furnace [RE-wrenches]

[Jeff Yago]

A typical central forced air furnace will "kill" most off grid systems
unless you have a major array.  I have an "almost" off grid 3000 sq.ft
home that has a central air handling unit using a hot water coil for
heating, and as soon as it was delivered to the site I ripped out the
fan motor and replaced it with a super-efficient model.  It still
drains the battery in the winter months.  In Virginia our winters are
mild, however I have a run time meter on the air handling unit which I
record each month.  For the past six years it averages 9 to 10 hours
of operation per day during the winter, and 7 to 8 hours during the
summer. Assuming a typical 1/2 HP size blower fan, that equals 4.1 kWh
per day!!!

Also, this still does not include any pumps or controls for the boiler
or gas heating section. I would suggest getting under the house and
running perimeter baseboard hot water heat supplied from a packaged
gas/propane hot water boiler and a wood stove in the family room.  I
have designed several of these systems for off grid homes as far north
as Idaho and they have worked great with minimum battery load.  Save
the ductwork for a future gas fired AC unit that operates in summer
only with generator assist!

Jeff Yago

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