Turning off HVAC in case of power outage?
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Anonymous
| Is anyone turning off their HVAC during the storm? My landlord asked us to turn off the HVAC in our house in case the power goes out, so if there's a surge when the power comes back on the surge won't blow out the HVAC system. I was totally fine with that, but I just saw that temps tonight are going to dip into the 40s. My preschooler has a cold, and we're planning to sleep in the basement tonight, which is cold enough even when the heat is on. In the past we've lost power a few times and had no problem when the electricity came back on. Anyone have experience with blown-out HVAC systems? Obviously I'm going to honor the landlord's request, but I'm wondering if its common to turn the system off. |
Anonymous
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Turning it off won't help with a power surge. Using the external disconnect might help.
Your landlord is not so bright. |
Anonymous
| OP, I think that's a strange request. |
Anonymous
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I don't think you have to turn it off before hand. Just after you lose power.
Actually BGE has something similar on its website: "During a power outage, turn off all appliances, including your furnace, air conditioner, and water heater to avoid overloading circuits when power is restored to all appliances at once. Leave one lamp on so you will know when your service is restored" The very last point on this page - http://www.bge.com/customerservice/stormsoutages/stormcenter/beforeastorm/pages/default.aspx |
Anonymous
| It isn't obvious to me why you should have the HVAC running in this weather anyway. I don't think mine has been on in like three weeks. |
Anonymous
| Yes, you are not being requested to turn it off now only after the power goes out. If the power goes out, you should go around and turn off the major appliances. Most appliances and devices use the biggest spike of energy when they turn on. If the power goes on and there is too much draw still on, it could overload the circuit and blow something else along the line and the line will come on and then go off again (and they'll have to repair something else). So, anything with a big draw should be shut down during the outage so that it doesn't spike the system when it comes back online. As long as a reasonable number of customers do this, then it will be fine for everyone. Once the power is back on, you can turn things on again so that it staggers the power spikes of devices coming online. |
Anonymous
| Our HVACs have electronic control pads. I don't think you can turn them off if the power is already off. Is there something I'm missing? |
Anonymous
OP here. I have the same question! |
Anonymous
Every electronic one I've seen has a battery backup and remained on during an outage. |