In TX, some think their homes are "unbearably hot" when they reach 78 degrees.

[pnwmom]

And they are whining about having to raise their air conditioner thermostats because of the electricity shortage that's hitting them again (or at having them raised remotely in a 3-hr. "energy saving event.)

Meanwhile in Seattle, less than 1/3 of homes have central or room air-conditioning, and people in Seattle survive MANY days of 78 and above every summer.

You'd think those people who think 78 is unbearably hot would be a little more concerned about global warming.

https://www.khou.com/article/news/local/texas/remote-thermostat-adjustment-texas-energy-shortage/285-5acf2bc5-54b7-4160-bffe-1f9a5ef4362a

English’s wife and their daughters decided to take their afternoon nap earlier in the day.

“They’d been asleep long enough that the house had already gotten to 78 degrees,” English said. “So they woke up sweating.” Without anyone touching it, they said their thermostat was changed while they were sleeping, making their home unbearably hot.'

“Was my daughter at the point of overheating?” English said. “She’s 3 months old. They dehydrate very quickly.”

His wife received an alert on her phone soon after that. The family said their thermostat had been changed remotely, raising the temperature of their home during a three-hour “energy saving event.”

[vanlassie]

1. I live in Central California. It was 111 today.

I toggle my AC between 78 and 79. There is no way a person would be unbearably hot at 78 inside unless they are a penguin.

[pnwmom]

2. Right, your house feels cool compared to the 111 outside. It's all relative. nt

[vanlassie]

5. Mmmm not exactly. On a day like today or when it's 80 out

my AC is set the same. And on a day like today I stay inside all day. 78 degrees is never unbearably hot.

[vanlassie]

6. But fans are a given in such a climate. You need moving air.

[pnwmom]

12. Also, in Seattle when it's hot we open windows at night,

to cool the house down. And we shut them in the morning and close the blinds and curtains to help the house retain the cooler night air.

This is what most people in our grandparents' generation even in TEXAS had to do, because AC is a modern invention.

[vanlassie]

42. Absolutely. There's an art to managing in hot climates.

[canetoad]

106. Exactly

Although it's winter here now, summer can be fierce. Closing up and darkening early in the day helps. Turn off anything that generates even a little heat. Fans, wet towels - you know the drill!

Later on if possible, cross-ventilation and open doors & windows.

[ChazII]

195. Opening the windows is what I prefer to do when

possible. The last few nights our low has been 91 degrees. The thermostat is set at 80 degrees but I am thinking about moving it up to 81 or 82 degrees.

It great to be able to open the house at night.

[pnwmom]

196. Yikes! A low of 91 WOULD be unbearable. n/t

[ChazII]

198. One good aspect

is that I am able to take the two fur kids for a short walk around 4:30 in the morning. Dawn is beginning and the pavement has cooled to where it isn't hot to the human bare foot. We take a 10 minute walk.

[Maru Kitteh]

15. I

am a penguin.

[MrsCoffee]

35. I turned into a penguin somewhere around the age of 55.

Heat can sometimes be my kryptonite.

[Laffy Kat]

43. I'm with ya, MrsCoffee!

I used to be always cold, yet now my hot flashes are cooking me alive. They come on so suddenly and are almost unbearable for two or three minutes. My body sweats places I didn't even know you could sweat!

[smirkymonkey]

72. Same here! I was always one of those people who was freezing when everyone else

was warm or hot. Now I am always overheated and I hate it. The hot flashes are awful, but just in general I am very heat intolerant.

I don't even like to go outside if it goes above 78 or it's humid out. Very comfortable in here w/ the AC and the fan.

Also, I hate to sweat. It really grosses me out. I like being cool and dry.

[Blue_playwright]

49. Menopause sucks

I’m freezing my family out right now. They just wrap up in blankets.

[Elessar Zappa]

60. I'm sweating at 78 degrees.

I keep my house at 68.

[Jedi Guy]

76. Right there with you, pretty much. My comfort zone is around 70. N/T

[Happy Hoosier]

3. LOL.. if it gets above 75 in here....

I’m sweatin’ like a Trump official under oath.

The AC is set to 74 and ne’er shall it go higher!

We should transition to carbon neutral electricity sources… wind/solar/nuclear.

[SoonerPride]

4. My house stays at 70 year round.

If it was 78° I would melt.

[Texaswitchy]

7. I grew with window fans.

Didn't have AC until high school.

I would have killed for 78.

My AC stays at 78.

How is 78 hot.

I have solar.

[pnwmom]

13. I don't much like it when the weather people here are saying it will be a glorious day,

sunny and 85 -- that's too high for me. But lots of people think it's just great.

[Texaswitchy]

22. I do not like heat.

I like my ac.

But being in a really cold house and then going out in the heat is not a good thing.

I stay inside in the middle the day.

Running a ceiling fan helps or any fan.

I remember sweating in school in May and September.

In the summer the neighborhood pool was popular.

Our bodies got used to the heat.

Windows fans during the day would pull the heat out of the house and then at night it would pull in the cooler night air.

My family picked cotton on my Grandparents farm in August.

I never did, to young.

[pnwmom]

23. Yes -- people in Seattle still use the fans to pull in cool night air.

And then we close everything up in the morning and it helps the house stay cool, at least for the morning.

[Texaswitchy]

38. Yes.

Pre ac that was my part of Texas.

Some people had attic fans.
My house is old.

Built pre ac back in the 30's.

High ceilings.

I have ceiling fans.

I have replaced windows, insulated the house.

I have siding with insulation.

My house stays real comfortable at 78.

It was comfortable in February during the big freeze.

I have gas jets for space heaters.

I insulated the pipes when I had new plumbing put in.

Now more solar.

[LeftInTX]

176. Yeah, I didn't really mind the cold house.

However, I lived for a few years without heat as a little kid in Japan..(well, we had kerosene space heater, but it was unsafe so we didn't use it) Anyway, I did what we did when we were young. I wore my coat, stocking cap etc in the house.
I'm also from Wisconsin and had icicles in my room constantly. My WI bedroom was colder than my Texas house without heat.

But I hated not having electricity for 40 hours! Cell towers also had limited service. I hated being in a dark house with no real communication with the outside.

[Texaswitchy]

189. Need a big jump starters like for your car.

You can charge up your cellphones.

Most have a built in light.

There are all kinds of battery powered devices that can be charged up.

Battery powered lanterns.

We were ready for the ice storm.

I am so glad a bought a old house with gas jets.

The old fashion gas heaters kept the house nice and warm

We had a lot of guests sleeping over all over the place.

Dogs and cats.

It was a trip.

[PortTack]

8. It's a very personal thing..try being a menopausal woman trying to sleep, heavy set men,

Those with heart or breathing conditions can feel very overwhelmed, sick with fever, pregnant women, elderly

The idea that ergot can override thermostats so their crappy grid doesn’t fail, and they don’t have to up date...lining their greedy share holders pockets, like ab-butt and cruz is wrong!!

[pnwmom]

14. My grandparents had no choice because there was no air conditioning.

People in Seattle do what people all over the country used to do. They open windows, and run fans, and cool the house off at night. Then they close everything up and shut the blinds and drapes as soon as they get up in the morning, which helps retain the cooler night air. Even if it only gets down to 70 at night, that's still better than 90 or higher during the day.

[PortTack]

58. I get that. I grew up without AC

The point is that big brother is in ppls homes overriding their energy use because of their greed. They have done nothing to upgrade their grid and it will continue to fail

Some ppl may not have been as healthy as your grandparents and need it cooler and should have that right

[LeftInTX]

178. Exactly....

My home was built in 1980...There is no cross breeze here. I guess we could retrofit windows, but if the AC goes out in the summer, I leave. Windows are tiny.

Our old home was built in 1963 and we went for a few years without AC. (The unit was broken when we purchased the house) It had one of those awful sliding patio doors, but hey they were a good source of cross breeze. This house does not have a sliding patio door etc.

[TxGuitar]

185. They didn't have vaccines or antibiotics either

Should we eschew them as well?

[pnwmom]

188. Until everyone gets solar everything, electricity is adding to our carbon footprint.

So in the meantime, it's better that we conserve in whatever ways we can.

Seattle has about a month every summer with highs over 80, and 5 days or so over 90. I'm not thrilled with that weather, but few here would complain if they had an air conditioner set at 78. It would take care of the worst heat.

[raccoon]

59. Also many people are on meds that make you feel heat

Much work. SSRI’s like Prozac and Zoloft will do that.

[smirkymonkey]

73. Oh, didn't realize that!

Good to know.

[Luciferous]

9. I keep mine at 73 during the day and 70 at night.

I can't sleep if it's too hot.

[Sgent]

10. Part of this is relative humidity

In East TX especially 85 can have a heat index well into the 90's if not 100+.

[pnwmom]

17. But what did people in East TX do before air conditioning came along?

[Sgent]

26. Didn't live there

Cities like Houston and Atlanta were only able to grow to their current size due to AC.

[Hugin]

65. +1

Yep.

[Hortensis]

115. This! And those who did tended to die in higher numbers from

Last edited Sat Jun 19, 2021, 10:35 PM - Edit history (1)

the heat itself, disease, parasites, fungal infections, etc. Babies and small children especially. People with means fled to cooler climates in summer.

Something I didn't realize out west is that in the south temperatures do not drop substantially with the sun in summer but often stay intolerably hot and humid through the evenings, often all night. Out west, in dry climates, mornings and evenings are typically nicely cooled off even though the hours when the sun arcs higher are miserably hot.

[Texasgal]

136. Before AC

there were not big city metropolis's that raise the temps. There were not huge buildings and asphalt that retain heat. With no airflow it makes the city hotter.

I'm in Austin, TX and my grandmother's home had no AC. I remember not being particularly bothered by it. In the 70's she installed AC and heat. She also had an attic fan.

Back then we also got more rain than we do now... and the temps seem to get hotter for longer periods of time.

Growth and weather patterns change. Mine is set at 76 normally, when I leave I set to 79. I have a short snout dog that is sensitive to heat.

[Texaswitchy]

191. Exactly.

My parents old neighborhood of wood frame houses with yards are now townhouses.

No yards lot of concrete.

My parents house had the shotgun effect going with the front door.

Plenty of breeze with lots of windows.

We didn't seem to suffer.

We had a vacate lot in front and on one side.

Plenty breeze.

It was hot.

The tar in the street would bubble.

We were more tolerate to heat.

[Lithos]

11. Sorry -stupid question

There are times in our house 78 is cold; other times it is hot.

Depends on things such as relative humidity and how often the thermostat triggers the fan and the ac itself.

If the fan runs all the time, it's probably cold. If the fan does not - it's probably hot.

Question - do you live in Texas or some place with a similar climate?

-L

[pnwmom]

16. I have relatives there so I know TX has both humid areas and dry areas.

I also know there's something called a swamp cooler, that helps cool the air and uses less power.

[Lithos]

20. Right...

That works for everyone... this is a non-starter.

I live here... I do not know of anyone with this. Do you even know what a swamp cooler means? It is an evaporative cooler. This is definitely separate from a traditional A/C unit installed in most homes - ie, it means an aftermarket add-on.


L-

[pnwmom]

24. My relatives with the living room swamp cooler have no AC at all.

So it's not an add-on. But it works pretty well for the rooms that are open to it.


(They're the ones who call it a swamp cooler. I had never heard of that till I visited the first time.)

[Laffy Kat]

46. Grew up in TN and never even heard of a swamp cooler until I moved to Colorado.

Many people have them out here and they seem to work well.

[Lithos]

50. Does not work globally

https://homesteady.com/facts-7979445-effective-evaporative-coolers-central-texas.html


Definitely not here and probably most of the population regions of Texas

[pnwmom]

54. Last I heard Dallas was a major city and they do sell them there.

https://kandsac.com/evaporative-cooling-in-dallas-tx/

[Lithos]

83. They do not work in Dallas

They only half way work in West Texas where there most of the time the humidity is low. The other problem with them is you have to leave windows open to accommodate the required airflow. Not ideal at night.

What they do use swamp coolers for are portable, outdoor coolers. Outdoor restaurants, events, etc.

[pnwmom]

84. Leaving windows open at night was the traditional method of cooling houses

before Americans became addicted to air conditioning.

It's still what we do in the northwest on warm and hot days (only 1/3 of homes have AC here.) Then we shut everything up and draw the blinds in the morning, to keep the cool air inside as long as possible.

Attic fans are also useful, and attic ventilation.

[Lithos]

100. Yes, those are all used here

Unlike the PNW - in the middle of summer, the temperatures will only get down to the upper 70's at best in the summer. I've seen it still at 95 at midnight.

[LeftInTX]

179. They don't work in Dallas...

I had one for awhile in San Antonio...
They made the situation worse.....

[NutmegYankee]

36. Swamp cooler only works well in dry air.

They don't work well in high humidity and they do nothing to reduce that humidity. AC reduces the humidity as well as cooling the air. When comparing humidity, forget relative humidity, it changes with temperature - use the dewpoint.



Current USA Map:

[pnwmom]

37. That makes sense because the relative with it lives in a dryer part, near Dallas.

But I grew up in the east, and remember days above 90% humidity. Still, we had to go to school on days like that, and nobody thought below 80 was unbearable. Just sticky.

[NutmegYankee]

40. They only get 90% humidity at night.

The dew point is the temperature at which the air is completely saturated, in other words 100% relative humidity. Just like sugar in a saucepan where adding more heat will dissolve more sugar, heating the air allows the air to hold more moisture, so the relative humidity goes down during the day. Fun fact: a dew point of 95°F for 2 hrs will kill a human. So 100°F and 100% humidity has never happened on Earth while humans have been here - that would be a dew point of 100°F

Dew point is a predictor for nighttime lows with a clear sky because once the air hits the dew point and the water vapor condenses to liquid the latent heat of vaporization is released, warming the air. The temp can go lower, but it will leave a heavy coating of dew to do so. Regardless, humid air cannot drop much more than 20°F during the night, leaving warm nights, whereas dry air can plunge 40° or more.

[cadoman]

18. for folks that are genetically a bit larger this is just the way things are

There's really nothing to be done about it and it's not a question of willpower or "powering through". If you have large bodied genetics it's a simple fact that you need a lower temperature air around you to be comfortable, healthy, and safe.

What we need is simply more solar power in these states. There's a good presence beginning in TX with Austin leading the way, and with the right incentives in place we'll see people cooled to their ideal genetic temperature in an environmentally friendly way.

[pnwmom]

27. But this guy was complaining about his 3 month old baby getting dehydrated.

Would a baby really get dehydrated in 78 degrees? Two of mine were babies in the summer, and had lots of days that warm. You just give them plenty of fluids.

[GulfCoast66]

19. That just silly. So when Seattle reached 78 or even 89, what are your nighttime lows? In the 60's.

In Florida in days without rain in the summer it is 93 in the day and 80 at night. I’ve spent days in the north of America and Europe where it got hot during the day but at night I needed more than the sheet at night with the windows open. Because they have no AC.

Having lived in Arkansas and Louisiana I remember days above 100 with lows in the 80’s and super high humidity. The older can have problems.

That said I set mine at 76 at night and 78 during the day. But we spend most of our time outside both at work and at home. You do get used to it. If you are healthy. And I think that the largest problem. People move to the south then once it gets hot stay indoors all the time.

I’m sitting in my garage now with the doors open. It’s 80 degrees but I have 2 fans in the garage and I worked in the yard all day.

76 will feel very cool to me.

Now the wife is going thru the change so sometimes turns it lower, but not often. We have a ceiling fan in the bedroom and keep it on high all night.

[pnwmom]

28. You're setting your thermostat to the same 78 that the TX people in the article

were calling unbearable. Even though the city was just setting it at 78 for only 3 hours!

I have lived in a humid climate in the past. 78 could feel sticky, for sure -- but not unbearable.

[GulfCoast66]

33. I was only calling Seattle with a high of 78 with a Florida summer.

As you know, when our high is 78 many open their windows. We call it winter! The low will be in the 50’s of low 60’s.

The wife and I embrace the heat of Florida.
But we are healthy and have spent our entire lives outside.

Ironically it was a trip to Europe in 05 that got us to turn up our thermostat from 74 to 76-78. We went to Germany in a heat wave. And it was hot all night with no AC. But after 3 weeks of it we had managed. Flying home we decided we were use to heat and decided to turn our thermostat up. Still doing it 16 years later.

We have a 3000 square foot house and my last power bill was 159 dollars. I have friends with the same sized home who spend $300.

Can’t wait till retirement. Going to build a 1700 square foot house.

Have a nice evening.

[RockRaven]

21. I've got a no AC house. It was 100 yesterday and 90+ today. Inside temp hit high-70s maximum.

Even if you thought high 70s is unacceptable even as a transient peak, you need to grapple with the fact that this degree of temperature modulation is possible with basic insulation/windows/weatherstripping and deciding when to open/close windows... with no AC, at all, ever... Imagine what you could accomplish with a little bit of AC at the right time.

Insulate and seal your house properly, and cool it properly at night/in off-peak hours (either by window or by AC depending on the circumstance) and you'll be able to withstand whatever the peak-time energy limitations throw at you.

[pnwmom]

30. That's the other thing I've noticed about houses in TX.

The building codes are pretty lax in terms of energy standards.

[GulfCoast66]

34. Wow! Where do you live? In the Deep South when that hot the lows are in the 80's.

As a house would be. I can sleep at 78. 83 it becomes an issue.

Now a window AC is a good answer. It’s what southerners first had.

[pnwmom]

55. Fans are probably what southerners first had, since any kind of air conditioning is modern. nt

[RockRaven]

56. Nor Cal/SF Bay Area. We usually get a 20 degree, or even 30+, high-low gradient, in peak summer

So it's not uncommon to have lows in the 60s after a daytime 90 or 100. [Obviously, perhaps, the high-low differences shrink in the winter]

It is a privilege of sorts, of course, to be able to harness that "passive" nighttime cooling. I know that option is not available everywhere all the time. But we have to pro-actively manage it, if we want it to last (remotely) comfortably through the peak of the next day without AC. We open and close various windows at different times of day to get the desired effect.

Our house was not always capable of this level of comfort though. It was originally built in the 50s and was totally un-insulated, with drafty single-paned windows everywhere. A prior owner put blown-in insulation in the attic but that was laughably insufficient. It was absolutely miserable in the summer for the first decade we lived here.

When we decided to remodel the kitchen and bathrooms recently, that meant living elsewhere for a while -- and since we were out of the house... Long story short we also insulated the whole damn thing every which way.

It is absolutely a night and day difference.

And that is why I have no patience for a "but my smart-thermostat" whiner. If you've got AC, and a smart thermostat, and are staying at home in the middle of the day with your kid to be taking a nap during the dastardly thermostat-highjacking period, then more likely than not you a) can afford to insulate your domicile, or b) can plan around peak-hour restrictions.

[Retrograde]

25. We don't build for the local climate

And that's part of the problem: the same general house plans are used throughout the country regardless of how well they suit the local conditions.

I live in a 100+ year old bungalow in California. I have some insulation, but no a/c. What I do have are large eaves that extend several feet out from the house and shade the windows. I also have windows placed opposite each other: on hot days I close the windows, then open them when the sun goes down to get some cross-ventilation. On really hot days I bring out the fans. I do poorly in high temperatures: when it does get hot I try to shift my schedule so I do as much physical work as possible in the early morning.

78 is unbearably hot? Makes me wonder how the pioneer ancestors they're so proud of managed to get by without modern conveniences

[fescuerescue]

128. You sure about that?

I've noticed great differences in construction in different parts of this country.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

29. I keep my thermostat around 50 during the Winter...

... but about 72 the rest of the year.

Sorry, but I deal with the cold much better than most people whereas higher temps are my kryptonite.

Edit: If I ever move away from the Midwest, it certainly won't be in a southern direction.

[pnwmom]

31. But I bet you could deal with 3 hours of 78 degree temps -- that's what this father

was complaining about.

You could, for instance, run a fan past a bucket of ice water, and sit in front of it to cool off.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

32. Sure, I can easily deal with it for awhile.

I was also surprised that drier areas with high temps never felt bad to me, like during past trips to the West. I luckily never quite experienced temps above 100F out there, though, whereas I've experienced those kinds of temps here a few times.

Some of the recent temps in the West are insane to me. But 78F in a dry area doesn't strike me as terrible at all.

[struggle4progress]

51. 120 isn't bad if you have enough water and are covered to avoid sunburn

provided the air is dry, because your evaporating sweat keeps you cool

But you might need salt pills now and then

[Buckeye_Democrat]

53. Yes, and my sweat glands work prodigiously...

... based on my comparisons with others around here when it's hot.

Yet my skin remained dry, and my body felt pretty comfortable, in places like Arizona.

So I'd probably be among the first to die of dehydration, without replenishing fluids, if I was placed in the middle of the Mojave desert with other people.

[LisaL]

57. It's hot and humid in TX.

So 78 degrees is indeed very hot.

[Blue_Adept]

172. And the person in question is a new father panicking over their baby

Regardless of whether I think they're right or wrong, I understand the emotional component that comes from seeing that and your child not being well and reacting to it.

[TxGuitar]

184. Very

And as mentioned above the heat doesn't go away at night so your house never cools down. Opening the windows makes your house sticky and stuffy. And factor in that once June comes around in the Houston are, temps go up into the 90s and stay that way sometimes until October. I don't think people realize how oppressively hot it is in Houston.
Imagine living in North Dakota and being told in January to set your heater to 45 degrees. You'd be frozen.

[rownesheck]

39. It amazes me

that there are still parts of the country where people don't have AC. I heard yesterday that no one in San Francisco has AC. Is that true?! I keep thinking the person misspoke.

[pnwmom]

41. The large majority of people in San Fran and Seattle don't have it.

https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/data/seattle-is-least-air-conditioned-metro-area-in-the-u-s-census-data-show-so-how-do-locals-keep-cool/?fbclid=IwAR2_AdpH10lSWETVTVbtcltwUSg820QaCYXaxWQ5D7SZmG7fOXLGIyiwZtQ

That’s because Seattle is the least air-conditioned metro area in the nation — at least out of the 41 metros included in the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Housing Survey. As of 2015, only one of every three housing units in the Seattle area was cooled by central air or a room unit. That’s nowhere near the national average of 89 percent.

In fact, only one other metro comes close to Seattle: In San Francisco, with its famously cold summers, just 36 percent of homes were air-conditioned.


But aside from Seattle and San Francisco, the un-air-conditioned are squarely in the minority everywhere. Even in Portland, which ranks third-lowest among the metros, 70 percent of homes were cooled — that’s more than double Seattle’s percentage.

[smirkymonkey]

74. I never had AC when I lived in San Francisco.

Never really needed it. It would get hot some days, but not unbearably so. It always seemed to cool down to tolerable temperatures at night. In fact, I don't even remember having a fan.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

45. A lot of homes and buildings don't have A/C there.

The temps don't normally get very high there, but that's been changing.

It was pretty humid when I visited the area, so I'd definitely want A/C if I lived there.

People are desperate for air conditioning as San Francisco deals with record heat
https://mashable.com/2017/09/02/san-franciso-heat-wave-air-conditioning/

Edit: Cool ocean currents can help those coastal areas a lot. Travel just a few miles more inland, though, and it's a different story.

[vanlassie]

47. My son lives in the East Bay -Walnut Creek. Very little AC anywhere

in the SF Bay Area. It was 108 there today. He had taken the family to the beach overnight to escape. House was above 90 when they returned this late afternoon. It’s going to be an increasing issue.

[Sympthsical]

52. I'm very surprised they don't have AC

Closer to the Bay, certainly. My old place in East Bay was always fairly cool. Only a few days a year where I wished I had AC. Usually I'd just go to the library or some such and read a book.

But inland like that? My friends in Concord and WC all have AC. Where I live in North Bay, we all have AC. There's just no way during the summer. I mean, yeah, it's a very low humidity situation. But we usually pull the AC trigger around 95 degrees.

It's going to start cooling off tomorrow, and by Monday the week will be pleasant. But by next weekend, it'll be back in triple digits.

Triple digit days are very, very common inland. If someone showed me a place with no AC in Walnut Creek, Concord, Pleasant Hill, etc. I would've noped right on out. No way.

On the plus side, it does get quite cool at night. It was 108 here today, but our expected overnight low is 57. Pretty common. 50s or low 60s.

[vanlassie]

66. He actually lives in Pleasant Hill. House built in 1956.

Cost half a million six years ago. Tract home.

[Sympthsical]

68. That explains a lot

Poor family. A big problem the last several days has been no wind. Not a breath of it. And I live in a valley with a wind tunnel. It usually feels pre-hurricane around here most of the time. I have never seen the trees so still as I have during this heat wave. Not a leaf moved. To battle high heat without using AC, we get those cross breezes going. Wasn't happening at all. I can only imagine what his house was like.

Costco is having their fan sales now. I like the Woozoo ones for $25. Quiet and powerful. Wouldn't buy them on Amazon, though. Completely overpriced.

[pnwmom]

95. Only 36% in San Fran have air-conditioning. #2 lowest in the country after Seattle, with 1/3. n/t

[Sympthsical]

96. Is that including the outer counties? Like Contra Costa, Solano, Napa, Sonoma, etc.?

I understand not having it along East Bay, on the SF peninsula, Half Moon Bay, etc. I didn't have it when I lived there either.

But inland? Ooft. I couldn't do it. It's 91 now. If it were just us two today, we'd have fans going. But we have 15 people over for a party, so that sucker went on early.

I looked at my old East Bay digs just now out of curiosity. It's 66 degrees there now. And that is why I didn't have AC there. 25 degree difference inland. That's a very common difference. SF proper is often pretty pleasant in the summer. Inland? No, that's just desert heat much of the time.

That's why I was so surprised.

[pnwmom]

98. It was a list of major cities, so I don't know whether it was specific to the cities

or included suburbs too.

It did say wealthier areas were more likely to be the ones with air-conditioning.

[Sympthsical]

99. That can be very hard to pin down with the Bay Area

I'd guess they meant the city proper. Because that would make a lot of sense. You don't really need AC in the city and areas near the Bay. But Walnut Creek, that the other poster referenced, is pretty decently inland. Any shore breeze is totally eliminated by the Berkeley Hills. North Bay, where I am, has a lot of hills between me and the Bay (I'm practically halfway to Sacramento).

Inland gets toasty during summer.

[LeftInTX]

177. I lived in Seattle for a few years when I was a kid

Summers were cold...

We would have one hot day a year...
We had one day when it was hot enough to play in the sprinklers...The TV crew saw us playing in the sprinkler and filmed us.

We had watermelon on the Fourth of July and froze while eating it. We wore jackets in the evening.

[jml510]

61. I'm in Oakland and my family and I don't have AC,

but that's because we can't afford it. We'd definitely have it if we could. People who live in SF and on the rest of the Peninsula have it good with the ocean breezes while the rest of the Bay is dealing with sweltering heat. It's like hell here if you don't have AC or insulation.

[Captain Zero]

44. Don't forget the humidity

Nt

[RainCaster]

48. I grew up in the desert, 110 days, 80 nights

My folks had a swamp cooler. Now I live near Seattle and we do not have AC either. Only regret that about 3 days each year when it gets above 95.

[Mariana]

62. "Was my daughter at the point of overheating? She's 3 months old. They dehydrate very quickly."

If Mr. English and his wife are so worried that their daughter will overheat and become dehydrated because she perspires while taking a nap when it's 78 degrees in the house, I suggest they call their pediatrician with their concerns.

[pnwmom]

75. That's what I thought.

[Goodheart]

63. Air conditioning is more than about temperature. It's also about removing humidity.

I live in Baton Rouge. With high humidity, 78 degrees inside the house can be quite uncomfortable.

In the summer time I set the thermostat to 72.

[pnwmom]

77. But the guy's complaint was that the baby would DEHYDRATE during its nap,

which seems very unlikely anywhere at 78 degrees, but especially in a place with high humidity.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

97. When the humidity is high, it does not cool off at night.

I grew up in Houston, without any central air. It was brutal. My parents had a big window unit in their bedroom, so they were comfortable at night. I did not get a window unit in my bedroom until I was in high school.

Many a night it was too hot to sleep, because it was still hot and humid,85 degrees.
I read James Michener novels.

Even in Austin and San Antonio and Dallas, there's too much humidity to not need air conditioning. For it to cool off at night, you have to go north to Oklahoma where it's drier.
People who live in dry climates don't understand that you have to take the humidity out of the air. Swamp coolers don't work in humid climates.

The higher the temperature, the more water that the air can hold. That's why we use relative humidity instead of using absolute humidity, to calculate the heat index.

The movement of population to the Sun Belt could only happen with central air conditioning. Houston, Dallas and Atlanta are all heavily air conditioned. Much of the South is a humid subtropical climate. You can grow banana trees, avocados and other tropical plants.

[Dial H For Hero]

64. I have trouble sleeping when the apartment is more than 65 or so.

I cool it accordingly (Denver area).

[ananda]

67. 78 with a ceiling fan is perfectly fine.

Geez

[susanr516]

163. I'm good with 78

I live in Corpus Christi, so the primary purpose of the AC is to reduce the humidity. We have about 60 days here when the temp never drops below 78 with close to 100% humidity at night. As long as there's a breeze, I'm comfortable at 78. We have ceiling fans in every room other than the hall and the bathrooms. As long as there's a slight breeze and it doesn't feel like I've just stepped out of a hot shower, I'm good. Of course, I've lived here over 40 years, maybe I'm just acclimated to living in a sauna.

[David__77]

69. Sounds like the program needs to better educate its potential enrollees.

I find it surprising if significant numbers of participants weren’t aware that their thermostat could be remotely controlled.

[pnwmom]

94. They may not be educable, depending on how many are Trump fans. nt

[Tracer]

70. 78 Degrees is a lovely day in Massachusetts.

The kind of day we look forward to when we are freezing our asses off in February.

(I'll admit that I DO have one AC for the 3 or 4 days in the summer when it's over 90.)

[Blue_Adept]

173. I'm in central MA and I find myself mostly just using it in the evenings now

My main media room needs it when it's in the mid 80s because the gear starts overheating as that room doesn't have great ventilation (we lost three windows to an addition put on a decade ago, but it soundproofed it beautifully!)

At night, I close up my room and I'll run the AC then because the humidity does me in as a really big guy.

I have ceiling fans in every room that I can otherwise, bedrooms included, that run all day.

But everyone's needs are different. When the temp hits 90, my 81yearold mother is delighted because she finally doesn't feel cold. Whereas I and my kids are just slogging through the heat.

[TxGuitar]

186. When it's 78 outside and 78 in

That's fine. When it's 78 inside and 100 degrees with 60%+ humidity it's pretty unbearable. People die here every summer because they have no ac.

[Renew Deal]

71. 78 could be hot if it's humid and no breeze.

[LisaL]

78. That's how it is in TX.

NT

[pnwmom]

80. Not all of TX. There are dry and humid areas. nt

[LisaL]

81. Well, it certainly is very hot and humid in the Houston area, where this incident took place.

NT

[pnwmom]

85. Right. And so the guy's idea that his baby would become dehydrated during a nap

in a humid city with the temp at 78 degrees was pretty silly.

[herding cats]

86. Wouldn't that depend on how much and for how long it had been sweating?

[pnwmom]

87. This was a NAP. What do you think people did before AC? I grew up in a humid city.

Babies weren't dying during naps when it was 78 degrees.

[herding cats]

89. So, what?

You put the baby down in a sleep sack expecting to have the climate controlled and it changes unexpectedly on you.

[pnwmom]

93. And then the baby gets warm and cries, and you wake up.

It's not like the parents hadn't been given any warning. They just weren't paying attention. Even I, up here in WA, had heard that everyone was supposed to turn their thermostat to 78, and they had one they'd been told would do it automatically.

[herding cats]

101. Ok

You know this family and their home explicitly.

I'm finding this humorous watching people be secure of their superiority to a person they know nothing about their situation. Also, they didn't know it was going to happen. Which is why when it did they were shocked and turned it off.

[pnwmom]

102. I'd like to see one reported instance of a baby's life being threatened because of 78 degree temps,

as this father was implying.

The worst that would happen is that the 3 month old would have woken up, demanding to be fed.

[herding cats]

103. The point of his angst flew miles above you.

Admit it. You've fixated on temp of their thermostat and not why he was upset. Also, see my post below about radiant heat. This is just silly.

[pnwmom]

104. He's got "angst" because he was deliberately ignoring the state saying to raise it to 78

and he's mad that because of that thermostat they could do it anyway.

Every year we have a week of above 90 temps, which we can't plan for, but it always happens, plus miscellaneous unplanned for hot days during the rest of the summer. And yet, even though 2/3 of households don't have air conditioning, I've never heard about any baby dying in their crib because of the heat.

[herding cats]

109. Here ya go.

Study: Home air conditioning cut premature deaths on hot days 80 percent since 1960

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/study-home-air-conditioning-cut-premature-deaths-on-hot-days-80-percent-since-1960/2012/12/22/5b57f3ac-4abf-11e2-b709-667035ff9029_story.html

This is infant specific.

Still this is not what the article was about. Not even close, but you didn't know so I shared.

[pnwmom]

110. This article is about days of 90 and over. There's a big difference

between that and 78, and he didn't claim it was 90 anywhere in the house.

[herding cats]

113. You just used 90 degree days as a litmus test in your post to me above.

I provided you with data showing you were mistaken.

Have a great night!

[herding cats]

142. You just keep moving your goalpost and never address anything relevant.

Dang woman, what's up here?

[Texasgal]

141. Typical Texas hate.

happens here very frequently.

[herding cats]

143. This one is peculiar.

We're down here trying to hold Abbott and ERCOT's feet to the fire and being trashed for it?

I mean, damn. What do we have to do to make people like us?!

[Texasgal]

149. What's being said by this poster

makes no sense.

Fuck Ercot and Abbott!

Texans are still feeling the burn of betrayal from the winter storm where people DIED! Texas is one of the fastest growing states in the US right now. The grid needs REPAIR to catch up! PERIOD.

Fuck me having the state turn my thermostat down! There should be no reason for this!

[herding cats]

152. Sister, we're speaking the same language.

We know more, and as such are wiser than folks not from here.

We'll be fine. At least I hope we will.

[Texasgal]

154. I fear August...

I found some battery powered fans and bought two at Ace last week. UGH. What a nightmare!

[herding cats]

158. I purchased a generator.

One which works on propane and can sustain at the least the basics.

I have serious trust issues. Massive ones! I went 4 days without heat in February. I wasn't even on the rolling grid until day 4 and I was so happy to even have that. I never want to be that person again.

Even my succulents froze to death then in my home. Nope! That crap was untenable.

[Texasgal]

160. I was out four days too.

It got to 30 degrees inside my house. It was awful and I still have nightmares about it.

I hear you. I'm looking into a generator as well... But damn, they are expensive.

[herding cats]

161. My heart to you!

I completely feel you to my toes.

I bought a Westinghouse one. It was cheaper by miles and I've tested it and it seems to work. It runs my RV which is my new safe place for these moments. Weird times we live in, huh? I actually have a safe place to survive inclement weather now that isn't a storm shelter. I never saw this coming when I was a kid.

[pnwmom]

197. How is the guy in the OP complaining about being forced to conserve energy for 3 hours

holding "Abbott and ERCOT's feet to the fire"?

Why are you taking personally my criticism of the guy in the OP, who's objecting to his house being kept at 78 for a few hours?

[pnwmom]

79. I lived in VA in a high humidity city. 78 is not "unbearably hot" no matter what the humidity.

People are in for a shock with global warming -- which our heavy use of electricity for AC is contributing to.

[Mariana]

92. It's not that hard to provide a breeze in the house.

They could have, you know, turned on a fan. The kid's room likely already has one on the ceiling. They probably don't use it because they normally keep the house so cold they're scared the kid will get chilled if they turn it on.

[LeftInTX]

180. My house has no cross ventiliation...

If the AC goes out, I leave...

A few times, we've slept outside....

I can open windows until the cows come home and nothing will happen. It quickly climbs to the 90's in this house if the AC is out.

[Mariana]

181. The AC wasn't out at Mr. England's house.

Their thermostat had been turned to 78 degrees. At 78 degrees, a fan most likely will prevent a three month old baby from overheating and becoming dehydrated, which was Mr. England's concern.

[LeftInTX]

183. The baby was probably bundled too

Parents are hot, babies are cold, so they're bundled...

[LiberalFighter]

82. I turned off my ac last nite.

Current outside temp at 1pm here in Indiana is 88 and it is 80 inside. I have a west window, south patio door, and north screen door open. Along with ceiling fan running. Everything is quite cool.

[Mr.Bill]

90. I keep my house around 80, and if the outside temp

is under 85 I don't even use the AC. Still, my elecric bill looks like a car payment. Electricity is expensive in Northern California.

[herding cats]

88. Radiant heat also plays a factor.

The heat index that day was 102 in Houston and that's in the shade. The temp was 95, humidity was 47% and DP was right at 70. But, none of that takes into account the radiant heat from the sun (which is hot in Houston in June) baking the walls, windows, and ceiling/roof. Depending on where their thermostat is located 78 could easily be mid 80's in other areas. For example: my thermostat is in the middle of my house, but all my rooms are on exterior walls. I keep my thermostat at 72 which keeps it at 76-80 in my living spaces.

But, none of this is what the article was about. It was about them laying down at one temperature and waking up at an unexpectedly higher one. ERCOT raised their thermostat and the change in temp was unexpected.

[pnwmom]

107. But the guy said "the house" had gotten to 78. Surely he would have mentioned

it if most of the house had gotten significantly hotter than that.

[herding cats]

108. At the the thermostat

Come on. This is just silly. Never once have you addressed his thermostat was changed without their knowing it would be. You even implied they knew.

[pnwmom]

111. They gave him notice when he bought the thing. From the article:

The family’s smart thermostat was installed a few years ago as part of a new home security package. Many smart thermostats can be enrolled in a program called "Smart Savers Texas." It's operated by a company called EnergyHub.

The agreement states that in exchange for an entry into sweepstakes, electric customers allow them to control their thermostats during periods of high energy demand. EnergyHub’s list of its clients include TXU Energy, CenterPoint and ERCOT.

This is the kind of thing TX residents put up with because they live in a state that thinks it can regulate its electrical supply better than the Fed govt. can -- and refuses to join either the eastern or western multi-state grids. So I'm not feeling sorry for people like this guy, who probably voted for the R's who've been making these decisions.

[herding cats]

112. He says they didn't know and canceled it after this.

From the article:

English said he unenrolled their thermostat as soon as he found out.
“I wouldn’t want anybody else controlling my things for me,” he said.

Let's not twist things to fit a narrative, ok? He said they didn't know, but there's a legit conversation to be had about people just agreeing to lame stuff without reading for minor perks (a freaking sweepstakes, really?!) when it's not in our better interest.

[pnwmom]

120. He had to have known they were telling everyone in the state to lower temps to 78 degrees.

But he thought they could ignore it, and let everyone else bear the burden.

[herding cats]

121. I live here. There was zero warning smart thermostats were going to do that.

Try again.

[pnwmom]

123. That's not what I was talking about. They told EVERYONE in the state they should

turn down their thermostats to 78 degrees. How come this guy didn't think they had to do their part? If they HAD, then the electrical company wouldn't have had to do it remotely.

I think it's similar to not wearing masks. They don't like being told what to do, even if there's a good reason.

[herding cats]

126. News flash: you don't know what you're speaking of.

These people accidentally opted into a feature (as I said to you before, and is covered in the article you linked). It was suggested we do so to help ERCOT (the grid manager, not our local energy providers) to not fuck their shit up again. Which generally makes zero sense since it's not that hot and at a glance there's no reason for it. They had no viable excuse for their request and actually avoided providing answers for days. Kind of like in this thread. It was because they said so, and deal with it because they're smarter than the rest of us.

This isn't anything at all like masking. Are you kidding me? ERCOT needs to be (seriously) regulated if they can't fix their nightmare they're in control of here.

[herding cats]

124. But again, you keep ignoring anything outside of your narrative.

I'm done. It's literally like talking to a brick wall here. I give evidence and you ignore it. It's wild. Even the article YOU chose to post isn't good enough for you, except when you chose to use it as a fact. This is just nuts. 🤷🏻?♀️

You do you, and all. I'm out of this illogical exchange.

[herding cats]

118. Also, you don't know him and broad brush tactics suck.

He came out and and spoke of something a lot of people with smart thermostats weren't aware of before he mentioned it. It's one small step toward educating people. In the wild, I may not like this guy, sure. I don't have a clue if he's a jerk or not, and this article doesn't in any way make that clear. But, he did manage to make people in Texas think and maybe that's not all bad. Right?

I'm in Texas. I had zero power for 4 days during the winter storm, and my house was freezing. I got crazy creative to try and not freeze to death. No kidding, it was literally freezing or below in parts of my home. I'm a Democratic voter and ERCOT is not my friend. I know more about this state and its workings (let alone its climate) than you do. A lot of the stuff you've been espousing doesn't apply here.

Radiant heat and all that again. I'm deeply grateful it's not a major issue where you live, but here it's a way of life. Your solutions won't work. Hell, if it's 78 outside we're thinking it's a lovely spring day! 😂

I just looked and the climate in Seattle right now would have us in sweaters AM and PM. You acclimate to where you live, I get that. But, I'm not calling you out for having a mild climate with very little radiant heat. Actually, I'm happy for you.

Peace.

[pnwmom]

122. Okay, if it's a lovely spring day when it's 78 outside,

why is it "unbearable" if it's 78 inside -- or maybe even 5 degrees higher in some parts of the house?

But I'm glad you found a way to stay safe and warm this winter and I hope the summer goes okay, too. It must be very frustrating to be a Democrat in TX. It would ruin my blood pressure, if nothing else.

[herding cats]

132. Night.

[maxsolomon]

91. People are stupid and unaware of their stupidity.

We have our heat pump set for 78. If it were 72 inside, I'd be cold.

[Crunchy Frog]

105. Delicate snowflakes.

[panader0]

114. 110 today at 3:30. Only 100 now at 6:56.

I hung drywall today, not too much, and it was indoors, but I had to go outside to cut it.
Okay, the joke's over, let's have some cooler weather and rain please.
82 indoors at 6:59.

[Kali]

193. 6/100ths last night!

but it sure didn't cool things off much

[Hortensis]

116. Here in GA we use fans also. A lot. Windows open to the beautiful

outdoors amap, turning on a fan where we are to stretch the nice time out. Close up and run the AC PLUS fan where we are when it's time, which allows us to set the AC higher, 75-77 because of my heat sensitivity, in great comfort. And open back up when it's nice out again.

We also have trees on the east and west. It's taken some years for them to grow to substantial size, but they now make a wonderful difference. The best way to keep our boxes from turning into ovens is to keep the sun's rays from hitting them in the first place.

Btw, unremitting heat does kill. I have serious heat sensitivity, medical condition, and am one of the fragile sorts who'd fail quickly if, as in Chicago a few years ago, the power went down and a heat dome kept temps high 24 hours a day for days. I've read that body systems of even healthy, young people start malfunctioning after about 4 days without relief, such as at night. Extremely unlikely in Seattle, of course, but extremely possible in a hot TX summer with widespread power outage, especially humid east TX.

[pnwmom]

117. The energy company just raised it for 3 hours to 78 degrees.

I realize people can become seriously overheated at extreme temps, however, and I'm glad you've found ways to live with the weather there.

[Hortensis]

119. Ouch. At least our choices are our choices -- so far, not the power company's.

Though back in CA we had rolling blackouts a few years.

At 78 I'd likely supplement the ceiling fans with a portable fan. I'd be perfectly comfortable still but careful to make sure my body temp didn't creep up over time. After a while above 80 here in GA, my body regulation may be unable to keep up.

Hope you'll see very little of this over the summer. I do worry that a lot of people in hot climates will be unprepared to deal with heat emergencies. Freezing we all understand.

[pnwmom]

129. I remember when the TX Gov. was mocking CA for its rolling blackouts.

And now they had to do that in TX in the winter. They'll be lucky if they don't have to do it this summer.

[Mariana]

125. 3 hours at 78 degrees is hardly "unremitting heat".

Their body systems weren't malfunctioning at all. They "woke up sweating" after an afternoon nap, and Mr. England apparently considers this to be a dangerous situation that threatened the life of his baby girl.

When I lived in Texas, we experienced rolling blackouts during periods of unusually high temperatures. I doubt Mr. England would prefer that solution. It also wasn't uncommon for the line voltage to run low during the hottest part of the day in the summer - sometimes below 90 volts! - which is *very* bad for the electrical appliances, including the air conditioners.

[Hortensis]

130. No one said that is, Mariana. I did say unremitting heat kills without

indicating a temperature. Our bodies need the relief that cooler overnight temps, even when not actually cool, normally provide. It kills some especiallly vulnerable due to age and medical conditions, but as indicated, younger people can die from it also.

Might read about what happened in Chicago. Later estimates were that several hundred died, many in apartments, but almost no one was aware it was happening while it was happening. Not neighbors, not family living elsewhere, not government agencies. It could happen in TX suburbs. Many modern homes were built to seal HVAC in and can become effectively uninhabitable if the power goes down in summer.

[fescuerescue]

127. You have to take humidity into account in these discussions

Which seems to be left out here.

For instance, 100 in Nevada is much more comfortable than 80 in South Carolina.

Humidity.

[pnwmom]

131. I lived in VA and understand humidity. Even when it's very humid, 78 isn't unbearable.

It might be "sticky" and "uncomfortable."

There's a big difference between 78 and 90, which might feel unbearable in a humid place.

[fescuerescue]

133. Most people prefer to not be uncomfortable

when all they gotta do is rotate a dial and be comfortable.

But there are exceptions of course!

[pnwmom]

134. True. But the state is having an electrical emergency because several of its generators

were unexpectedly offline, so they'd asked everyone, not just this aggrieved customer, to raise their temps to 78.

If they'd done their part, then they wouldn't have been shocked to find themselves with a thermostat automatically set at 78 for 3 hours.

[herding cats]

137. You should stay out of this if you don't want to help.

The fact that it was done unbeknownst is still being ignored by you. Noted.

Also, you don't know this but it was politics by ERCOT (our grid provider, not our electricity provider) to make sure no one here accidentally shamed Abbott.

This was linked to the winter outage and he (Abbot) wanted to bury that under the rug. Since that's all better now and all. He fixed it! Not.

You seriously don't have a clue what you're speaking of beyond knee jerk trashing of a block of people. Which doesn't really apply here.

If we here in Texas are complaining that's a GOOD thing. Pitting the rest of the nation against our angry voices here is just defeating us before we get started. Just stop.

Seriously, stop it. Go back to your amazingly temperate home and leave us alone to deal with our own mess if you don't care to help us change anything.

[pnwmom]

138. But you're not addressing the fact that EVERYONE, including this guy

was told that they needed to raise their thermostats, and take other measures, because of the electrical emergency.

He didn't think he needed to do his part. How do I know that? Because he didn't raise his thermostat to 78.

[herding cats]

139. Do you not hear me?

ERCOT is in our governors pocket. They're making money off us and while they do manage our grid (which had a huge for profit spike in electricity prices during this) they are not our local providers.

You really don't get this, and I cannot seem to make you understand how off you are.

[pnwmom]

140. I know that about ERCOT. How does that address the fact that there was an electrical emergency

that meant everyone on the Texas grid, no matter who their local provider was, was supposed to raise their thermostats?

[herding cats]

144. No, you're not hearing me.

What was the emergency?

[pnwmom]

146. A shortfall of 12,000 megawatts due to mechanical problems at multiple power plants,

in a period with unusually high temperatures.

I don't blame you for not trusting ERCOT, but that's not a good reason not to try to conserve energy during a heatwave.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/unplanned-outages-hit-texas-power-plants-amid-soaring-temperatures-n1270827

[herding cats]

148. It wasn't a heatwave.

They completely dropped the ball.

Different regions, different metrics, I get that. They chose to not address us and even want to make it so our media cannot login to their meetings.

You don't live here.

[pnwmom]

153. "Texas power grid, strained last winter, now faces an early heat wave."

On Monday, when soaring temperatures drove electricity demand in Texas to a June record, state regulators asked citizens to use less power or face a repeat of the deadly failures in February that left 69 percent of Texans without electricity and half without water.

Experts say that Texas, which prides itself on its light regulatory touch, is paying a price. As climate change contributes to weather extremes in both summer and winter, the vulnerability of the state’s power system is becoming increasingly apparent.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/15/climate/texas-heat-wave-electricity.html

Texas grid asks residents to conserve power as heatwave hits

https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/texas-grid-operator-ercot-urges-energy-conservation-amid-forced-outages-2021-06-14/

[herding cats]

156. Read what you just posted.

It was a joke of a "heatwave" we've had much worse literally all the time.

Again, don't tell me how to suck eggs. I live here.

[TxGuitar]

187. It's that "heatwave" called summer.

Happens every year from June to October. You'd think ERCOT would be aware of it by now.

[herding cats]

145. This was the issue they won't address.

https://www.kxan.com/news/texas/ut-study-connects-ercot-issues-from-february-storms-to-recent-conservation-request/

“Most demand response programs within Texas currently focus on incentivizing load reduction during summer peak periods, and many are available only for commercial and industrial customers,” the report says.

Better communication to consumers also would have helped soften the blow and “reduced the supply-demand gap substantially”, the report said.

On the consumer side, there was an absolute lack of coordinated, consistent and timely emergency communication to the people of Texas,” said Varun Rai, director of the UT Energy Institute and study co-author. “Households and communities were clueless about what was happening, how to respond, and what to expect next.”

The report goes on to say that even while ERCOT avoids federal regulation because it’s not connected to the national grid, it would be in Texas’ best interest to “prepare for a wide range of possible scenarios, including weather with hotter and colder temperatures, wetter and drier conditions, and intense winds.”

While imported power, if Texas was connected to the national grid, wouldn’t have fully compensated for the power crash in February, the report said it’s plausible that it would have helped to take the edge off mass power outages and people being left freezing in their homes.

“We have to prepare infrastructure not for how the weather was in the 1960s but how it will be in the 2060s,” said Michael Webber, a UT-Austin engineering professor and co-author on the report.

ERCOT is not our friend down here, ok? This doesn't even address how they gouged with their most recent energy "issue" here. I can send you graphs showing how much they profited if you like though.

This is what we're dealing with and fighting. You don't live here and when you do have issues (and your region will in the future) I promise not to be a jerk.

[pnwmom]

147. I agree with you that ERCOT has been doing a terrible job, and I feel much sympathy for people

like you who are against the Republican policies that are supporting this system.

But I don't see evidence that the guy complaining about having to raise his thermostat to 78 is in that category. He doesn't seem to be complaining about ERCOT's handling of the crisis; he's just complaining about his Smart Thermostat having a feature he wasn't aware of, that made him conserve energy for a few hours whether he wanted to or not.

[herding cats]

150. Honestly, who cares?

If people noticed, I know I don't.

I realize you think I'm a jerk. I'm the antithesis of a jerk here. I'm looking for a window to exploit.

I'm happily using this as a point to exploit. And, people are paying attention to me. I'm ok with it.

[Texasgal]

151. You are really not getting it.

There should be no reason for us to conserve at this time. We are not in the thick of summer even!

Our grid is run by buffoons that have not done squat after our horrific winter outage.

You also fail to take radiant heat in account. 98 degrees with 48% humidity is very uncomfortable.

Stop with your holier than thou Seattle weather. It;s HOT here.

[pnwmom]

155. Of course 98 degrees with 48% humidity is awful.

But the man in the OP was complaining about a thermostat set to 78.

If everyone in the state reacts like that guy, by refusing to raise their thermostats because they're mad at the power board, then get ready for more rolling blackouts.

[Texasgal]

159. Set to 78 without his knowledge.

Point being, we should not have to conserve this early in season.

108 for days on end? Sure, I get it.

Our problem is that the powers that be have done nothing to maintain our grid. You seem to be defending this somehow and I am very confused as to why!

[pnwmom]

162. I'm not defending ERCOT at all. I'm defending energy conservation, which we all

are supposed to be trying to engage in.

Even in the face of a possible blackout, this guy is defending his right to not raise his thermostat to 78. What's he going to do when things are much, much worse because most of us refuse to make any adjustments in our lives?

[Texasgal]

164. Lucky for you

you have the ability to easily conserve due to your location.

The issue is that at this stage we should not have to conserve! It's not over 100 degrees yet. So, the guy was upset that his thermostat was changed without his knowledge. He was upset. I understand him honestly.

We Texans are still dealing with burn of our grid failure from the winter storms. I literally thought I might die. It was 30 degrees in my house! Why? Because TEXAS has not upgraded the grid!

Our grid hasn't been updated in 10 years! WE are angry! And for you to sit there and talk about the olden times when "what did we do without AC" is ludicrous! We live in modern times.

Maybe instead of crapping on this father, maybe you should turn your attention to the REAL issue. I live here, I know... I've lived here all of my life.

[pnwmom]

165. Yes, we should all be doing what we can to conserve energy, every day. Climate change is real.

I'm totally on your side about the failures of the Texas power system. You are being screwed by the powers that be.

But all the states, and people everywhere, need to understand that we're not supposed to wait for a crisis -- or until it's over 100 degrees -- before we decide to engage in conservation. So raise your thermostats when you're facing an immediate shortage AND demand that your state force the power companies to upgrade their systems; and ask your state legislators to upgrade housing regulations, so new houses are built with better insulation and other energy saving measures.

[Texasgal]

166. Or maybe FIX the grid?

*sigh*

[pnwmom]

167. That's essential but it's just the start. The TX economy, like most of the

country, was built on cheap power, especially cheap oil. But the solution isn't just to keep pumping more oil and gas out of the ground.

[herding cats]

169. What?!

Have you seen what electricity was selling for during the peak of this?

It is all about profits. Damn. Just, damn. Catch-up if you're going to play this game. You're so wrong it's hilarious.

[pnwmom]

170. During most of the year, your electric bills are quite a bit lower than most of the country.

So in the northern states few people heat their homes with electricity -- but lots of people in TX do.

But the power companies can stick it to you at times like this, because there's very little price regulation.

And it's only going to get worse, because TX has been greatly increasing its housing supply, while doing little to increase its electric supply.

Why so much electric heating? The single most important factor is low electricity prices. The average residential price for electricity in Texas is less than 12 cents per kilowatt hour, below the national average and way below states like California (19 cents), Massachusetts (22 cents), and Hawaii (32 cents).

https://energyathaas.wordpress.com/2021/02/22/the-texas-power-crisis-new-home-construction-and-electric-heating/

To understand this you have to go back a few years. Coming out of the great recession, Texas embarked on an incredible binge of new housing construction. No U.S. state has built as many new homes as Texas over the last decade, and most of these homes use electric heat.

SNIP

Now combine this housing growth with a long-running historical trend toward electric heating. In 1950, less than 1% of Texas homes used electricity as their primary heating fuel. Electric heating in Texas has increased steadily since that time, reaching 8% in 1970, 40% in 1990, and 61% in 2018. Since 2010, 62% of homes built in Texas use electric heating.

Why so much electric heating? The single most important factor is low electricity prices. The average residential price for electricity in Texas is less than 12 cents per kilowatt hour, below the national average and way below states like California (19 cents), Massachusetts (22 cents), and Hawaii (32 cents).

[TraceNC]

171. Good post.

The “well, here in Seattle” and “people did just fine before AC” arguments are ridiculous. What a trash thread.

[LeftInTX]

135. My AC removes at least 10 gallons of water from the air every day.

I collect the water outside in bucket and water my plants with it.

[pnwmom]

157. I wonder how that dehumidifying function is affected by raising the thermostat to 78 from 72.

My parents used to have a dehumidifier, but we've never had one. I wonder how much electricity they use.

[LeftInTX]

175. The cooler you set it, the more water it removes

Water goes outside. The hotter it is, the more water it produces.

If I run the AC during cool weather, (70 degrees) it doesn't produce much at all

[Mariana]

182. I have a dehumidifier in the cellar.

It uses very little electricity, much less than any air conditioner.

[Blue_Adept]

174. Reading through this thread at once, it really feels like this main complaint by the OP is

"stupid father"

There are certainly other issues, but if you read through this all at once, it really comes across that way as they keep hammering the guy. Over the panic he had for his infant child and reaction to it.

If this was their first kid, or even not, I'll certainly understand the heightened panic that comes from such a situation. But if it is their first, even more so.

But hey, stupid guy says stupid thing while posters don't know the actual details of their living arrangement in which his statements might make a lot more sense in context.

[pnwmom]

192. He's not a first time father since the article mentions their daughters.

He's just not happy that his Thermostat forced him to conserve energy for a few hours, even though they'd decided to ignore the pleas that were coming from the power board and the government to raise thermostats for several days.

[Kali]

190. while judging what people need to stay healthy is probably wrong

this guy probably also overdresses the kid in winter. I've seen those kids, all redfaced like they are running a fever while mine were running around barefoot.

he should think about the migrant kids crossing the desert and STFU

[pnwmom]

194. And he's probably one of the many anti-maskers. n/t