I stand with Texas

[retrieverman]

Germans set their home temperature on 68 degrees in the winter and everyone in the home typically wears a sweater. It's hard for Americans to get used to, I used to go down in the basement and turn up the heat and the landlord would chastise me.

I keep my heat set on 66 in the winter and my AC set on 77 in the summer, and it’s really not bad. When I’m not at my OK house, I leave the heat on 55 in the winter and 85 in the summer.
Most folks I know here in TX keep their AC set between 68 and 72 and continually b*tch about their electric bills.

 

[tRidiot]

74 in the summer, 72 in the winter, usually. Of course, 74 in the summer is a 'suggestion' to our cooling system. We are running high 70s most of the time these days. Even set at 72 yesterday, it was still 76 in my house when we went to bed at midnite.

Dangit.

 

[trekrok]

74 in the summer, 72 in the winter, usually. Of course, 74 in the summer is a 'suggestion' to our cooling system. We are running high 70s most of the time these days. Even set at 72 yesterday, it was still 76 in my house when we went to bed at midnite.

Dangit.

Ours was doing that last summer and I fixed it by cleaning the condenser outside with a water hose. Through brilliant design, our dryer vent is right beside the unit outside and had just coated it with lint. After getting it all off, the unit was quieter and it started cooling MUCH better. Might be worth a look if you haven't already.

 

[Rez Exelon]

Ours was doing that last summer and I fixed it by cleaning the condenser outside with a water hose. Through brilliant design, our dryer vent is right beside the unit outside and had just coated it with lint. After getting it all off, the unit was quieter and it started cooling MUCH better. Might be worth a look if you haven't already.

If you have a power washer and can get the top of the unit off, it's super to (kill the power to the unit!!!) take the top of and power wash all the crap out from the inside. I try to do that once a year.

 

[John6185]

If you have a power washer and can get the top of the unit off, it's super to (kill the power to the unit!!!) take the top of and power wash all the crap out from the inside. I try to do that once a year.

I'm not trying to steal your thunder, but if one isn't careful the power washer will bend the cooling fins on the condenser.

 

[Rez Exelon]

I'm not trying to steal your thunder, but if one isn't careful the power washer will bend the cooling fins on the condenser.

That's fair --- hitting it outside in is more of a bendy danger. I've got a pressure regulator on mine so I can scale 1000-3400 PSI and also have the quick change tip so I can change the pattern to further regulate it, so that probably factors in too.

 

[Rooster1971]

Basically, the power plants were not constructed to operate in those record cold temperatures.
Power plants rely on feedback from operating systems to stay online.
My background is in instrumentation and control systems management that involved some programming for the operating system along with field work at 2 am or so multiple times a week with call outs to repair feedback instruments, or other issues. 365/24/7 on call.
In Tx most of the power plants are open construction vs Montana where they are completely Inclosed.
Since most of their base load is coal and gas to generate steam that rotates a turbine that rotates a generator to make electricity, the feedback systems froze up, along with the double/triple redundancy systems that those plants operate with.
When working at Sooner Power Plant between Ponca and Stillwater we were hardened for freezing temps by massive insulation of feed lines to instrument houses that had heaters inside to prevent freezing.
A power plant has to know pressures, temperatures, barometric pressures, oxygen levels in discharge gasses, voltages and other inputs to operate among a host of other inputs I won’t list as it’s too long. Around 1500 inputs if I remember right per unit and we had two
Even so, when temps got extremely low, individual manpower using propane torches spent up to 36 hours without breaks or sleep to keep those lines thawed where there were breaks in the insulation or the temps overwhelmed the heaters in the feedback instrument cabinets so our customers could have the electricity we promised them.
Hospitals, nursing homes, seniors at home all relied on us to keep power to their homes and businesses.
I’ve seen a lot of complaints about electrical power issues on this forum. Almost no one realizes how much dedication the employees in this industry has to maintain the power coming into the customers home/business because we knew the consequences of failure. People die or suffer and business fail.
Linemen working power lines during a lightning storm to get that one neighborhood back on line is one of the most dangerous jobs in the world but they don’t wait until the storm passes.
Wind farms in Tx were not hardened either and they failed to ice and other issues to be discussed.
Massive power requirements because of the record cold could not keep up with demand.
Solar systems covered in ice in Tx didn’t work either.
To their credit, TX is working to make sure this is a one time deal.
The Tx freeze got further South of the Rio Grande.
We were 2 miles north of the Rio Grande seeing orchards and veggi fields devastated. One reason for hi veggi prices now. It will take many years for those orchards to recover.

That makes sense. Thanks for the detailed response. I sure do appreciate the work the guys do to keep power on. I wouldn’t want to work in a dangerous occupation in less than desirable conditions.

 

[Mr.Glock]

Bring back the clothesline poles. Those that can walk to the store do so. Decent breeze, under 94 and a good shade tree and chill. Many ways to save electricity and get people back together. A good deep pond is a blessing, or go to a good lake.