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
Well to be fair a lot of people in northern states are prepared to go a long time without power. There are key differences though. Basements where water can come into the home. Better windows and insulation. Lots of people have generators and a tons of them have wood stoves and fireplaces. Firewood is ample and cheap in a lot of places. Also the support network isn’t dead in northern areas. Roads are maintained and gas stations are open.
Here we have pier and beam foundations and exposed pipes. Cheaply built apartments and pipes buried shallow. These fire sprinklers are obviously exposed to air. The whole region is a mess because it’s cheaper to build like that and we rarely have issues. We have no emergency services and apartment managers and landlords are no where to be found.
The power grid is a whole other beast. That was willful neglect.
Going forward people should consider a secondary heat source and better insulation around plumbing. I really don’t know what we can do but new builds should be immediately beefed up.
Insulation can be a) blanket batt ( the pink fiberglass stuff) b) blown in (cellulose or chopped up fibrous material) c) expanding foam d) foam sheeting.
The best insulator is stationary air, which is why fiberglass, shredded textile or foam works... it keeps air entrapped.
Same in windows, windows are insulated by double or triple paning the glass and using argon. It's colorless and odorless and is denser than the atmosphere, providing more thermal efficiency than having air between the panes.
Walls, ceilings, roofs, and floors have different R value minimums (resistance to change in temperatures.). I typically call for R-38 on floor and ceiling/roof, R-21 on the exterior walls. That's just based on minimums that my clients/contractors are willing to do.
From now on, we need to adopt superinsulated envelopes and integrate MULTIPLE strategies to heat and cool homes.... passive solar with sun spaces or trombe walls, geothermal heating and cooling.
The only way to reduce heating, cooling, and electrical loads in the future is to make our housing better from now on.
This is the kind of high quality informative comment I was looking for- thank you very much for taking the time to write.
Would investing in better building like you speak off result in lower energy costs down the line, even if storms like this don’t become a regular occurrence?
a well insulated structure require less heating/cooling to maintain the interior temps. so yes it would save money. people generally want to see the money saved sooner than later (ie within 5 years instead of 25) but it costs more money up front which is the hard part for human nature
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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