Can I run my furnace off my UPS?

deckard

Hi -



My apologies if this is a dumb question, but we are getting a little desperate. I am in Westchester and we've had no power since Monday. The house is getting colder each night and the latest power restoration estimate from ConEd is 11/9. We have a gas furnace (Carrier) with steam radiators. There are no blowers, fans, etc. Just a damper that opens/closes the exhaust to the chimney when the furnace runs. This damper can also be opened manually.



I have a couple of decent APC UPS's in the house for computers and other gear. They have been off since before the power outtage. I was wondering if I could just take the AC wires for the furnace out of the local junction box, put a plug on the end and plug it into one of these UPS's. I am pretty competent with electrical wiring and most things technical in general, but because this involves gas, the obvious question is, would this be safe?



Also, would I get any significant use out of the furnace? I am thinking it just needs to hold a relay open and would draw only a few milliamps. I figure that there is a valve for the gas and maybe some safety stuff that will draw power as well.



Here are the specs of the units I have. The batteries were replaced earlier this year.

<a href="http://www.apc.com/resource/include/techspec_index.cfm?base_sku=br1000">http://www.apc.com/resource/include/techspec_index.cfm?base_sku=br1000</a>



Any help/suggestions would be most appreciated!



Thank you!

TonyS

It should work

That unit will give you a modified sine wave but that should be fine for a steam boiler.

It will continue to work till the voltage gets low and the ups should shut down before any damage occurs.