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This is so true. First, you need gasoline. In NY, gas stations do not have backup power source during blackouts. Finding gas becomes impossible.
A whole house model with installations and propane tanks costs $10,000 to set up. It's a big investment for a once in a lifetime event.
A couple of things.
Yes, gasoline powered generator users were in a lot of trouble in New Jersey in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy in 2012. Many gas stations were out of power and huge lines formed at those stations that had power. People from NJ even caused long lines at gas stations in PA border towns.
Whole house generators do not have to cost anywhere near $10k. We have a 7kW Generac unit that we only paid about $3k for the installation including transfer switch. The propane hookup is separate but that's less than a grand to have the line run and a 100 gallon (420 lb) tank filled up. A 7kW unit may not be a "whole house" unit but it runs all key items except the dryer and the stove. Since the 5+ day outage after Sandy we've had at least 2 other outages lasting over 24 hours. It's worth it for us, to have a backup to keep the furnace, fridge, and sump pumps running.
That's pretty condescending. I'm not in Texas, but I emphasize with anyone without electricity.
It's a fact that backup generator doesn't solve every problem. As JonahWicky posted above, it wouldn't stop pipes from bursting. A whole house generator is expensive. Not every family can afford its $10,000 price tag.
Saying that, many people in Westchester County, NY brought backup generators after Sandy. After our last blackout in August (Hurricane Isaias), my sister upgraded her backup generator to a full house generator. It was easier for her because they have a natural gas line into their NJ home. No searching for gasoline.
I live in Montana where recently it was -30 with a 15 mph wind making the temperature -56.
I'm completely off grid with solar, however there was no sun through the clouds. My $2000 8k gas generator ran the whole house including heat tapes on the pipes.
No frozen pipes.
Yes my home is set up for this as it's not unusual here, and the nearest power line is 2 miles from my home. My entire system cost $20,000, but I never worry about power going out or the grid going down. I have redundancy from the solar system, a propane 7k Generac and an 8k gas generator. The total cost was $15,000 less than hooking to the grid.
It just depends on your priorities and preparing for emergencies by taking prudent measures, or you can do your own thing by living in a way where you don't have to be afraid of weather or panicdemics or economic depressions, you have to take care of yourself because nobody else will.
Telling people it isn't worth it to try and prepare for emergencies is the most condesending thing you can do because it says they aren't capable of taking care of themselves or overcome obstructions to keep their family safe. If it's important to you, you make it happen. Period.
So, generators would have solved it for most people, am I correct? Or is there another problem--something about the water supply? But as long as you have power, you can boil water.
My sister in Austin was without power for 5 days. No generator. They lost two refrigerators worth of food, and a freezerful as well. I didn't ask her whether she could have just put the food outside, given the single digit temps.
Why? Why don't people prepare? Even without freak weather, power outages can happen.
Another thing for the generator check-list, if one is so inclined, is to install (or in my case have an electrician install) a transfer switch/sub breaker panel. When we lose power, I roll our portable generator out of the shed and to the transfer switch's large plug that's mount on the outside of the house outside of where the circuit breaker is. This powers six circuits that I wanted over onto the sub-panel. The switch sub panel takes those circuits offline so they don't back-feed the powerlines/potentially electricute a line worker trying to restore the power. We have fridge, freezer, bedroom outlets, microwave, well pump and TV room/internet router powered by it. No spoiled food, have coffee pot, microwave, internet creature comforts, AND no running 110V extension cords into the house from outside. It was kind of costly to have the box and sub panel installed, but well worth it. We're out in the country and ice storms or thunderstorms or tropical storms take trees down on our area's powerlines now and then.
I'm a big fan of generators, but they have some limitations. Unless you go all in for a whole house model with a fuel storage tank or natural gas connection it's not going to provide for all your needs. A decent sized portable can easily use 10-15 gallons of gas per day. which is a lot of 5 gal. cans for 5 days. You could save your food and run a few space heaters, but it's still a lot like camping.
After hurricane Wilma in Florida, I went eleven days without power, kept my refrigerator running 24/7, had hot water, did laundry, ran fans, watched a 50" tv with satellite feed - all using a 5KW Coleman construction generator, six lead acid batteries, a 2KW inverter, and a 70 watt solar panel - using a total of less that 10 gallons of gas.
Bluntly, most people don't have a clue, and wouldn't buy one if it was for sale for a dollar because they want to live to excess, even when that will kill them. I used to try to educate, but I just don't care to anymore.
Telling people it isn't worth it to try and prepare for emergencies is the most condesending thing you can do because it says they aren't capable of taking care of themselves or overcome obstructions to keep their family safe. If it's important to you, you make it happen. Period.
Of course, I am not saying don't prepare.
I am saying that many people can't afford generators. Some people live in trailer parks/mobile homes can't afford a generator.
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there’s a growing percentage of people with little to no savings. In 2019, 69% of respondents said they have less than $1,000 in a savings account compared with 58% in 2018.
And, many generators runs on gasoline which have been in short supply in New York during outages. Some generators run on propane which can run out too. As I said, my sister has the best option - a whole house generator running on natural gas lines.
I don't think this is the time to shame Texans for not being prepared. It's like when people blaming New Yorkers for not being prepared for Sandy. Places that never flooded before were underwater. I was fifty miles north of the city in Westchester. We lost power because trees snapped like toothpicks bringing down power lines. We had a gas stove and fireplace with cords of woo. It was October so it was fine. But, boy I wouldn't have wanted to be blamed for Sandy's damage anymore than Texans want to be blamed for a polar vortex damage.
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There is no "national power grid".
I know NYC Con Ed received power once from Canada. Half my town is Con Ed and the other half is NYSEG. There is no choice of supplier. NYSEG and Con Ed are totally separate from each other. Neither is on the same grid.
Last edited by YorktownGal; 02-22-2021 at 09:16 PM..
And, many generators runs on gasoline which have been in short supply in New York during outages. Some generators run on propane which can run out too. As I said, my sister has the best option - a whole house generator running on natural gas lines.
I don't think this is the time to shame Texans for not being prepared. It's like when people blaming New Yorkers for not being prepared for Sandy. Places that never flooded before were underwater. I was fifty miles north of the city in Westchester. We lost power because trees snapped like toothpicks bringing down power lines. We had a gas stove and fireplace with cords of woo. It was October so it was fine. But, boy I wouldn't have wanted to be blamed for Sandy's damage anymore than Texans want to be blamed for a polar vortex damage.
I know NYC Con Ed received power once from Canada. Half my town is Con Ed and the other half is NYSEG. There is no choice of supplier. NYSEG and Con Ed are totally separate from each other. Neither is on the same grid.
I don't see it as "shaming." I see reactions to the lack of preparedness more as dumbfounded jaw dropping by those of us who do make the effort to prep.
Small generators that can keep a light on and an electric heater set on low are regularly available at Harbor Freight for about $100. A couple of 24 packs of bottled water are less than $10. A single burner propane camp stove is $10 or less. A case of canned chunky soup and a couple boxes of saltines might cost all of $40.
When I see the new cars that many of the complainers are driving, I just tune them out. If your priorities are so screwed up that you can't survive on your own for a week or two - or even a day in many cases, you don't deserve much more than a Jeff Foxworthy sign.
As far as Sandy? I have zero sympathy for the losses of people who invested in homes on barrier islands. Those are natural hurricane whipping posts that can be entirely washed away. Folks who lived inland and had unusual flooding are a different story.
People often don't have a lot of common sense. There are people who live in the shadow of Mt. Etna. There are people who build in box canyons that regularly have forest fires. There are people who rebuild on flood plains, with zero effort at planning for any future flood. This might not be the right forum to come singing the praises of those who don't have any emergency preparedness.
Technically you are correct. There are 3 Interconnect regions: Eastern US (and parts of Canada), Western US (and parts of Canada & Mexico), and Texas. Other minor Interconnect regions are Alaska and Quebec.
Texas set themselves up this way specifically to avoid federal oversight which was proposed in 1935 by FDR.
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And different parts of Texas are on different grids, some of which extend into other states.
The parts of Texas that are not on ERCOT are very small by population.
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