Will My Plumbing Work When the Power Goes Out?

Published On: July 26th, 20192.6 min readViews: 0Categories: PlumbingTags: plumbing, power outage

It may seem like a silly question, after all, plumbing is about water, and power outages affect electricity. A lot of homeowners are afraid to ask, but want to know, will plumbing work when the power goes out?

The answer: not necessarily. Plumbing often depends on electricity, and understanding their relationship is important if you want to prepare for an outage. The expert plumbers at Freedom Air are here to answer your questions about how plumbing and electricity interact.

What Won’t Work:

The following are the plumbing fixtures that won’t work when the power goes out.

Sump Pump

Sump pumps rely on electricity to remove water from your basement. When the power goes out, the sump pump will no longer remove water during a flood. This could result in standing water in your basement.

Waste Removal

Some waste removal systems rely on gravity to move waste from one place to another. These systems will not be affected by a loss of power. However, other systems rely on electric pumps to move waste to an external sewage system. Electric waste removal systems will not work until power is restored.

Tankless Water Heater

Tankless water heaters are convenient because they reduce the time you wait to receive heated water. However, tankless water heaters, like traditional tank water heaters, rely on electricity. What’s more, tankless water heaters are not able to store water. This means that when the power goes out, there is no heated water left to use.

Electric Water Heater

Electric water heaters will fail when the power goes out. Although water is heated from electric elements, the water in the tank will stay warm for a few hours after the outage. So, electric water heaters make it possible to take a warm shower during an outage.

Gas Water Heater

Unfortunately, even gas water heaters aren’t immune to a power outage. Though they use gas energy, the heating element is lit by an electric source: the pilot light. However, like electric water heaters, the tanks on gas water heaters will provide warm water for a while.

Pipes

Obviously, pipes don’t need electricity to function. However, if an outage occurs in the winter, hot water will cease running through your pipes. This warm water is what keeps your pipes from freezing and bursting in the winter. During an outage, you risk bursting a pipe.

Well Water

If you have well water, you probably won’t be able to access it during an outage. Well water is pushed with the help of an electric pump. Without power, the water won’t be pumped to your home.