Solar Power Facts Canada

Posts Tagged ‘electric heat’

Our power went out due to wind damage from hurricane Ike, in Pennsylvania. We have not had power for 4 days now, but luckily I was able to get a generator and have saved our fridge and freezer. My question is what can I power with this generator. It is a 5000 watt generator, and I was told that this should be able to power the whole house. Only thing is, I have a lot to run in my house. We have well water, heat with an electric heat pump, which has electric back up heat, and also an electric hot water heater. The well pump has a double pole 20 amp breaker, hot water double pole 30 amp breaker, heat pump double pole 25 amp, and furnace double pole 60 amp and double pole 30 amp. Will the 5000 watt generator be able to power any one of these at a given time? I know I am SOL for using them all at once, but switching between them would not be a big deal to me. Also, I know that I should not back feed into my house, and plan on getting a manual transfer switch to do the job. I just need to know if I need to get a bigger generator before I start looking at transfer switches. Thanks for the help.

More Green Energy Facts:

Just wondering…everything I read online says propane furnaces still work during a power outage.

BUT, aren’t the fan & thermostat electrically operated? The power went out for a few seconds about an hour ago while the heat was on, and I definitely heard the fan shut off.

I am not so sure about the thermostat- IS it electric? It’s pretty old….as is my furnace…the house was built in the 60’s and I wouldn’t be too suprised if the furnace is original to the house. If it’s not the original furnace, it’s at least 20 years old I’d guess. It has a manual pilot light, not one of those electric things, and there are no switches on the thermostat, just a big dial that you turn to the temp you want.

If the fan & thermostat are electric, then how does it manage to heat my house if the power goes out? I would imagine the propane would stay burning in the furnace in the basement, but how does the heat get pushed to the vents and into the house? And without a thermostat, how does the furnace "know" when to turn off & on?

Forgive me if this is a stupid question- I am a Florida native who grew up with electric central air/heat pumps, and I now live in rural South Dakota and we are gearing up for what may be the worst blizzard since 1968. I have only lived in SD for 3 years, and this is my first year being extremely rural. The power lines around here are already coated in an icy frost so I am anticipating the power going out when the wind kicks up. If the power goes out we can count on it being out for a few days, at least.

I just want to determine whether or not I can count on having heat, or if I need to break out the extra blankets & cuddle up with the dogs. Thanks for any help
Thanks for all the answers, makes sense to me! All the websites I looked at that touted the benefits of propane vs. electric heat say "you won’t be at the mercy of power outages" with propane. Guess that’s BS?

And Greek….oopsie? I got home late & my phone was dead, I put it on to charge and forgot all about it. Forgive me? You know I love you

More Green Energy Facts: