Back up power?

Not a lot to do these days other days than grow more paranoid and ride, so here’s today’s thinking out loud edition of lockdown boredom

We have a chest freezer that’s full of food. It’s a day to day source of food storage but, to some extent, it’s also a stockpile. I think that, so far, we have all been lucky that our grocery stores remained open and staffed by persons committed to keeping all the wheels turning. Who knows what the future holds. 

Now I’m concerned that a sustained power outage will take out my freezer!! We have had 30ish hour outages before. Not sure that that is long enough for things to thaw if the freezer is kept shut. 

A source of backup power would be a good idea for a lot of reasons. Probably not necessary but it’s a weak link today. 

What would you do?

Just buy an inexpensive’ish generator capable of powering a few things direct? I cannot imagine hardwiring anything into my panel so I’d probably just consider something basic. 

Solar with battery bank? Not sure I’d have the sun exposure I’d need but the freezer appears pretty energy efficient and perhaps a bunch of batteries could store sufficient power to keep it cold for a few days? I’d have to do the math I guess

Anyone have a very basic backup power set up at home?  Mostly thinking freezer backup as our stove is gas, gas furnace, fireplaces and garage door has its own battery backup.

A couple of sources (like BC Hydro - https://www.bchydro.com/news/conservation/2015/fridge-freezer-power-outage.html) suggest that a full freezer can still keep food for up to 48 hours as long as you keep the lid closed (or open only briefly as needed).

Depending on how widespread the power outage is, you might be able to source the odd block of dry ice to throw in if it goes longer than that.  Battery backup would be pretty expensive, about $10k for a single Tesla powerwall (13.5 kWh).  I suppose you could plug the freezer into a little Honda generator from Can Tire, but you'd have to put up with the noise and small of exhaust.  You would obviously have to put the genny outdoors, but they still smell awful and some of that will make its way indoors.

I grew up in Pender Harbour and multi-day outages were the norm.  We would just wrap the freezer in blankets and hope for the best.  I don't remember having to throw anything out.  Otherwise a little generator is a good bet.  You don't have to run it full time, just enough to keep the freezer cold.  A lot of them are pretty quiet.

Thanks for the advice!

Yeah, Im not into spending big bucks on this as I dont think its necessary.  A smaller gas gen would certainly do the trick and it could be used for a few hours here and there as needed to keep things cold as constant on probably would not be necessary. 

Anyone have a basic solar set up? Speed of charge wouldnt be that important as long as the storage is good enough. Half a dozen car batteries attached to an inverter would probably power a freezer (when used intermittently) for a week maybe more?

Gas generator probably still cheaper tho and theoretically usable for longer periods of time. Thats probably the move and not a bad idea to have at hand regardless. 

I wonder if there's a way to power the freezer from our eGolf  (we have gas cars too)? Ill check if its got a 110volt plug in and what the max draw. That would be my solar power bank right there!

for you electric pro's how hard would it be to wire in a small gen? I wondered if you could just switch the house main off, plug in the genrator  and have complete circuit ?

Posted by: XXX_er

for you electric pro's how hard would it be to wire in a small gen? I wondered if you could just switch the house main off, plug in the genrator  and have complete circuit ?

No, not that easy.  To have it wired into the house, you need to have a transfer switch - BC Hydro regs.  Otherwise, you could send power up the line to the pole transformer and electrocute a line worker.

I actually have two panels. One panel works off of the main. I wonder if hardwiring into the downstream panel removes the need for a switch as perhaps the upstream panel is blocking?

Still more complicated than I’m looking for when a simple gas gen will do, but I though the discussion might be interesting.

Posted by: Ddean

I actually have two panels. One panel works off of the main. I wonder if hardwiring into the downstream panel removes the need for a switch as perhaps the upstream panel is blocking?

Still more complicated than I’m looking for when a simple gas gen will do, but I though the discussion might be interesting.

No, it won't block. As long as the breaker on your main panel that feeds the subpanel is closed, then the power can back feed to the pole. BCH requires that you install an open-transition transfer switch.

https://www.bchydro.com/safety-outages/power-outages/prepare-for-outages/prepare-your-home.html#generators

"It is not permissible to connect a home portable or stationary generator directly to a house wiring system without the proper installation of a CSA-approved transfer switch. An electrical permit is required for the installation and the transfer switch and generator must be inspected and approved by the local electrical inspector. For more information on the correct way to connect your generator and to obtain a permit, please call your electrical contractor or the electrical inspector in your area."

"Never plug a portable generator into a regular household electrical outlet. This can also cause back-feeding to the BC Hydro electrical grid, which is a serious electrical danger to your neighbours and utility workers."

i was stuck on Haida gwai for 9 days so I hung out in the hostel in QCC which buddy had taken completely off the grid using solar panels to charge his batteries, he was able to run everything off the system including his electric scooter,for batteries he used lead acid batteries so whenever he went past Napa on his electric scooter he would check for the large cat/truck batteries on the pile to be recycled. The batteries were always there cuz they went dead from being abused but if all the cells were good with a meter check he would take it home and put it on a reconditioner he got from china for 30$ and use it in one of his systems. he told me he got everything from china cuz they were light years ahead of us on solar. he showed me his battery setup and it was just a bunch of cat batteries next to the garage and he soldered every connection ...no failures

so he did it with some solar panels, recycled/free batteries, a few pieces of inexpensive electrical componetry for a super low priced totaly macgyvered  solar powered system

Even the new batteries are not that bad for the cost.  At my cabin I have 2 golf cart batteries and once they are charged fully I can run pretty much all weekend on them with lights and a stereo.  In your home it is basically just a battery backup so you could skip the solar panels and get a charger, unless you are expecting the hydrocalypse.  You would just need an inverter, but those are not too costly either.

yeah the costs of solar panels and batteries have come down ^^  he was a pretty smart entirely self taught/very eccentric , buddy also did work wiring boats & on remote radio instalations on Haida Gwai where he was getting choppered in to replace all the batteries , and he said the big problem with solar is the design especially up narth cuz what is designed to work down south in the summer with lots of light doesnt work up narth in winter when days are short so there is < 8 hrs of daylight and the sun just barely hits the array , the batteries get stressed and the system dies , buddy said even if you don't run batteries completey flat constantly over drawing the batteries is a major probelm linked to failure.

Excellent point that battery charging can happen from existing home power.