Guest Post by Sundance
If you visit a local library, you may discover there was a time when the focus of electricity companies was to generate and provide the most dependable, efficient, lowest cost and critical power to customers who need electricity to live. Alas, those were in the olden days, when service providers were generally focused on improving the quality of life of their customers.
In the modern era, the horrible carbon emitters, aka customers, have become the parasite to manage. People are now a problematic encumbrance blocking the high-minded climate and financial aspirations of the energy corporations.
Heating, cooling and comfort? Get a grip Boomers and GenXer’s, those insufferably selfish indulgences were the priorities of yesteryear.
Yes Alice, as we try to peer through the looking glass, we discover it’s a mirror now. The reflection is the opposite of normal, the reflection is the world of pretending. Say hello to the modern Christmastime when you pray for coal in your stocking.
From Pennsylvania and New Jersey, westward to Illinois and Ohio and all the way south into South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia and beyond, power companies are turning off the electricity to preserve and equally distribute the minimal amount of energy they are able to generate.
This my friends, is the “equitable distribution of misery.” How weird does it feel to see that generational prediction turning into reality?
TENNESSEE – […] The TVA began instructing local power companies to reduce power usage on Friday night, and some have instituted rolling blackouts in some cities such as Nashville, Tennessee. Some local power companies have also started using rolling blackouts after the TVA asked them to reduce power usage.
PJM Interconnection, based in Pennsylvania, also asked companies within its system to conserve energy. The company asked residents to turn off non-essential lights, set their thermostats lower than usual, and not use major appliances like dishwashers and laundry machines, the AP reported.
PJM covers areas in Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and Washington, D.C, according to the AP. (read more)
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I was involved in a debate on another forum about this. The environmental wack jobs want everyone to heat their homes with heat pumps, run electric stoves/dryers, electric hot water, and drive EVs. The average modern home has a 200 amp entrance, with older having only 150 amp and even 100 amp. Those heat pumps draw upwards of 10amp during normal operation, but in extreme cold they will resort to resistance based electric backup and the draw jacks up then. Stove and dryer are each on their own 50 amp circuits. Hot water heater usually on a 30 amp circuit. A fast charging EV is usually on a 60 amp circuit. Generally speaking a 200amp entrance is plenty enough and most households don’t draw half that at any time.
Bottom line is the average house does not have the capacity to be all eletric and “green” to fulfill liberal fantasies. Furtermore, the electric grid itself is ill equipped to handle millions of homes setup like that.
Unfortunately, I don’t have a wood burning stove in my home and I have to resort to a heat pump on my HVAC system to heat my home. That, and gas logs that work fine for the room you are in. A year ago I looked into going to a wood burning stove but, the chimney I have is not rated for one. A long story short I was looking at between $8k – $10 to convert. So, instead a had a 500 gallon LP tank buried that is tied into the existing 250 lb. tank.
Back to the heat pump, it has been struggling the last 3 days since the cold blast got here to warm this house. I can’t wait to see the electric bill!
We updated the original heat pump going on two years ago. Original was 14 yrs old. With the upgraded model looking back at electric bills over the years mine are now 20-30 less depending on the season. What is called “emergency heat” is the old heating coil type 60AMP that gobbles up electricity. Also replaced the water heater in recent years so between the two for all electric and taking into consideration increases the electric provider has to pass on I’m not complaining. Year round average is about 140 month. I guess that is high to some folks. Small home, 1452 sq. ft. single story. On pier and beam. Once insulation is complete underneath the floor I expect the winter heating bills to drop appreciably not to mention increase in comfort. With 7 degree lows it’s sometimes like winter camping out…not quite.
The grid, “sustainability” etc. etc. etc., who knows. Probably going to suck for many “touch of the button” peeps. Local co-op provider did invest in a solar farm. If it works , wonderful! I think mostly it will give a boost to summer cooling “demands”.
Incidentally, I read controversies about heat pumps in frigid temperatures. Probably an issue with older models. Most “advice” I read with the upgraded models in recent years is they do the job even in areas to the north. Rather than flip on that “emergency heat” like I would do sometimes for sub teen temps with the old system, I’ve stayed on the newer hp during the major cold snaps and it has maintained 75 degree temps. People question why they run so often. It’s how they designed. Most peeps in the HVAC business that I read about hps say let ’em run.
I have read that HPs have gotten much better. They are a no brainer in most areas where the temperatures seldom go below 30. The thing with HPs is that most modern built houses are perfect for them with efficiency of the build. I speak on most houses that were built 30+ years ago. Paired with areas that get sub-zero temps I just don’t see HPs being a good fit…yet liberal states want to force them in all homes.
In Arkansas with a brick house our heat pump does very well. A good part of the year it hardly has to work, but it isn’t having any trouble with the recent freak sub zero temps. We do want a wood stove, though. I already have a massive amount of firewood.
Can your chimney accommodate a triple-wall flue pipe that could be inserted in it? Our wood stove flue exits the house through a side wall (as opposed to roof) and rises to the correct height inside wood framed box similar to home wall construction. Much less than a masonry chimney and flue.
When I lived in the NC Mtns., I bought a Kerosun® outside exhust vented, gravity-fed supplementary 15,000 BTU heater downstairs. Used it Dec.-Feb., used around 250 gals.
Highly recommended.
I live in Cuenca, Ecuador. We require no heating or air conditioning. The electric bill runs about $10 monthly.
We’ve lived in a house with a heat pump. They start becoming worthless when the temps start to drop below 35.
I was surprised mine did as well as it did on these 5° mornings. I set the thermostat at 67 and it made it to 66.
They are supposed to work in Minnesota anyway.
Mary- Heat pumps are on emergency heat(furnace) under 30 degrees. I dislike the way they blow cold air out of the vents.
they make a stainless flue insert for chimneys, or you can have it relined. other option is through the wall thimble. Wood stove is my primary source and I live 30 miles from the Canadian border. I heat source that removes you from being dependent on provided utilities is high on the list for self sustainability.
I live in an older condo building, all electric except for the furnace that pumps heat through the halls. No options.
Ya gotta have that wood burning stove, maybe even two.
All our worries are over though, were gonna have fusion reactors by this time next year. (s)
correct. with wood, you are not at the mercy with the fuel provider. just go get some.
You are absolutely correct on your statements. I explored it all thoroughly and made the decision not to spend $10 grand on all that it would require. When, not if, it comes to the SHTF scenario we all envision, I will burn the 2 outdoor tanks of propane until I can’t. Even though I am in a rural area, my home is not really defensible and I will be moving to one of my friends places that is more off the beaten path than I am.
As a friend of mine once said “ A man shakes them dice and takes his chances.”
Heating with Jotul (Norwegian) woodstove purchased in 1976.
On IA-MN border, been below zero for about the last 5 days, -18 below zero with stiff NW wind was the worst.
Wood heat warms you multiple times; when you cut it, split it, stack it, and haul it into the house!
I have to admit electricity is nice for a lot of other things….
I knew a man in Canada that utilized an outdoor wood furnace that moved warm air into the house. Forget what the system is called. I watched a video he made. Talk about massive stockpiling of firewood.
thats what they are called here, and are pretty popular with people who own land with lots of forest.
Installed the woodstove this fall, ordered the parts this spring.
Dealer wanted $5k for the “value” stove, I got it done for a little over $2k.
Bought a couple of split cords, which were surprisingly difficult to get this summer.
Worked up downed trees from around the lot, bought a couple of tree length cords from a excavation contractor and for year three and beyond going to do oak or beech. A logger is cutting an adjacent lot, he agreed to put me up a good stash.
Dry wood of a good species is key, prices and quality are a deal maker, good luck, lots to it.
The solution is to go ‘heatless’. People who identify as ‘men’ should be selected on the basis of heavy body hair, breeding offspring with heavy body hair. As part of the transitioning process, Trans Men should include ‘hair trans-plants’ in their medical program. In a generation or two, even those identifying as ‘woman’ will be covered in their own protective fur coat.
In the meantime, you’ll just have to suffer. It’s no different than phasing out fossil fuels while slowly building out wind farms and solar farms and having cold fusion in the on-deck circle for building out in 50 years.
Hey Downvote, if you don’t like the hairy back, you might ask your wife to consider waxing.
old Gilbert Gottfried joke: What do you do about a hairy back? Pretend the girl is wearing an alpaca sweater.
Plenty of areas of the country have been frigid the past several days including our area. Why are they not experiencing power issues?
In Texas they replaced the turbine props with the proper ones that don’t freeze. /s
lol
And with 35 MPH winds out of the NW they was a spinning.
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I ain’t going there. 🙂
Minnesota Public Radio recently touted the electric power company for Duluth MN (Minnesota Power, a division of Allete, Inc,) as having achieved 50% of its power from “renewable” sources. Being that I’m of the 1% of people who don’t believe the news, I dug into it. Turns out they buy hydroelectric power from Manitoba and buy up almost ALL of the wind-generated electricity in the entire state of MN. If you ever drive across southern Minnesota, there are thousands of windmills. They’re subsidized by the state due a law signed by Gov Tim Pawlenty (R) when he dreamed of running for president. As soon as you cross into South Dakota… no more windmills (no more tax subsidy).
So little ol’ Duluth is sucking up all of the wind power in MN just so the CEO of Allete, Inc (Bethany Owen) can claim that their Duluth power division runs on 50% renewables.
These green initiatives might not be so bad if they weren’t buried under a huge pile of lies and bullshit.
Chances are the legislature gave Bethany a special citation while quietly accepting all her campaign donations.
This is NOT unprecedented.
In my younger days in northern and central MN, we would have many days that did not get above zero and weeks that did not get above freezing. Suck it up
Here in northern Idaho, we got only a taste of that cold cell.
The worst it got was -14.
It is hard to heat the house even with the wood stove.
“We are still here!”
The worst I have ever had it was in the mid ’90s replacing a 27 foot switch heater element at -25 and a wind chill of -70.
A clerk at North 40 spent a lot of time in Alaska.
There it was not uncommon to work outside at -45 to -50 with wind chills bringing the felt temperature much lower.
When driving in those temperatures one needed to carry a propane torch to heat the lug nuts before changing a tire.
The Cold most likely would cause the stud to break.
Alaskans are laughing at your complaints in the lower 48.
Available clothing is much better than 30 years ago but still, walking like a penguin and thick gloves or mittens/Choppers makes any work more difficult.
I need to replace a pin on my plow that decided it liked where it lie better than moving around still attached to the plow.
Now it is above freezing and with lighter gloves I can see to its replacement.
About 2 weeks ago I read that this cold cell originated in Siberia where it got to -78 and was moving to America.
So suck it up.
You should have gotten warmer clothing and gasoline powered transportation.
You can not expect to always drive at the posted speed limit irregardless of road conditions.
Enduring this cold snap is YOUR RESPONSIBILITY, not the Governments.
This too shall pass.
My balls would freeze before I could change that lug nut, the arthritis and all…
Agree. you are likely living pretty close to me. I venture to North 40 about once a month as its 45 miles south west of me. My wood stove keeps my house nice and toasty. I get it pretty hot and then turn on a fan behind it to blow the heat around and cool down the stove a little. if the power is out(NLI), and I don’t want to run the generator, I don’t get the stove very hot.
Why is it the states that vote the reddest are the poorest and sickest in the country?
Really? You think so?
Maybe the poorest, but obviously the smartest, since when the SHTF, we will survive and the Blue will die.