5 ms·
> A lot of people have natural gas heat. It doesn't work when the power is out That doesn’t have to be the case. I have gas heat [0], that works fine when our
by gkop 6y ago
> A lot of people have natural gas heat. It doesn't work when the power is out
That doesn’t have to be the case. I have gas heat [0], that works fine when our power is out.
(Not intending to detract from the rest of your point)
[0] a basic Williams wall furnace on a 50 year old thermostat.
- WillPostForFood 6y agoHow does the thermostat work? I've had the old mercury switch style thermostats before, but those work by completing a circuit, so I assumed they were dependent on power being on.
- gkop 6y agoGoogling tells me it’s “a pilot millivolt system”. I guess the downside of this design is that the pilot* is always lit, consuming a certain amount of fuel. Neat old quick start guide for a similar thermostat: http://nebula.wsimg.com/b2bc334b6de3591406ddd01974f01830?AccessKeyId=5F08A6A047671B630469&disposition=0&alloworigin=1 http://nebula.wsimg.com/b2bc334b6de3591406ddd01974f01830?Acc... * pilot is manual piezoelectric; doesn’t require electric power
- pixl97 6y agoHow does it blow heat around the house?
- gkop 6y agoIt’s a wall furnace in the center of the apartment, I guess it blows via convection, outward on both sides of the wall. These heaters are super common in California, and some larger homes have multiple of them. I assume they’re not as efficient as more modern solutions, but they are certainly reliable and low-maintenance.
- Johnny555 6y agoNot very well, I lived in an apartment with one of those in the hallway, had to set up a fan to blow warm air to the living room or bedrooms or it got way too cold on cold nights. (which fortunately, were rare where I lived). It'd definitely be better than nothing in an extended power failure, but forced air heat is more comfortable