Brrrrrrrr!!

Out of curiosity, when it's that cold outside, does your furnace run 24 hours a day?
No it doesn't. It's a newer high efficiency unit 3 years old. We have a 2 story house.
I keep the 2nd floor unoccupied room, vents and doors closed.
It still probably starts every~30 minutes.
 
I feel bad saying this, but...this winter sucks.

Now...I grew up outside Minneapolis. I was there when it hit -60 in Tower and -32 on my front porch. I know what cold is.

Georgia is a different matter.

Our power has blinked out from the neighborhood pulling too much current. Apparently the grocery stores were tripping their 3-phase breakers this evening.

Our heaters (yes, we have 2) can't keep up. Even with some space heaters and the gas fireplace that normally keeps the house warm by itself. We're not in any danger unless the power goes out long term. But, this is nuts. Is heat dissipation an inverse square law or something? (That wasn't an interesting part of physics to me)

Someone said that southern houses wouldn't meet code up north...yup. It takes more licensing and exams to cut hair in GA than it does to build a house (and wet shaves are another license on top of that).

There's like 6-10" of insulation in the attic and maybe 3" in the walls, apparently. Some of them don't have any insulation.

I'm going to have to fix that here soon.

I managed to get it up to 66 in the bedroom.

But, this is ridiculous. The sad thing is that it also takes more electricity in the summer. I have no idea why people build houses like this.

I feel really bad for people just a little farther north where the construction is just as lazy but its even colder.

I just hope it doesn't rain any time soon. The whole state of GA doesn't have as many plows or salt trucks as Hennepin county (because we only need them once every ~3 years)...and they put sand in the salt trucks for reasons that I will never understand.

Stay warm, dudes.
 
I feel bad saying this, but...this winter sucks.

Now...I grew up outside Minneapolis. I was there when it hit -60 in Tower and -32 on my front porch. I know what cold is.

Georgia is a different matter.

Our power has blinked out from the neighborhood pulling too much current. Apparently the grocery stores were tripping their 3-phase breakers this evening.

Our heaters (yes, we have 2) can't keep up. Even with some space heaters and the gas fireplace that normally keeps the house warm by itself. We're not in any danger unless the power goes out long term. But, this is nuts. Is heat dissipation an inverse square law or something? (That wasn't an interesting part of physics to me)

Someone said that southern houses wouldn't meet code up north...yup. It takes more licensing and exams to cut hair in GA than it does to build a house (and wet shaves are another license on top of that).

There's like 6-10" of insulation in the attic and maybe 3" in the walls, apparently. Some of them don't have any insulation.

I'm going to have to fix that here soon.

I managed to get it up to 66 in the bedroom.

But, this is ridiculous. The sad thing is that it also takes more electricity in the summer. I have no idea why people build houses like this.

I feel really bad for people just a little farther north where the construction is just as lazy but its even colder.

I just hope it doesn't rain any time soon. The whole state of GA doesn't have as many plows or salt trucks as Hennepin county (because we only need them once every ~3 years)...and they put sand in the salt trucks for reasons that I will never understand.

Stay warm, dudes.
I know this doesn’t make things better now, but this will lift out of here eventually with the south being sooner than later. I’m not sure how old you are, but this stuff happens every so often. This extreme hasn’t happened for a while. I remember back in the 70’s then 80’s getting a couple deep blasts that went this far into the South East. The orange crops in Florida were always a big concern then. It will moderate down there soon. Try and tough it out a bit more. The main thing is don’t wait too long to seek help if power would go out or some other life threatening thing would occur.

I’ll leave everyone with this. Buffalo NY is getting nailed. This is just crazy. Anyone in that area or any other I hope you’re safe and snuggled down.

 
Last year when we a had a strong front go through which knocked down trees and then temps dropped to 19°F. Our power was out for about 12 hours. The thing that had me questioning things is just why it took so long. This is considering where I live had always had top notch electrical utility restoration. I have noticed a slow, but certain decline (especially since the lock down) of ill equipped infrastructure systems. Those systems that really matter and what the citizens initially agreed to pay taxes to have for real emergencies. Not to send billions to corrupt countries that then gets laundered to make evil corrupt elites powerful. Or, to make sure every person has a game console, top notch cell phone and big screen TV. I notice that the grid doesn’t have the backup generator’s, transformers and other grid consumables on hand and have to wait to have them shipped from other locations. Also, lack of plain old manpower.

I realize “sh*t happens” and perfection is not achievable, but I lived and experienced a time when things worked much better and if we don’t get our heads out of out butts and wake up we are in for constant serious trouble like now. We presently have loads of modern clean burning coal generation plants off line purely for political reasons and a crazy idea that the planet is over heating!! Oh Really?

I also remember cold snaps in the 70’s where many people died. Mostly in urban areas of all places. So to buffer my statement I bet when this is all said and done, and considering the population increase, there will be much less people hurt by this then back in the day. I’ve probably said too much and delete if I did.

I hope for everyone to stays safe and as warm as possible!

P.S.
I keep putting off investing in a gas powered generator hoping the system will be alright. I was about to run out and get one Friday and didn’t. Probably not smart.
 
15 hours without power now. Not fun.
Hopefully your power is restored soon!!

We were four days without power earlier this year, but it was May, not the middle of winter. I'm shocked we haven't lost power during this storm (fingers crossed). I swear last night the windows were going to get blown in with the sustained wind gusts we were having all night...never heard anything like it.

With all this extreme weather we seem to be getting lately, I'm getting a Generlink installed, so I can plug a generator into it and power any combination of circuits I need in the house. The Generlink is not as elegant as a whole house, automatic transfer system, but it's a fraction of the cost and it's more flexible, in my opinion.
 
With all this extreme weather we seem to be getting lately, I'm getting a Generlink installed, so I can plug a generator into it and power any combination of circuits I need in the house. The Generlink is not as elegant as a whole house, automatic transfer system, but it's a fraction of the cost and it's more flexible, in my opinion.
Good plan. The whole house generators or something that will meet your needs are not inexpensive, but should be something people in areas prone to extremes should consider investing.

Oh and the windows! OMG!! Also, our house was making these weird knocking sounds that I realized was the extreme temp change causing such rapid contraction that it was little areas of stress being relieved as the house adjusted. I was freaking worrying about water pipes so I eventually heard one close by and realized what it was. Crazy stuff. When I was young I would have gotten wasted with friends and rode it out, but now with a bum knee and back I take things more serious. Also, my brain is no longer a chemical research lab.😜
 
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How do I charge an electric car without power?
This means I can't get out.
Hmmm...
Yep, yep, yep.
I’m all for using technology of all sorts, but doing it smartly and as true demand is warranted. I was just watching a documentary on ecological impact of the raw resources needed for the batteries and the slave labor being used to mine it. Not right at all.

@ElectricPhase
I was hearing about the rolling blackouts by the TVA and all the coal plants sitting idle. Insanity! People seem to have really fallen into a state of complacency that is teetering on catastrophic. It would be great if humans could wake up with a gentle nudge, but history has taught me we always need a slap in the face. Or worse….
 
Good plan. The whole house generators or something that will meet your needs are not inexpensive, but should be something people in areas prone to extremes should consider investing.

Oh and the windows! OMG!! Also, our house was making these weird knocking sounds that I realized was the extreme temp change causing such rapid contraction that it was little areas of stress being relieved as the house adjusted. I was freaking worrying about water pipes so I eventually heard one close by and realized what it was. Crazy stuff. When I was young I would have gotten wasted with friends and rode it out, but now with a bum knee and back I take things more serious. Also, my brain is no longer a chemical research lab.😜
Yup. 20k ain’t shit when it’s 5 degrees out and you have no lights or heat.

Here it’s not the windows but stepping out on the old wooden deck for some reason sounds like a bomb is going off. The wood is completely frozen. I guess under the weight there’s this loud cracking sound.

Or maybe it’s all the holiday food.
 
Hopefully your power is restored soon!!

We were four days without power earlier this year, but it was May, not the middle of winter. I'm shocked we haven't lost power during this storm (fingers crossed). I swear last night the windows were going to get blown in with the sustained wind gusts we were having all night...never heard anything like it.

With all this extreme weather we seem to be getting lately, I'm getting a Generlink installed, so I can plug a generator into it and power any combination of circuits I need in the house. The Generlink is not as elegant as a whole house, automatic transfer system, but it's a fraction of the cost and it's more flexible, in my opinion.
This may be a good option for me. I have an 8000w portable. If I can just get my heat or AC and half my lights going I’d be fine.
 
This may be a good option for me. I have an 8000w portable. If I can just get my heat or AC and half my lights going I’d be fine.

8000 running Watts or startup?

The Generlink MA23-S would be perfect. It has a max. running wattage of 8500 W and built-in surge protection. It will easily handle a fridge, some lights and AC or furnace. A gas furnace only needs power for the blower. Same for a power vented hot water tank. That's the model I'm going to get. I need to power my well pump as well. There's a 40 Amp version that has a 10,000 W max., but the electrician said the extra cost is not worth a gain of only 1500 W.

With the Generlink, you can turn on and off breakers as needed, as long as the total load doesn't exceed the 8500 W or the running wattage of the generator. With a dedicated generator, you need to pre-select the circuits you want and wire them into a pony panel and install a transfer switch. They also cost 4x+ the cost of a Generlink/generator combination.

1671898612204.png

Use this tool to determine running and startup Wattage requirements.

https://www.championpowerequipment.com/generator-selector/power-needs/?primary-use=Home Essentials

Check your local electrical codes to see if they are permitted and you also need to float the neutral on the generator.

https://www.electricgeneratorsdirec...ipping-a-Generator-With-a-Bonded-Neutral.html
 
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8000 running Watts or startup?

The Generlink MA23-S would be perfect. It has a max. running wattage of 8500 W and built-in surge protection. It will easily handle a fridge, some lights and AC or furnace. A gas furnace only needs power for the blower. Same for a power vented hot water tank. That's the model I'm going to get. I need to power my well pump as well. There's a 40 Amp version that has a 10,000 W max., but the electrician said the extra cost is not worth a gain of only 1500 W.

With the Generlink, you can turn on and off breakers as needed, as long as the total load doesn't exceed the 8500 W or the running wattage of the generator. With a dedicated generator, you need to pre-select the circuits you want and wire them into a pony panel and install a transfer switch. They also cost 4x+ the cost of a Generlink/generator combination.

View attachment 113196

Use this tool to determine running and startup Wattage requirements.

https://www.championpowerequipment.com/generator-selector/power-needs/?primary-use=Home Essentials

Check your local electrical codes to see if they are permitted and you also need to float the neutral on the generator.

https://www.electricgeneratorsdirec...ipping-a-Generator-With-a-Bonded-Neutral.html
Thanks for the links and information. Since most of our major energy users are gas powered it looks like I would be fine with a 6250W starting and 5000W running. I would probably go up to the next level for extra head room. I had to laugh at myself. The office and media section had the most checks. I’ll deal without a dishwasher, but not a modem and laptop/computer.🙄
 
when I've visited moderate climates I marvel at the nicely aged infrastructure. Up here everything goes
to shit fast: cracks and
potholes appear everywhere every spring, my laneway heaves, fence posts pop up, deck footings heave, ice damming on roofs takes a toll at roof edge, forgetting to turn off exterior water valves can cost you big time when they freeze and start leaking on the inside, cars covered in salt and rusting out, garage floors
disintegrating from that salt ... on and on ...
 
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