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The old lake house we bought in 2013 and are still working on is all electric. We don't loose power often but when we do we loose water, heat or AC, and all entertainment. It happened this fall and I decided to do something. But, of course, I didn't get busy until we had our first "snow" last weekend. Long term, the plan is to switch the hot water to LP, put in a direct vent fireplace insert also burning LP, and switch to city water. That will let us have basic necessities except for electricity.
For electricity we decided an inverter made sense for us. We have a boat with a large trolling motor battery we can temporarily repurpose. Starter battery could be used too. My wife mainly wants the internet but the Dish box would also let us watch TV on tablets or computers. And it has to have USB ports to recharge cell phones and tablets. I tried a "CAT" 1000W model from Home Depot but the one I got beeped all the time. So it went back. The reviews on the Krieger 1100W were much better on Amazon so I bought that and it was delivered yesterday. I hooked it up last night and ran the 50 inch LCD, dish box, wireless Joey box, and had standby power to the DVD player for about 15 minutes. The battery was already down some from prior use but the voltage was still over 11V. Low voltage alarm is at 10.5. Everything ran fine. I was using about 125W. I tested the internet equipment on the last inverter so I am sure it will work. I have to run an extension cord to it but that works, the inverter has two outlets - and two USB outlets.
I got a little one due to the limitations of battery power. When you drop the voltage by ~a factor of 10 (115 to 12V) you increase the amperage by the same amount. So to put out the rated 9.6A at 115V, requires 118amps input. My class 27 trolling motor battery is rated at 100 amp hours. So I could deplete it in less than an hour putting out maximum power. But what I want to do is, hopefully 100-200W. Occasionally, if the power is off hours, I would plug it into the refrigerator to let it cool down. I think that will be about 300W. A lamp with a little CFL is 15W. So my limitation with the inverter is the battery. Being able to run the well pump or a heat pump would be nice but it's not practical on batteries. I think once we get the direct vent insert installed we could survive an extended outage in the winter OK using it, especially if we have entertainment, a few lights and can keep our food from spoiling.
A generator would do a lot more, depending on the size, but would also be a lot more money. I don't see it as justified for the few times we loose power. We want the direct vent fireplace insert and LP hot water for other reasons so I'm not counting that against the inverter "solution". I think the only practical way to use a generator is with a transfer switch and that adds at least $300. So I'd probably spend the better part of $1000 - and still be limited on power. $100 is a lot easier on the budget.
For electricity we decided an inverter made sense for us. We have a boat with a large trolling motor battery we can temporarily repurpose. Starter battery could be used too. My wife mainly wants the internet but the Dish box would also let us watch TV on tablets or computers. And it has to have USB ports to recharge cell phones and tablets. I tried a "CAT" 1000W model from Home Depot but the one I got beeped all the time. So it went back. The reviews on the Krieger 1100W were much better on Amazon so I bought that and it was delivered yesterday. I hooked it up last night and ran the 50 inch LCD, dish box, wireless Joey box, and had standby power to the DVD player for about 15 minutes. The battery was already down some from prior use but the voltage was still over 11V. Low voltage alarm is at 10.5. Everything ran fine. I was using about 125W. I tested the internet equipment on the last inverter so I am sure it will work. I have to run an extension cord to it but that works, the inverter has two outlets - and two USB outlets.
I got a little one due to the limitations of battery power. When you drop the voltage by ~a factor of 10 (115 to 12V) you increase the amperage by the same amount. So to put out the rated 9.6A at 115V, requires 118amps input. My class 27 trolling motor battery is rated at 100 amp hours. So I could deplete it in less than an hour putting out maximum power. But what I want to do is, hopefully 100-200W. Occasionally, if the power is off hours, I would plug it into the refrigerator to let it cool down. I think that will be about 300W. A lamp with a little CFL is 15W. So my limitation with the inverter is the battery. Being able to run the well pump or a heat pump would be nice but it's not practical on batteries. I think once we get the direct vent insert installed we could survive an extended outage in the winter OK using it, especially if we have entertainment, a few lights and can keep our food from spoiling.
A generator would do a lot more, depending on the size, but would also be a lot more money. I don't see it as justified for the few times we loose power. We want the direct vent fireplace insert and LP hot water for other reasons so I'm not counting that against the inverter "solution". I think the only practical way to use a generator is with a transfer switch and that adds at least $300. So I'd probably spend the better part of $1000 - and still be limited on power. $100 is a lot easier on the budget.
Loring in Katy, TX USA
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