Back in March when Fireside Engineering owner Skip Jackson made
a presentation at a regular AEA meeting about the pellet-burning
stoves and fireplaces he sells, he spoke about the stoves needing
electricity to operate the pellet- feeding system and fan.
Many modern wood-burning stoves and fireplaces also require electricity, at least to run fans or blowers. Some models have fans which are optional, but some recommend against operation without their fans because of the danger of overheating the equipment! With the pellet stove, the problem is not overheating, but the pellet feeding system shutting down if the power shuts down. So, if power goes out, so does the heat.
One of the pellet stoves Skip sells and described back in March
actually has its own battery for such times. However, if the power
outage is long enough, even the stove's battery power can be depleted.
Since it's so cloudy in the winter and the most severe heating
demands are often at night or during storms when there is no sunlight,
Skip decided to address this problem with a small wind generator.
He has installed one at his business and it is directly hooked
to the pellet stove with the battery. Now he's ready for winter!
This small wind generator even has its own charge controller to
protect the battery from being overcharged. Skip has invited AEA
to come see this setup!