Winter storm 2022

[RocketDawg]

Originally Posted by harry chickpea

Yeah, that sounds like 80s technology. Back then a 300 baud modem was fast. I forget how the control signal was sent, and the way search engines work these days my boolean search isn't showing up anything relevant. My guess is some sort of radio signal or subcarrier that could be selectively filtered.

Part of the problem in the older systems was the length of time appliances were cut off. A 20 minute cutoff of an AC or heater generally won't cause a temperature shift that is unrecoverable. Back then 2 and 3 HOUR shut-offs were common. Part of that was caused by the load shed system cutting off ALL loads in the system at once, rather than a more advanced system that allowed each place getting cut off for 20 minutes in sequence.

Fixing peak power issues can be a two edged sword, as it can effectively cap an entire grid area's capability. Without incentive to construct peak power units, the system runs closer to full load constantly. That means when there is a turbine failure or primary transformer taken out, there isn't the redundancy to make up for the loss.

Electrical engineers are amazingly smart, and the reliability of the grid we have had is a testament to that. I suspect that they will come up with ways to have a centralized and distributed generation base that resolves a lot of issues. Controlling grid tie power is just a start.

I had a water heater timer (still have it, in fact) I think was supplied by Huntsville Utilities. It's possible I might have bought it, but I think it was from the company. It has a timer with pins, much like a timer you'd use for Christmas tree lights. Being a timer, it doesn't require a signal. I still have it in the line, but I took all the pins out so the water heater just runs when it needs to.

Water heaters now are really well insulated so I can't see that it saves much energy to shut them off periodically. The foam insulation is so good that the outer case stays cold all the time. I suppose if it was only allowed to operate during low energy use times (which I don't think HU has) it might be cheaper, but doesn't really save electricity use. After the tornadoes in 2011 when the power was out for a week, we were very careful using hot water and still had warm water after several days of no electricity.

[cooldiver]

Originally Posted by RocketDawg

The only other time I'd lost power due to load was in December 1989 when the daytime temperature failed to get above zero, and there was a fierce wind. But the population (and electrical load) has at least doubled since then.

Yes, I remember the horrible month of December 1989. The month was pretty cold and then turned to bitterly cold and windy before Christmas.

Pipes were frozen all over town.

https://www.weather.gov/hun/huntsvil...tremes19812010

https://www.extremeweatherwatch.com/...t-temperatures

January of 1985 was way worse and I was living in an apartment on Madison Pike at the time. January 21st tied for coldest day on record here. I don't think it was as windy as 1989. In 1989 I think the night time wind chills were around -30.

[RocketDawg]

Originally Posted by cooldiver

Yes, I remember the horrible month of December 1989. The month was pretty cold and then turned to bitterly cold and windy before Christmas.

Pipes were frozen all over town.

https://www.weather.gov/hun/huntsvil...tremes19812010

https://www.extremeweatherwatch.com/...t-temperatures

January of 1985 was way worse and I was living in an apartment on Madison Pike at the time. January 21st tied for coldest day on record here. I don't think it was as windy as 1989. In 1989 I think the night time wind chills were around -30.

January 1985 tied the record low of -11 in 1966 for Huntsville. But in January 1966, the lowest ever in the state was -27 in New Market the same evening it was -11 at the airport, and it was -18 at the Redstone Arsenal measuring station. Lots of variation just depending on where the frigid air settled. It'll probably be a long time before it's that cold again.

January 1977 was the coldest month ever in Huntsville with January 1976 not far behind.

I was talking to someone earlier today who was out of town for the Christmas holiday, and when they got back they had broken pipes and caved in ceilings. That's a terrible thing to have happen.