On Sat, Dec 09, 2000 at 06:54:56PM -0800, Steven Shipley wrote:
> I decided against the generator since I have very reliable electrical
> service. If I bought a generator a couple of years ago, for example,
> it would still be in the box unused. But I've lost power for as much
> as two days.
I don't understand those two sentences- you have a very reliable
electrical service, yet you have been without power for as much as two days?
I have an unreliable electrical service and the longest I've gone
without power (so far) is a little over a day.
> And I'm totally dependent on electricity.
> The gas has never failed, but the furnace doesn't work without
> electricity. Doh! And now that I'm totally dependent, my reliable
> source of electricity announces that due to circumstances beyond their
> control, I can be cut off without notice. Time to explore the low
> tech solutions.
With a gas furnace which uses electricity to power the fans you can
use a generator to power the fans during a power outage. That's
what I do. I live in a semi-rural mountainous area just outside
silcon valley, and we can lose power at any time, most often
during winter storms when a tree knocks down a powerline.
Some areas up here have at times been without power for a week or more.
We bought a backup generator when we moved up here. It's not permanantly
wired to the house, I have to haul it out and plug it in when I need it.
But it's big enough to run most of our computers (we work at home), some
lights, and either the fridge or the furnace fans (I can alternate between
them). Our water is from a well, but with a 10k gallon tank I don't
need to run the well pump very often.
Eventually I'll get a good wood stove, but that's more for keeping
the house nice and warm than for emergency use.
--
Eric Murray Consulting Security Architect SecureDesign LLC
http://www.securedesignllc.com PGP keyid:E03F65E5
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