Rolling blackouts, single-digit temperatures, pipes freezing and bursting, pools freezing…I’m seeing and hearing all kinds of bad stuff from folks I know in the Lone Star State.
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Rolling blackouts across across Oklahoma. We were out for a couple of hours this morning. I kept warm getting the generators fired up and extension cords stretched around the various outbuildings.
I called my son in Fort Worth earlier. He said they’re okay for the time being. They have solar panels on their house, but they’re limited in what they can run since they didn’t spring for a battery backup system. Most of the blackouts they’ve had there have been on the north and west sides of town. Luckily, this didn’t happen yesterday when the wind was blowing 40 mph.
Inclement weather is the bane of any solar system.
Your best bet is to have a hybrid inverter, which allows you to charge your batteries from the electricity provider or a generator.
I pray that everybody will make it through this weather.
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There are helical wind turbines 2’ tall for attaching to the gable end of a house, if you’re in a naturally breezy place they’re the bestest for trickle-charging backup batteries if you’re worried about the grid. Planning on using one myself combined with a solar panel to go off grid.
I do hope everyone stays safe, the news of that giant pile-up at a tollgate was awful.
I’m going to insert a little bit of politics here. Almost exactly six months ago, Texas Senator Ted Cruz said the following about California having to do rolling blackouts:
California is now unable to perform even basic functions of civilization, like having reliable electricity.
Biden/Harris/AOC want to make CA’s failed energy policy the standard nationwide.
Hope you don’t like air conditioning!
I wonder if he’s enjoying the roasting he’s getting on Twitter. It may be the only heat he has right now.
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Linky to these if there’s any?
We are in a place with lots of wind, so a wind turbine for charging batteries is a possibility for us.
Seems it is not fun. Friend of mine on Reddit says her hubby installed a generator a while back, and only her house have power. They share their hoise with people less fortunate to warm up a bit and get their phones charged.
Apparently a lot of water pipes burst during this freeze, damaging a lot of houses during the process.
The problem with being cold is that you fail to keep yourself hydrated properly, and sleep deprivation is also a factor. Not to mention the inability to cook a proper hot meal or keep perishables from expiring.
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I have a friend who has been telling us all about it on BYC (BackyardChickens). She’s in Houston.
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Most of the ones I know of are UK based I’m afraid, best I can suggest is Googling for a helical turbine manufacturer nearby.
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My parents, along with my brother and his wife, just finished moving to Leander, Texas this past weekend. They were telling me their water pipes were frozen and had to boil water to run the toilets. Quiet a shock to them all seeing as they’ve been in the Bay Area for so long.
I guess Ted Cruz had to travel 1700 miles just to find heat, food, and power.
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Southeast H-town checking in, more or less, ugh. What a week. We had about 3 hours total power between Sunday night and Wednesday evening, spread out in a few 15-30 minute chunks. Had to go through Monday night/Tuesday AM with temperatures in the mid-teens with no heat, though fortunately the house only got down to 50.
We were able to keep out devices charged in snatches when the power came on, and fortunately we never lost water pressure or had any frozen pipe issues. (Though we are under a boil water order until probably Monday at the earliest.)
Got power back on yesterday just before dark and it’s been on since then—and hopefully we’re over the hump and generation won’t be an issue. Now it’s a matter of waiting for the grocery stores to be resupplied, since trucks haven’t been through at all with most of the major roadways shut down. We’ve got enough to be comfy through the weekend, though I’m hopeful that we’re able to buy at least some essentials soon.
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Good to hear that you guys are doing OK, and that the situation’s been improving by the day.
Glad to experience no outages on CoG… 
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FWIW, the CoG web server is located in Michigan. Houston has many fine hosting options, but I’m not a fan of putting any services I care about anywhere near the gulf coast. (Living here is increasingly problematic and L & I are planning on leaving as soon as my parents die. Facing the hurricane season each year is getting harder and harder, and now Texas’ idiotic political choices and people like this asshole here and this asshole here and this unrepentant piece of shit make me sick. I am embarrassed to my bones to be associated with a state that could elect such a pack of amoral liars.
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I remember you once saying that you enjoyed cooler weather instead of the oppressive heat and humidity, but I guess this is a bit too much to much for you and your fellow Texans. I’m glad you are doing okay and I hope you get some more seasonal weather sooner than later. The two folks I personally know in your area are managing their situation as well as they can be and I am thankful for that.
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Politicians only care about themselves. Period.
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I know some in texas might be desperate… But are you this desperate?
There’s usually one house for sale in my neighborhood at any given time. We’re hurricane-, tornado-, earthquake- and flood-proof and it warmed up to 30 degrees today!
Or, since you can do your job from anywhere, can I interest you in a few YouTube channels about full-time RV living?
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There’s always SoCal. It gets warm here but not humid like in Texas (those two summers in Dallas were the worst).
I’m keeping that area on our ‘maybe’ list but finding jobs is the tough part as well as the fires and housing situation.