Power outages and furnaces
February 8, 2013 6:33 AM Subscribe
Hi I am house sitting and Nemo is bearing down on us. I have a oil furnace in the basement. If the power goes out, then comes back, or I use the generator, are there any specific steps I need to take with the furnace?
What about water valves, etc?
Thanks much!
Things to do in a power outage (especially if below freezing and you have no heat)
1. Shut off the main breaker to the house at the electrical panel. This helps the power company when turning on the power from having wild surges and inductive effects when re-energizing the lines. Also protects the stuff in the house from power surges during re-energize.
2. Water should be ok but at least know where the main water shut off valve is (preferably at the meter) and how to shut it off. This varies A LOT from house to house and city to city.
3. In this case fill up your fridge and especially freezer with water bottles. This extra thermal mass will help keep the food from spoiling and keep it colder. I use empty two and one liter soda bottles, but any will plastic container will work , such as milk jugs, fruit juice, etc. I wouldn't use glass. This also serves as an emergency reserve of drinking water should municipal supplies become unavailable or contaminated. Make sure you leave a little extra room at the top for expansion of the ice so the container won't break.
4. Make sure you have a source of light. Battery or fuel powered. For most people this should be a few LED flashlights/lanterns with lots of extra batteries. In a pinch those solar power path lights are better than nothing and can be recharged during the day (kinda).
5. Mics. Lots of warm clothes and blankets. And something to entertain yourself with, cards, books, games whatever. Make sure you car has a full tank of gas. A snow shovel is pretty handy and one of those things you use to scrape and brush the snow off your car.
posted by bartonlong at 9:40 AM on February 8, 2013 [1 favorite]
1. Shut off the main breaker to the house at the electrical panel. This helps the power company when turning on the power from having wild surges and inductive effects when re-energizing the lines. Also protects the stuff in the house from power surges during re-energize.
2. Water should be ok but at least know where the main water shut off valve is (preferably at the meter) and how to shut it off. This varies A LOT from house to house and city to city.
3. In this case fill up your fridge and especially freezer with water bottles. This extra thermal mass will help keep the food from spoiling and keep it colder. I use empty two and one liter soda bottles, but any will plastic container will work , such as milk jugs, fruit juice, etc. I wouldn't use glass. This also serves as an emergency reserve of drinking water should municipal supplies become unavailable or contaminated. Make sure you leave a little extra room at the top for expansion of the ice so the container won't break.
4. Make sure you have a source of light. Battery or fuel powered. For most people this should be a few LED flashlights/lanterns with lots of extra batteries. In a pinch those solar power path lights are better than nothing and can be recharged during the day (kinda).
5. Mics. Lots of warm clothes and blankets. And something to entertain yourself with, cards, books, games whatever. Make sure you car has a full tank of gas. A snow shovel is pretty handy and one of those things you use to scrape and brush the snow off your car.
posted by bartonlong at 9:40 AM on February 8, 2013 [1 favorite]
In a very general sense: if the power goes off and comes back on the furnace should come back on. Usually there is a bright red on/off switch near the furnace that can jumpstart it if it does not come back on. Unless the power is out for days and temperatures are very low, you do not need to worry about water valves. Depending on the house, you may have water running/functioning even if the power is off. Do not use a generator unless you are SURE you know what you are doing. Running generators incorrectly and/or indoors is one of the ways people who would otherwise be okay during the storm become not-okay.
Otherwise I'd ask the people whose house it is or friendly neighbors, if there are any, what the best practices are for your area. You might be someplace where when power is off it's off for DAYS or where it's usually off for an hour or less. Gather the utility company phone/account numbers so that you can report an outage if there is one. Usually outages are widespread, but it's possible to be an outage-of-one and people will not know about your outage unless you report it.
posted by jessamyn at 9:40 AM on February 8, 2013 [1 favorite]
Otherwise I'd ask the people whose house it is or friendly neighbors, if there are any, what the best practices are for your area. You might be someplace where when power is off it's off for DAYS or where it's usually off for an hour or less. Gather the utility company phone/account numbers so that you can report an outage if there is one. Usually outages are widespread, but it's possible to be an outage-of-one and people will not know about your outage unless you report it.
posted by jessamyn at 9:40 AM on February 8, 2013 [1 favorite]
Don't worry about the furnace. They are designed to go off and on all the time. An oil fired furnace can be problematic if there is air in the oil line, and this could only happen if the tank runs dry.
posted by Gungho at 11:06 AM on February 8, 2013
posted by Gungho at 11:06 AM on February 8, 2013
Yeah, exactly. The thermostat is constantly cutting and restarting power to the furnace; it's used to it.
posted by zvs at 12:44 PM on February 8, 2013
posted by zvs at 12:44 PM on February 8, 2013
We have an oil furnace (along with woodstoves) and I've never done a thing when the power goes out. However if you are using a generator I think you need to do something to the electrical panel - you should check with the owners. I'd turn the water off at the main valve if you have a long outage. Other then we've got batteries and a full bathtub of water since we have a well and with no power, no water.
posted by lasamana at 4:23 PM on February 8, 2013
posted by lasamana at 4:23 PM on February 8, 2013
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I would really advise that you contact the owner of the house for specific instructions as to how he/she handle a power outage, hopefully they are reachable.
posted by HuronBob at 7:18 AM on February 8, 2013