Stay Warm and Safe the Next Few Days

[Paladin]

Texas power outages: How the largest energy-producing state in the US failed in freezing temperatures

Electric generating plants did not properly winterize their equipment...

So, what happened? Equipment failure turned out to be a big part of the problem.

"Beginning around 11:00 p.m. [Sunday night], multiple generating units began tripping off-line in rapid progression due to the severe cold weather," said Dan Woodfin, senior director of system operations at ERCOT, the organization that manages the state’s electric grid.

What does that mean? Equipment literally froze in the single digit temperatures and stopped working.

..."About every decade we have these long-sustained periods. And then, you know weatherization is supposed to happen, and then, it doesn't because it costs money."

..."The experiences of 1989 are instructive, particularly on the electric side. In that year, as in 2011, cold weather caused many generators to trip, derate, or fail to start. The [Public Utility Commission of Texas] investigated the occurrence and issued a number of recommendations aimed at improving winterization on the part of the generators.

These recommendations were not mandatory, and over the course of time implementation lapsed. Many of the generators that experienced outages in 1989 failed again in 2011," the investigation discovered.

...Winterizing equipment – making sure it can sustain extended periods of below-freezing temperatures – has never been a requirement in Texas like other states

Essentially weather like this only occurs once every 10 years in Texas and the utility companies weren't required to winterize their equipment so they decided to save a little money

[extremist]

Im In Keller and my power has been out since Monday 530AM. No cycling rolling just blackout. Oncor is worthless in providing answers.

[RPBrown]

One issue I am noticing is defenitely affecting grid selection for shut downs. Areas with a high number of heat pump/electric heat seem to be having longer down times. I think this is due to the large demand these areas create. Take for example a home with a three ton heat pump and 15KW of back up electric heat. When that system comes on it will draw as much as 80 amps at 220 volts. Convert that to Watts (W=VxA) and it is staggering. A home the same size with gas heat uses a blower pulling 1-10 amps at 120 volts with most being the average 5. It is easy to see why turning on a grid with 90% heat pump homes would put extreme demand on the available KW. Another way to look at it. To turn on a grid that is mostly heat pump homes, they have to turn off 8-10 grids with majority gas furnaces to keep demand at same level. When they turn on the power to a majority heat pump grid, the systems all have to run full on heat pump with all heat strips calling to heat the home back up. This creates a huge spike in demand.

My daughters home is gas heat but she is in a neighborhood/grid that is at least 75% heat pump homes. I am five minutes away and right across Legacy but my neighborhood/grid is 95% gas heat. Her grid has been shut down far longer with fewer on cycles than my grid.

Some "victims" on Twitter are crying that selection is being made due to income levels. LOL. Selection is being made based on your heat source. It just so happens that larger homes are far less likely to have heat pump systems because a heat pump would never heat a 2500 plus square foot home. I get so tired of everyone looking to be a victim. Next thing we will see is morons playing the race card.

Normally I would agree with you, however, my neighborhood is 95% gas heat for 100,000 or so homes and all have been off 5-6 hours and on 1-1.5 hours at a time but we have friends that live a couple of miles from us, in a newer neighborhood that is predominantly heat pump and have not lost power at all.

[Mel]

It just so happens that larger homes are far less likely to have heat pump systems because a heat pump would never heat a 2500 plus square foot home. I get so tired of everyone looking to be a victim. Next thing we will see is morons playing the race card.

I have to respectfully disagree here. My 2500 square foot home has been heated by a heat pump without a glitch for over 23 years. My wife & I built the house and it is properly insulated. The heat pump rarely calls in the auxiliary electric strips (Last few days exception).

[03Lightningrocks]

It just so happens that larger homes are far less likely to have heat pump systems because a heat pump would never heat a 2500 plus square foot home. I get so tired of everyone looking to be a victim. Next thing we will see is morons playing the race card.

I have to respectfully disagree here. My 2500 square foot home has been heated by a heat pump without a glitch for over 23 years. My wife & I built the house and it is properly insulated. The heat pump rarely calls in the auxiliary electric strips (Last few days exception).

I have been servicing HVAC systems for 35 years and know what I am talking about. Your home would heat much more effeciently, and cheaper with gas. One exception would be if you live in an area without natural gas lines(propane can cost as much as using electricity to heat a home). Maybe I should have worded it differently. I was tired from no sleep for so long. I should have said never heat a home as effeciently as gas heat. But the main point of the post was that larger homes use natural gas for heating the vast majority of the time.

[03Lightningrocks]

One issue I am noticing is defenitely affecting grid selection for shut downs. Areas with a high number of heat pump/electric heat seem to be having longer down times. I think this is due to the large demand these areas create. Take for example a home with a three ton heat pump and 15KW of back up electric heat. When that system comes on it will draw as much as 80 amps at 220 volts. Convert that to Watts (W=VxA) and it is staggering. A home the same size with gas heat uses a blower pulling 1-10 amps at 120 volts with most being the average 5. It is easy to see why turning on a grid with 90% heat pump homes would put extreme demand on the available KW. Another way to look at it. To turn on a grid that is mostly heat pump homes, they have to turn off 8-10 grids with majority gas furnaces to keep demand at same level. When they turn on the power to a majority heat pump grid, the systems all have to run full on heat pump with all heat strips calling to heat the home back up. This creates a huge spike in demand.

My daughters home is gas heat but she is in a neighborhood/grid that is at least 75% heat pump homes. I am five minutes away and right across Legacy but my neighborhood/grid is 95% gas heat. Her grid has been shut down far longer with fewer on cycles than my grid.

Some "victims" on Twitter are crying that selection is being made due to income levels. LOL. Selection is being made based on your heat source. It just so happens that larger homes are far less likely to have heat pump systems because a heat pump would never heat a 2500 plus square foot home. I get so tired of everyone looking to be a victim. Next thing we will see is morons playing the race card.

Normally I would agree with you, however, my neighborhood is 95% gas heat for 100,000 or so homes and all have been off 5-6 hours and on 1-1.5 hours at a time but we have friends that live a couple of miles from us, in a newer neighborhood that is predominantly heat pump and have not lost power at all.

The reason some hoods are not losing power is if they are in a grid that is serving an essential service. That may be why their grid has not been shut down yet.

I am envious of your situation. I am experiencing much longer outage times and only about an hour of power. I just put a roast in a big pot and put it on the gas stove. My fridge is warmer than the darned house and food is starting to go bad and melt. I will be eating a roast tonight in my cold dark house. Haha

[mayor]

The reason some hoods are not losing power is if they are in a grid that is serving an essential service. That may be why their grid has not been shut down yet.

I get my service from a co-op as does my SIL. Her electricity has been off for more than 24 hrs. When she contacted the electricity company they told that if a gas well is on the grid, they won't turn the electric off. My electric hasn't been off since the start of the Polar Vortex so, I must be on a portion with a gas well. They also told her that her portion of the grid has some other problem and "we are working diligently to get it repaired". All of her pipes will be broken. I've got a lot of work ahead of me.

[03Lightningrocks]

The reason some hoods are not losing power is if they are in a grid that is serving an essential service. That may be why their grid has not been shut down yet.

I get my service from a co-op as does my SIL. Her electricity has been off for more than 24 hrs. When she contacted the electricity company they told that if a gas well is on the grid, they won't turn the electric off. My electric hasn't been off since the start of the Polar Vortex so, I must be on a portion with a gas well. They also told her that her portion of the grid has some other problem and "we are working diligently to get it repaired". All of her pipes will be broken. I've got a lot of work ahead of me.

Interesting info. My daughter just texted me that several of her friends on Reliant have not been shut down at all. This whole thing is just crazy. No real rhyme or reason to any of it.

[Mel]

It just so happens that larger homes are far less likely to have heat pump systems because a heat pump would never heat a 2500 plus square foot home. I get so tired of everyone looking to be a victim. Next thing we will see is morons playing the race card.

I have to respectfully disagree here. My 2500 square foot home has been heated by a heat pump without a glitch for over 23 years. My wife & I built the house and it is properly insulated. The heat pump rarely calls in the auxiliary electric strips (Last few days exception).

I have been servicing HVAC systems for 35 years and know what I am talking about. Your home would heat much more effeciently, and cheaper with gas. One exception would be if you live in an area without natural gas lines(propane can cost as much as using electricity to heat a home). Maybe I should have worded it differently. I was tired from no sleep for so long. I should have said never heat a home as effeciently as gas heat. But the main point of the post was that larger homes use natural gas for heating the vast majority of the time.

I completely agree. And if there was a natural gas line within a mile or so of me, I would have built with gas heating. However, living out here with my own private airstrip, the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages.

[03Lightningrocks]

It just so happens that larger homes are far less likely to have heat pump systems because a heat pump would never heat a 2500 plus square foot home. I get so tired of everyone looking to be a victim. Next thing we will see is morons playing the race card.

I have to respectfully disagree here. My 2500 square foot home has been heated by a heat pump without a glitch for over 23 years. My wife & I built the house and it is properly insulated. The heat pump rarely calls in the auxiliary electric strips (Last few days exception).

I have been servicing HVAC systems for 35 years and know what I am talking about. Your home would heat much more effeciently, and cheaper with gas. One exception would be if you live in an area without natural gas lines(propane can cost as much as using electricity to heat a home). Maybe I should have worded it differently. I was tired from no sleep for so long. I should have said never heat a home as effeciently as gas heat. But the main point of the post was that larger homes use natural gas for heating the vast majority of the time.

I completely agree. And if there was a natural gas line within a mile or so of me, I would have built with gas heating. However, living out here with my own private airstrip, the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages.

Yeah, that is what I would call a very fair trade off. I live in a big concrete jungle with homes spaced just feet apart as my view.

[03Lightningrocks]

And if it is not bad enough the utility companies are botching this whole situation, now we get this!!!!!

Texas Utility Regulator Orders Energy Price Hike While Millions Go Without Power

https://www.newsweek.com/texas-utility- ... es-1569554

[philip964]

It just so happens that larger homes are far less likely to have heat pump systems because a heat pump would never heat a 2500 plus square foot home. I get so tired of everyone looking to be a victim. Next thing we will see is morons playing the race card.

I have to respectfully disagree here. My 2500 square foot home has been heated by a heat pump without a glitch for over 23 years. My wife & I built the house and it is properly insulated. The heat pump rarely calls in the auxiliary electric strips (Last few days exception).

I have been servicing HVAC systems for 35 years and know what I am talking about. Your home would heat much more effeciently, and cheaper with gas. One exception would be if you live in an area without natural gas lines(propane can cost as much as using electricity to heat a home). Maybe I should have worded it differently. I was tired from no sleep for so long. I should have said never heat a home as effeciently as gas heat. But the main point of the post was that larger homes use natural gas for heating the vast majority of the time.

I would agree, except that I switched to Griddy a few years back.
It’s been great until two days ago. I have not lost power, as I am near a hospital. However I believe I am now paying $500 a day to run the small fan on my gas furnace. At $10 a KWh things get expensive quickly. Griddy is not telling me what I am using or at what price for the last two days. They say it’s because they have not gotten the information from the supplier. Usually I know every morning from the previous day. I am just really glad I switched from electric heat to gas heat last year.

[RoyGBiv]

Im In Keller and my power has been out since Monday 530AM. No cycling rolling just blackout. Oncor is worthless in providing answers.

Did they cut off your water? Mine is off.

City of FTW water plant went down on Monday and they put contaminated water into the system that supplies many of the towns on the north side of the city. Roanoke, Westlake, Keller, etc. They're hoping to fix it today. This morning we got a "Boil All Water" message. And at about 1330 they shut the pumps. Managed to fill the tub and we'll boil for a while. I have a Lifestraw setup that can process over 4,500 gallons, just in case.

[03Lightningrocks]

It just so happens that larger homes are far less likely to have heat pump systems because a heat pump would never heat a 2500 plus square foot home. I get so tired of everyone looking to be a victim. Next thing we will see is morons playing the race card.

I have to respectfully disagree here. My 2500 square foot home has been heated by a heat pump without a glitch for over 23 years. My wife & I built the house and it is properly insulated. The heat pump rarely calls in the auxiliary electric strips (Last few days exception).

I have been servicing HVAC systems for 35 years and know what I am talking about. Your home would heat much more effeciently, and cheaper with gas. One exception would be if you live in an area without natural gas lines(propane can cost as much as using electricity to heat a home). Maybe I should have worded it differently. I was tired from no sleep for so long. I should have said never heat a home as effeciently as gas heat. But the main point of the post was that larger homes use natural gas for heating the vast majority of the time.

I would agree, except that I switched to Griddy a few years back.
It’s been great until two days ago. I have not lost power, as I am near a hospital. However I believe I am now paying $500 a day to run the small fan on my gas furnace. At $10 a KWh things get expensive quickly. Griddy is not telling me what I am using or at what price for the last two days. They say it’s because they have not gotten the information from the supplier. Usually I know every morning from the previous day. I am just really glad I switched from electric heat to gas heat last year.

Imagine what it would cost to run 15KW of electric heat strips pulling 60 amps at your rate! Holy cow! 10 dollars a KWH??? My god!

[philip964]

It just so happens that larger homes are far less likely to have heat pump systems because a heat pump would never heat a 2500 plus square foot home. I get so tired of everyone looking to be a victim. Next thing we will see is morons playing the race card.

I have to respectfully disagree here. My 2500 square foot home has been heated by a heat pump without a glitch for over 23 years. My wife & I built the house and it is properly insulated. The heat pump rarely calls in the auxiliary electric strips (Last few days exception).

I have been servicing HVAC systems for 35 years and know what I am talking about. Your home would heat much more effeciently, and cheaper with gas. One exception would be if you live in an area without natural gas lines(propane can cost as much as using electricity to heat a home). Maybe I should have worded it differently. I was tired from no sleep for so long. I should have said never heat a home as effeciently as gas heat. But the main point of the post was that larger homes use natural gas for heating the vast majority of the time.

I would agree, except that I switched to Griddy a few years back.
It’s been great until two days ago. I have not lost power, as I am near a hospital. However I believe I am now paying $500 a day to run the small fan on my gas furnace. At $10 a KWh things get expensive quickly. Griddy is not telling me what I am using or at what price for the last two days. They say it’s because they have not gotten the information from the supplier. Usually I know every morning from the previous day. I am just really glad I switched from electric heat to gas heat last year.

Imagine what it would cost to run 15KW of electric heat strips pulling 60 amps at your rate! Holy cow! 10 dollars a KWH??? My god!

I don’t know if he strips are 220 v cause you get the square root of 3 thing but 120v 15kw heat strips would be 15x 10 = $150 an hour to run. I got my update for Sunday it was “only” $115.00 for Sunday only. I’m probably not the only one, but bills are in number of new handguns, college tuition is in terms of number of new Corvettes.