There’s a few different issues in this post, but here’s how it all started…
The power at my parents’ house went out during the winter for a few days because of downed power lines. The have NG central heat/electric AC, but during this time, the central heating would not work. My Dad says that this is because the blower in the unit requires electricity. I don’t really know anything about this, but I have a natural gas dryer unit, and it’s plugged into the wall, so I guess if my dryer requires electricity, his central heating must require electricity. So, here’s the first question:
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I don’t want my parents to be in a position where they don’t have heating for days again. But, my parents are elderly, and I don’t want them having to fiddle with a generator that requires adding fuel (such as propane) to it. What are my options here? Is there some type of battery backup or NG-powered generator I can have installed for them that will provide enough power for their central heating?
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If I can get something like the answer to question #1 in place, could I then make it so that the refrigerator and the microwave and maybe lighting in a few places have power as well during an outage?
Now, on to the next bit. My Mom has got it into her head that she wants a gas stove top. They currently have an electric stove top. The foundation is a concrete slab. There is NG coming in from the foundation for the water heaters and the fireplace, and then NG going to the central heating unit. The central heating unit is in the attic. We’re not going to run NG lines through the foundation, obviously. Someone has told my Mom that they can run NG lines through the attic, then down to the stove top. Since there’s already NG going up to the attic for the central heating, that should work, shouldn’t it? But my gut is telling me there’s something wrong about running an NG line across the attic and then down to a stove top. So, here’s the next question:
- Is it safe and possible to run an NG line across the attic and down to a stove top?
On to the next question. They have an electric dryer. The room with the dryer is next to the kitchen. There is no NG outlet in the dryer room.
- Is there any benefit to running NG into the dryer room? I guess, I’m not sure I understand the benefit of using NG for a dryer vs. straight electricity.
Thanks for the help.