Originally Posted By: Bingley
We can also take this opportunity to think about power grid failure during the opposite of a cold spell -- a heat wave. Texas regularly reaches 100 degrees and more during the summer. What if you get the summer equivalent of what's going on right now? How do we prepare?


Texas power generation, public works, houses, and commercial buildings are generally built for hot weather rather than cold. We have weeks of +100F weather every summer without a glitch, even this last one where everyone was home running their AC units, a bunch of computers, and the microwave non-stop.

*Knocks vigorously on wood* A hurricane could damage power plants along the coast like hurricane Harvey did in 2017 but that storm caused little issue with the TX power grid outside to the high-wind zones. In the case of this 2021 TX Snowpocalypse, numerous power generators, using different fuels, ended up going offline because they froze up. Heat doesn't have the same effect on equipment.

Now, imagine a historical, high heat event somewhere like Minnesota. The houses and buildings there are designed for cold weather, not hot. Most private homes rely on window-mounted AC units rather than the whole-house AC systems down south. If the heat shoots up and stays up all those MN window ACs will draw a lot of power and maybe trip some circuits but the bigger issue will be all the people who don't have easy access to cooling. A quick search showed a MN heatwave in 2019 killed six people when the temperature reached the mid-90s for several days and a few hours above 100F.
https://www.winknews.com/2019/07/20/massive-heat-wave-blamed-for-at-least-6-deaths/

We live in a complex world...which makes it fragile. Thankfully there are groups of people to talk to who understand this. smile
-Blast
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