Keeping Computers (And People) Warm In Winter?

Grimwiz writes "Similar to a few of you, I have some of my computers on a UPS. However, the UK press have recently been warning that power supply interruptions are likely this winter and I've been pondering about upgrading my power protection from those few machines to include a few key house components. In particular, I need to ensure that the gas-powered (but electrically controlled) central heating stays working. I have reviewed a few solutions, including Solar / Photovoltaic or purchasing a generator but they seem to be hugely more expensive than my simple UPS solution, although they do provide a much longer lasting solution than running off batteries. (A battery solution becomes quite expensive if I require more than an hours backup.) My power requirements for a quiescent house is about 4amps @ 250V, and I'd like to survive at least 8 hours. What solutions do you recommend?"

Comments

Buy bigger batteries

[Repugnant_Shit]

I have a small, 20 minute UPS. Once the battery could no longer hold a charge, I took it out and replaced it with a higher capacity VRLA battery that I got from work. With one LCD and one computer, I get about 9 hours of reserve time. The UPS does not get hot, even when the battery has been significantly discharged. I plan on doing this to two other UPS that I bought at a flea market for $10.

Our gas supply

[eric76]

We get natural gas directly from the wellhead.

The lease dates back to the 1940s and at the time it wasn't uncommon for the leaseholder to be able to use all the gas they needed from the well for household use.

The oil and gas company that has the lease desperately wants to change those terms.

The only downsides are:
1) Occasionally the well will freeze up in the winter. That's not that much of a problem because my oldest brother who also lives on the farm is retired from that same oil and gas company and can thaw out the well.
2) There are no odorants added to the natural gas and so it has no smell to tell you that you have a gas leak. I ended up in the hospital once because of that when a natural gas heater went out and let the room fill with natural gas.

Combined heat and power.

[Colin Smith]

http://www.sunmachine.de/english/index_y.html

Not in full production yet but should be in a year or so. Once it is it'll be possible to have your own solar power station in your back garden.

35% efficient at converting heat into electricity and the rest of the heat is used for central heating and hot water giving an overall efficiency of 90% or so. If not enough sun, it can switch to gas powered generation.

Will it compete with a cheap petrol generator? Not in the short term. In the long term, it supplies electricity to the grid as well as heating the house, so not only does it reduce your bills, it actually earns some cash.

Re:How cold does it get in the UK during winter?

[NtroP]

Heh, OK, I just can't let this opportunity pass (mostly because I have enough anti-freeze in my blood right now to not know when to STFU :-)

I live in North Pole, Alaska (yeah, really) and I've seen it get to -70F (-57C) here a few times. I've actually saved myself from freezing to death by crawling under the hood of my truck to lay on the [rapidly cooling] engine when my belts snapped with the cold. I now make it a rule that I call in sick if it drops below -55F.

In my experience, it takes a long time for pipes to freeze to the point where they burst. The power goes out a lot here (I have 3 APC 1100 UPS's under my desk to keep my computers and peripherals up during the black/brown-outs). Granted my house has 12" walls, but I've seen the power go out in the dead of winter here and, 12 hours later, the house might be down to around 40F. I do not run glycol in in my heating system, but I DO let the faucets drip (slowly) whenever it looks like it's going to be a long outage.

Now, I have considered getting a generator (a lot of people have them around here), and it would probably be a good idea. But in leu of that, [we] have a rather impressive set of winter gear that we can rely on - my parka has build-in, replaceable 8-hour chemical heaters under each arm and my "bunny-boots" could probably have kept the astronauts toasty on the moon.

That being said, I'd have to echo the parent post about finding the chicks. It's usually best to have the wife and kids spend a nice warm night in a hotel though, before you invite said chicks over to help you survive.