Quantifying household vulnerability to power outages: Assessing risks of rapid electrification in smart cities
Majoricz et al. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/27723577241306340 However, our vulnerability assessment underscores critical trade-offs: while electrification reduces emissions, it also heightens vulnerability to extreme weather. Temporal variations in vulnerability highlight the need for seasonally aware resilience strategies. Solar-equipped homes, beneficial during summer heat waves, provide limited protection during winter storms, pointing to the strategic deployment of complementary resources such as backup power systems.
That “winter storm” chart is bogus. I have a gas furnace, but without electricity to run the thermostat, ignition, and blower, the gas furnace is useless.
I live in the Redwoods. Despite PG&E trimming trees every summer, every winter limb falls from the tall trees cut off our power, sometimes for days. Woodstove for heat and propane hot water and cooking keep us cozy. I run lights off a 100ah LiFePo4 battery and 400w inverter. If the outage is long. I run an extension cord off a little Honda generator for the fridge. I’d like to have a big battery backup and a transfer switch but the initial outlay makes me balk.
On the other hand, I have a gas stove and gas fire place so that when power went out during an ice storm, I generated enough heat from the fire place to warm much of the house and was able to heat up food stovetop. Maybe this situation plays into the stats?
Lead acid batteries are very heavy and require watering. Also, once discharged below 50% of ampacity, they’re junk and they have a high rate of selfbdischarge just sitting.LiFePo4 lithium batteries are light, can be dicharged to nearly 0, will take high rates of charge for quicker charging, like to sit partially charged and don’t have the thermal runaway problems of the older Lithium Ion batteries. I’m sure more battery improvements are on the way. Price for LiFePo4 has dropped considerably. Lead Acid is becoming less desirable.