I originally started out here on these forums with the intent to buy a pellet stove but now am convinced to go with coal since I live in Pennsylvania and that a coal stove would be the better choice for emergencies, I think. My intent is to have the coal stove installed in my basement as a back-up heat source for when the power might go down for awhile like what just happened last week in New England. People were without power for over 11 days in some cases. My queston still remains though, will a coal stove need power to keep it running? Maybe a battery back-up system could keep it going for awhile if necessary.