If it is cold, leave the switch in the kitchen on “conventional” during you stay and set the thermostats to the maximum desired temperatures (normally 68-71F for European guest). All thermostats are calibrated, meaning they display the correct setting, so there is not point to set it higher than you want.
To heat the living room quickly, press the pellet stove power button twice; the first time to wake it up and the second time to start. Detailed instructions for the pellet can be found on SwitiHoso.com
During a power outage the upstairs will automatically switch battery power, while there will be no power in the downstairs section of the house. If one uses the power sparely (No car charging, washing machines, dryers, dishwasher nor space headers), the power should last 24 hr. During a sunny days, the solar panels will recharge the batteries, so that this cycle can continue indefinitely.
One can continue to use the pallet stove and the stove tops as these use very little electric power. As there will be no power to theater, we provided board games and a DVD player in the living room.
The hot tub and central heating (Including the solar part), will no longer be heated, and hot water (showers!) will run out. Eventually the internet provider will power down (there is nothing we can do about that).
No action is needed when the grit power comes back on.
The next section is for the geeks among us; you can skip it, but some people might find it interesting. Switi Hose has designed by architect Carson Bowler with 4 different ways of heating: passive solar, active solar with hot water storage with conventional electric heat and the pallet stove.
When the house is 55F in the morning on a sunny day the passive solar will heat it to 68-75F by noon. The temperature should be managed with rising and lowering the shades. Lowering the shades at night will help to maintain the temperature.
On sunny days, the solar hot water storage tank will heat up. Once the tank gets hot, the green light in the kitchen will turn on. This hot water will gently circulate heat through the house to the desired thermostats setting.
Once the hot water storage tank heat is used up, the conventional electric heat will take over. This is electric heat will heat the hot water radiators, as conventional heating system. Once the radiators reach conventional radiator temperature, the red light will turn on.
Interactive status data can be viewed here under system temperature.
The pallet stove was intended as a backup heat source during power outage, but we find it quite pleasant on cold nights.
The theater room floor is set to 68F and uses the solar hot water only. Changing the temperature setting has little immediate effect due to the terminal mass of the floor. The room is so well insulated that watching a movie will raise the temperature to 71F. Alternatively one can use a space heater to quickly heat the room air.
