Houston-area residents enter sixth day without power, air conditioning

Post by KingOfCoders » Sat, Jul 13, 2024, 5:31 PM UTC

bequanna wrote: post #120

KingOfCoders wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Many homes in the US are not build with stone but thin wood. Houses in Europe with stone take some time to heat up. We lived in a 100 year old house in Berlin and it took 2 months until the walls were warm. Also took some months in winter until walls are cold again. [Edit] This is not about insulation but heat capacity.

Modern "stick built" homes in the US are well insulated and actually quite efficient. Stone walls would be a poor choice in most areas in the US due to extreme conditions. As you mention, once a stone house heats up in the summer, that is an incredible amount of thermal mass to cool. Your AC would run non-stop. Similar issue in the winter, super high heating costs in cold regions.

Post by gunapologist99 » Sat, Jul 13, 2024, 5:35 PM UTC

EasyMark wrote: post #131

gunapologist99 wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hurricane Ike was a category 4 that traveled nearly directly over Houston in 2008. (It wasn't a category four when it passed over, since, like all major storms, they weaken as they move inland.) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Ike Burying lines, especially in historic areas, is incredibly expensive and not necessarily a panacea either, although it helps. Is it worth it? Realistically, for the millions upon mi…

I think part of the argument is that it’s like that the number of these events will double or trouble, or even become yearly with climate change.

Post by epolanski » Sat, Jul 13, 2024, 5:40 PM UTC

hombre_fatal wrote: post #101

epolanski wrote: post #8

To me it's crazy people run so much AC at home. It's like making global warming a worse problem with AC, so it gets hotter and we use more AC. I live in Rome, Italy, we had 40C (104F) degree max temperatures during day, and even at night it doesn't fall below 29C (84) and we survive without AC just fine, not just me but the rest of my family in their houses too, of course it is sometimes uncomfortable, but that's sum…

Here's a comparison of Houston and Rome climates: https://weatherspark.com/compare/y/9247~71779/Comparison-of-... Note the temperature and especially the humidity sections.

Post by wannacboatmovie » Sat, Jul 13, 2024, 5:42 PM UTC

ethagknight wrote: post #124

hedora wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I disagree, and I speak from experience. We've been repeatedly hit by climate-change induced typhoons here (near the SF Bay Area), and hurricane-force gusts hit both of the last two years. Our area looses a lot of roads to mudslides, and of course we have extended power outages. Having said that, the first year, PG&E only delivered one nine of availability last year, and this year, they're closer to two nines. The di…

You lost me at “climate change induced typhoon”. Comparing an “Bay Area typhoon” (very hilly) to low and flat Houston with a direct hit is disingenuous at best.

Post by while_true_ » Sat, Jul 13, 2024, 5:42 PM UTC

genocidicbunny wrote: post #113

spamizbad wrote: post #105

Why is Texas infrastructure so brittle? It’s a wealthy, prosperous state unencumbered by regulation or legacy stuff that tends to cause issues in other states.

Seems like this was a problem with last mile delivery, which isn't a uniquely Texas problem. Oregon and California have had plenty of major outages due to wind and cold snaps in the last few years as well.