"RogerN" wrote in message
...
"Jim Wilkins" wrote in message ...

"RogerN" wrote in message
snip

This project came about because of the price of propane, I want to
have an alternative if the propane runs out while the price is
outrageous.

RogerN

Don't forget to allow for the faults the Arduino can cause, like
shutting off all the heat.
jsw

If all else fails I'll just plug the heaters in and adjust the
thermostats manually, and if the breaker trips, I'll have to reset
it, at least for the 10 minutes it takes me to program and swap out
the Arduino! If the crash if from a software glitch, I may have to
run in manual mode a bit longer :-)

RogerN

I've been testing what temperature one ~700 W electric baseboard
radiator with a low-temp thermostat can maintain, to address my
insurance company's concern about reliable automatic heat as backup
for my wood stove. Apparently it plus heat lost from the basement
water heater will maintain at least 45 F during a cold spell. It shut
off on a 28F sunny day.

The preliminary test runs I made during the first Polar Vortex added
less than $2 per day to my electric bill.
jsw