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+--- Thread: What's going on with the power failures in Texas? (/showthread.php?tid=252986)
What's going on with the power failures in Texas? - AllGold - 02-16-2021
With the cold snap... Is there virtually no gas/oil heat; almost all houses in Texas have electric heat?
Re: What's going on with the power failures in Texas? - graylocks - 02-16-2021
The texas grid is probably more accustomed to dealing with heat waves and AC use than heavy winter heat needs.
Re: What's going on with the power failures in Texas? - Sarcany - 02-16-2021
The average February daytime temp in Dallas is 61 degrees, 41 at night.
It's 9-degrees right now, with an overnight low of zero.
Roughly half the homes in the area use natural gas heating and the other half use electric. Usually, it's not a problem.
Re: What's going on with the power failures in Texas? - pinkoos - 02-16-2021
Natural gas heating still needs electricity to work
Circuit boards, blower fan motor, etc.
So, your natural gas heater could still technically work, but without electricity to run the boards and blow the heat out, it won't turn on - it's a safety feature
https://www.bobmims.com/blog/heating-service/gas-furnace-needs-electricity/
Re: What's going on with the power failures in Texas? - AllGold - 02-16-2021
Sure, but furnace blowers don't use that much electricity so they're not the reason the grid is overloaded.
Re: What's going on with the power failures in Texas? - pinkoos - 02-16-2021
Yes but that is the reason that 1.4 million people in Houston and 4.3 million people in Texas are freezing their butts off *inside* their homes
Re: What's going on with the power failures in Texas? - pinkoos - 02-16-2021
Some fun reading (not)
https://arstechnica.com/science/2021/02/texas-power-grid-crumples-under-the-cold/
https://spacecityweather.com/the-power-situation-is-disastrous-and-it-likely-wont-be-fixed-tonight/
Re: What's going on with the power failures in Texas? - Speedy - 02-16-2021
We are in Texas near the frontier. I asked a similar question of the host of our AirBnB: Why is your grid able to support summer air conditioning but not winter cold? His reply: I dunno.
But we have the opposite in Minnesota, when it gets really hot in July we are asked to conserve electricity and some businesses have to shut down. Not so much in -25° winter.
Our AirBnB lost power around 2am and by 5pm we decided to ask our son if we could stay in his apartment which only lost power for a couple of hours. We saw only one utility truck today driving down the road. I expect it will be a few days before our place gets power.
Re: What's going on with the power failures in Texas? - freeradical - 02-16-2021
Ice buildup on power lines can bring them down.
Re: What's going on with the power failures in Texas? - Speedy - 02-16-2021
freeradical wrote:
Ice buildup on power lines can bring them down.
Especially combined with wind.