Grumpy, are you staying warm?

[runnerhiker]

Hello Wayne, how is the weather in Houston treating you? I have a brother that lives in Killeen and they are having several days (3, 4, or 5?) straight days of temperatures below freezing. High's in mid 20's for so many days creates a lot of problems. He's been lucky, has not lost any utility services.

I hope you are staying warm and keeping the lights on.

You probably remember, I lived in Beaumont for many years. At one time I was a power plant supervisor at the refinery, these cold temperatures were hell on the water treating plants and it was extremely difficult to keep the power plants on line.

[Lee]

I heard from a friend yesterday that lives 200 miles west of Houston in the Hill Country.
They had 6 inches of snow and lost power a couple times for long periods.
Because of no power his water collection system quit and he had some freezing.
His wife did not go to work because the workplace did not have power or water.

Heat wave this morning here with a temp of 0 F.
Yesterday low was -21 F and the high was below zero.

[Lee]

Saw on the MOA forum the member was visiting family at a Houston suburb and they have been without power for 48 hours.
Said they were heating the house with the stove, which is a bad idea.

[Grumpy Goat]

Hello Wayne, how is the weather in Houston treating you?
...

Ron - thanks for asking. We have been trying to cope with the situation as best we can.

Unlike the 1.3M+ people in our area without power, we have not lost power yet in my house (thank God) but I have had no water since waking up on Monday morning. This was due to a busted length of pipe outside, connected to my water softener. That length was not insulated and I simply forgot to check it prior to this weather event. We also neglected to fill the tub(s) with water prior so on Monday we had to buy bottled water, and yesterday we were able to go to my daughter's office nearby to refill about 12 gallons.

Today it is warmer that yesterday and the day before but there is precipitation which at the moment is light freezing rain meaning that getting around for everyone is a challenge. I do have a plumber scheduled to come ASAP today but that is depending on driving conditions. Then another system is supposed to be coming through tonight to freeze us up again through Thursday and possibly Friday. Complete relief is not expected until Saturday. Meanwhile next week Thursday we are expected to hit an equally ridiculous 76 deg.F.

What a place!

[Lee]

Wayne is that section of waterline above ground?
Is that common down there?

Is your RV winterized?

[runnerhiker]

Not having water is a bummer. But at least you have heat - all electric? Or gas + electric? I lived in an all electric house in Beaumont when an ice storm blew through many years ago and knocked down lots and lots of electrical service. No heat is bad!

It's been cold here in Colorado, not as cold as Iowa (Lee) though. But things here are made to handle that, as opposed to Texas. In particular, Boulder County does an outstanding job of keeping the roads in good condition, the plows come out en force right away, laying down the salt and the gravel. It gets the cars dirty! But we don't slide off the roads.

Stay warm. And hydrated? Hope you get your water back soon. BTW, does it feel like you are back in Canada?

[Grumpy Goat]

Wayne is that section of waterline above ground?
Is that common down there?

Is your RV winterized?

Yes, the pipes leading to the water softener are above ground. Installation of water softeners are often done outside since the weather is comparatively mild. As long as the PVC pipes are insulated it was good for 20 years of normal Houston winter, including the occasional hard freeze. Up until Monday morning. Another hard freeze tonight although not getting below 28 deg.F.

The RV is not winterized and my RV's whole system water filter shattered - found that out today. No biggie as I now have an opportunity to upgrade. BUT I will be draining the filter in future. Like the house it never failed in the past. I don't winterize because winter here is prime camping season for me.

[Grumpy Goat]

Not having water is a bummer. But at least you have heat - all electric? Or gas + electric? I lived in an all electric house in Beaumont when an ice storm blew through many years ago and knocked down lots and lots of electrical service. No heat is bad!

It's been cold here in Colorado, not as cold as Iowa (Lee) though. But things here are made to handle that, as opposed to Texas. In particular, Boulder County does an outstanding job of keeping the roads in good condition, the plows come out en force right away, laying down the salt and the gravel. It gets the cars dirty! But we don't slide off the roads.

Stay warm. And hydrated? Hope you get your water back soon. BTW, does it feel like you are back in Canada?

Not at all aside from the wintry weather. In Canada there are no burst pipes and roads are always ploughed / salted etc. And there are no blackouts either. We just have to deal with winter as a matter of course and have fun with our snowmobiles, snowblowers and what not.

We did lose power for about 11 hours starting about 9 AM today so that on top of the water loss. But the power came back and the water pipe is fixed now at a cost of $480. I need to switch my profession ... engineering is for poor people ...

[Lee]

Up here the main reason for a power lose in the winter is ice or wet snow bringing down lines.
Cold does not seem to overload the electric grid because not many heat with electric.
In town most use natural gas, and in the country most use propane.
Electric heat is expensive in our area.

Electric air conditioning in the summer costs us more than natural gas heat in the winter.
Jan gas bill was $58 and electric was $86.
July gas bill was $16 and electric was $143.

[MrVvrroomm]

Our home was built in 2016. We upgraded nearly everything to increase efficiency. We heat/cool about 3000 sq/ft.

Our furnace, water heater, cooktop, fireplace are natural gas. The rest is electric. Electric rates in this part of the country are lower than most other parts.

The highest electric bill was July '17 at $220. The highest gas bill was $110 January '18. We run a/c at 75 when we're home, heat at 72 during day, 66 at night.

[Lee]

Our home was built in 2016. We upgraded nearly everything to increase efficiency. We heat/cool about 3000 sq/ft.

We put a new furnace in 2007 and it was considered a high efficiency unit for the time.
The air conditioning unit was new a year before we bought the house in 1998.
Both units would be higher efficiency is we would replace them.
Our house is 1,100 sg/ft plus the basement so we heat and cool 2,200 sq/ft.

[Grumpy Goat]

Up here the main reason for a power lose in the winter is ice or wet snow bringing down lines.
Cold does not seem to overload the electric grid because not many heat with electric.
In town most use natural gas, and in the country most use propane.
Electric heat is expensive in our area.

Electric air conditioning in the summer costs us more than natural gas heat in the winter.
Jan gas bill was $58 and electric was $86.
July gas bill was $16 and electric was $143.

Oops ... I forgot to answer one of your questions. Our furnace is natural gas but the blower needs electricity so if there is no power then there is no blower and the gas furnace won't fire up.

In Canada I also had natural gas in one house and electric radiant heat in the others. Similarly to your situation, only a major freezing rain even that brings down trees, power lines, transformers could threaten the power supply in winter. There is no power supply issue at any other time. Maybe because a lot of power transmission is done underground (no power lines). As for generation in Canada - hydro or nuclear. As far as I know there are no windmills and no coal plants.

Here in Houston, if there is a summer storm you could lose power! Heck there could be a storm somewhere else and we could lose power. I can categorically state that the power situation in Houston is the most shitty power service I have ever come across in my life, aside from the old country where I was born (Guyana) where there were often rolling blackouts due to shortages of diesel to run the power generators.

On the other hand Texas likes to tout that it is the "energy capital of the world" ... well after this it is the laughing stock of the world when it comes to energy, and heads should roll over this. Yes, the weather paid a huge role but we can't control the weather, so smart people who are not so damned greedy over profits need to make the smart decisions to stockpile power, etc.

[Grumpy Goat]

Our house is 1,100 sg/ft plus the basement so we heat and cool 2,200 sq/ft.

Best house I had in Canada was about 1800 sq.ft including a basement with a wood stove. The house when I got it was about 40 years old and was in perfect order. It was much better in every respect than this 2500 sq.ft BS Texas house on a slab, although it had no garage where this one does.

I like your house, Lee.

[Lee]

Best house I had in Canada was about 1800 sq.ft including a basement with a wood stove.

A wood stove is the best backup heat

I think our furnace is like yours where it will not turn on if the fan can not run.
Not sure, we have never lost power in the winter long enough to see if the furnace would run.
I wonder if a battery backup to run the fan is available on a new furnace.

[Grumpy Goat]

I wonder if a battery backup to run the fan is available on a new furnace.

Now there is an idea. Must look into that.


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[Lee]

I wonder if a battery backup to run the fan is available on a new furnace.

Now there is an idea. Must look into that.


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Once a year I have a good idea. Don't expect much out of me for the remainder of the year

[Lee]

I like your house, Lee.

Thanks
Our favorite feature of the house is it's paid for since 2008

[Ray]

...and of course those of us who enjoy messing around with internal combustion engines usually have at least 1 or 2 generators sitting around just in case. I used to be on a relatively unstable grid in Ohio and invested in a nice Honda power supply that could handle the kind of constant current needed by my computers.

There is some law of nature that dictates the power only goes out when I am away on a trip. For this reason I make the wife test it every 3 months whether it needs it or not.....

[Grumpy Goat]

There is some law of nature that dictates the power only goes out when I am away on a trip. For this reason I make the wife test it every 3 months whether it needs it or not.....

Hahaha

Good strategy. Do you get her to more the lawn too, just in case.


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[Ray]

Hahaha

Good strategy. Do you get her to more the lawn too, just in case.

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Funny you should ask. Yes she also mows the lawn. Fortunately, our city house doesn't have much of a lawn.... Of course, this duty roster might well change during my domestic negotiations for retirement or part time work.