Can a Yeti 1500X run a gas furnace (fan) with a backup panel?

Jay
Jay Member Posts: 2 ✭✭
in HOME BACKUP SYSTEMS

If I buy a backup sub panel, can my Yeti 1500X power the furnace if the only electric power it uses is the fan? The heat source is gas. It seems logical but I don’t want to buy the backup kit if this won’t work. Thanks.

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Best Answer

  • jg164
    jg164 Administrator, Moderator Posts: 337 admin
    Answer ✓

    Hi @Jay,

    The best way to find out is to do some measurements of the power draw measured a few ways:

    • Inrush/Surge power. This is the highest power draw in the first few seconds when the blower kicks on after it has been sitting idle. Often this power draw will be much higher than what a device has been running for a while because motors and large starting capacitors in the circuit require a lot of power to get things going.
    • Nominal power. This is the rate of power your device uses on average over a longer period.
    • Cumulative power. This is how much power your device uses over time.

    The voltage of my gas furnace blower and controls seems to be 120VAC which is compatible with my Yeti 3000X but my Air Conditioner condenser is 220VAC which would not work with it. If I wanted to use a Yeti to power my furnace blower I would also need to have an electrician or HVAC professional replace the light switch setup I have with a power cord and outlet so I could connect the furnace to a Yeti.

    Once you have an AC plug on your furnace you could use your a Killowatt to gather these measurements during a couple of 24 hour cold weather test like this guy did for testing his furnace for the same reason. If your furnace 120VAC Surge and Nominal power needs are within the 3500W Surge and 2000W continuous specs the 1500X can provide but you want more runtime, you can connect solar panels to extend runtime by recharging during the day or connect a Link & Tanks to add capacity.


    Does that help?

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Answers

  • Jay
    Jay Member Posts: 2 ✭✭

    Good info. Thank you so much! ❤️

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  • Clete_P_1969
    Clete_P_1969 Member Posts: 2 ✭✭

    Although not a technical reply, if your furnace is gas, and the gas is still flowing to your home, your Yeti can likely help for a while. Gas furnaces use an electric connection to receive info from the thermostat (low voltage), a start signal to tell the gas intake to open and ignite. From there, a fan, sometimes referred to as a squirrel cage, circulates air through your house. This all assumes a single stage (everyone gets the same airflow), single-speed furnace (fan comes on, stays on until temp is met, then shuts off). The constant speed fans actually draw more watts compared to the variable speed fans, which only run as needed and can operate more often with less energy requirements.

    A standard fan motor typically uses about 400 watts per hour, while a variable-speed model only uses 75 watts per hour. 

    I would also make sure electrical add-ons are shut off, for example, a humidifier or an electric air cleaner.

    Investigate your furnace and do some back-of-the-envelope calculations to get an estimate of what your Yeti could support. I hope this helps.

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  • PLBR
    PLBR Member Posts: 2 ✭✭

    I see nothing on the site or looking at the strongest unit about the whole house generators being able to run anCentral Air conditioning system. Can anyone answer this?

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  • jg164
    jg164 Administrator, Moderator Posts: 337 admin

    Hi @PLBR,

    Whole home Air Conditioners in the US are typically 208-240V AC and draw 15-20A or more. Not only would a Yeti 6000X run out of power in just a few hours if it could provide the high demands of running power at those voltages but the in-rush current when the AC is starting up is also much higher than the 3500W surge it is rated for.

    There are smaller single room AC units that would work in an emergency situation that have much lower power demands.

    https://community.goalzero.com/discussion/comment/325#Comment_325

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  • GZLFS
    GZLFS Member Posts: 9 ✭✭
    edited January 2023

    This doesn't directly answer your question, but you & others may find this useful provided you have access to FB & the GZ group.

    In a nutshell, I use my 1500x to run my furance during winter power outages. Initially I started with a widow maker male to male short extension cord, but eventually I modified the furance to get past the control boards ground requirement so I could safely run off of normal power or flick a switch & run off the connected 1500X.

    https://www.facebook.com/groups/2096497103956451/posts/3110443882561763/

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