i just had a power cut.

[Tarrel]

We had a power cut lasting many hours last winter. It taught me an important lesson about our heating system.

We have a solid fuel Rayburn which feeds a thermal store, which provides hot water and central heating via radiators. The circulation pump for the radiators operates on a time clock but there is an override thermostat that kicks the pump on if the thermal store starts to get too hot (85+ deg C). The Rayburn is great in a power cut. We have space-heating, hot water and cooking facilities - all on wood and coal, with no need for electricity. BUT - without power the central heating pump couldn't kick in and the store started to get very hot. I had to run a bath to cool it down.

Needless to say, the central heating pump now has a back up power supply based on a 12V leisure battery and small inverter, trickle-charged off the mains.