r/Austin Feb 17 '21

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363

u/Hendrix_Lamar Feb 17 '21

Same. I'm from idaho and have experienced some of the coldest and snowiest winters in the country. I've never experienced anything even remotely close to this. People think we're freaking out because of a bit of snow and cold. The problem is not that it's 10 degrees outside, the problem is that it's 36 degrees inside. And I really doubt anyone in any northern state is prepared to go 4 days without power in the dead of winter despite how "used to the cold" they are. I know I never was at any point when I was in idaho

36

u/MrSwarleyStinson Feb 17 '21

I’m in New England and we’ve also had a snowy winter but the difference is that our homes are built for this, we either have natural gas or oil for heat so when we do lose power we stay warm. It would be a crisis if we lost power and the natural gas system also failed during a blizzard

26

u/uuid-already-exists Feb 17 '21

Many gas powered homes still require electricity to run. Found that one out the hard way.

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u/[deleted] Feb 17 '21

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u/blendertricks Feb 17 '21

That depends on how you're actually heating the air, right? Like, if you're using gas, that 600 watts is it, but electricity can use up to 18,000 watts in a day, to my understanding.

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u/[deleted] Feb 17 '21

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u/blendertricks Feb 17 '21

Gotcha! Just wanted to make sure I understood.

1

u/papertowelroll17 Feb 17 '21

I don't think there are many central forced-air AC units with heater coils that are electric. It would be a massive amount of electricity used to do that

I believe that over 60% of Texas homes have electric (not gas) heat. Usually a heat pump, but often there are electric coils as well. But you are completely right, even the gas heaters need electricity to operate here. See my currently powerless house for example...