient for about a week.
Matthias
Pianist schrieb:
No, just the terrace. And I definitely don’t want to keep a window slightly open somewhere upstairs in the middle of winter just to run a long cable through.Do you have an outdoor outlet that shares its circuit with at least one indoor outlet?In case of a power outage, first turn off the circuit breaker for that circuit. This is very important! That way, the circuit is disconnected from the mains. Plug the generator into the outdoor outlet (plug to plug, something I would prepare beforehand) and tap into an indoor outlet inside the house on the same circuit, possibly using an extension cord to bring power to the heater room. Done, without any drafts!
When the main power is restored, first disconnect the generator, then turn the circuit breaker back on.
Of course, the electrical standards authority (VDE) would probably shake their head at this, but desperate times call for desperate measures...
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