Emergency power supply for oil central heating

Good day!

I am wondering whether it makes sense to really prepare for a power outage this winter. And if so, in what form. My full oil tank is of no use if the heating system has no power. Now there are these battery storage units from Ecoflow and the like. My heating system is, of course, hardwired. I could, of course, modify this hardwiring so that a plug connection is inserted. If the power actually goes out, I would unplug it and connect it with a short cable to one of the sockets on the battery unit.

However, I have no idea how high the actual power consumption of the heating control, burner, and circulation pump is. The heating control is a 20-year-old Vitotronic, the burner is as old, but the circulation pump from Wilo is quite new.

Let’s assume the system needs 200 watts. If you want to maintain operation for 24 hours, you would already need a battery capacity of 4.8 kWh, or am I making a mistake in my thinking?

I consider it rather secondary that other consumers like a computer or telephone system must also be operated, because in the event of a power outage, internet and telephone connections surely won’t work either and you wouldn’t be able to work anyway. The fridge and freezer are also dispensable in the cold winter; you can store things outside somewhere. But the heating should definitely work...

In the long run, I am working on more self-sufficiency anyway, i.e. with photovoltaic on the roof, battery storage, and heat pump with flat collectors, but that will still take time, so for now I am looking for a minimal solution for the coming winter.

Matthias

A suitably sized emergency generator is more clever in this case. You can simply increase the capacity with a few canisters in the garage, and whatever you don't need is used by the car.

I do have something like that, but that would actually be the most inefficient solution. And you have to have enough Aspen gasoline on hand, because otherwise the device will stick after years of non-use. Therefore, only Aspen.

By the way, in my family, there have been no cars for years where you have to pour in any kind of fluids...

I wonder if it really makes sense to prepare for a power outage this winter.

No. What would that seriously achieve? There can be power outages. So what? A few hours and that's it. If there were to be a nationwide blackout, I think we would have more serious problems than having emergency power at home for 1-2 days. Besides, you can also manage cheaply for 24 hours with a blanket. It takes a lot of time for the house to cool down completely.

I do have something like that, but it would actually be the most inefficient solution. And you have to have enough Aspen gasoline on hand, because otherwise the device will gunk up after years of non-use. Therefore only Aspen.

By the way, there haven’t been any cars in my family for years where you have to pour in any kind of liquids...

Do you want a solution that is cheap and works or a solution that will also be accepted on the next school skipping Friday? If the former, then generator. If you don't use it for years, your worry was completely exaggerated anyway. Or spend a lot of money on a battery and storage and then be without power because the weather was bad three days before and the battery is empty.

No. What is that seriously supposed to achieve? Power outages can happen. So what? A few hours and that’s it. If there were a nationwide blackout, I think we would have more serious problems than having emergency power at home for 1-2 days.

Apart from that, you can also manage more cheaply for 24 hours with a blanket. It takes quite a while for the house to cool down completely.

Presumably it will be exactly as you say. I just have to prevent the house from cooling down so much that the water supply freezes and the pipe bursts. In the absolute extreme case, of course, I could turn off the water in the street and then drain both the way into the house and the pipes in the house, just as I could completely empty the heating pipes.

In the long term, I would be interested in a solution suitable for Gretas.

Matthias