Vocal Voices

When your house is heated by electric and wood, the power is out, the wood has run out and the house is cooling rapidly. Night is approaching and you have a small child. What do you do?

In this case, you get into your fully charged Tesla Model 3, set the climate control, lay out the blankets and quilts and have a comfortable and warm night. Next day, when the power comes back on, you plug it in and "fill it up" again. All without leaving home.

We live in a changing world and not all of it is bad.

And when the power doesn't come back on in the morning because the lines are down and your Tesla tent is running out of juice then what do you do?

Why you open the garage and jump in the 5Ltr diesel GMC 4x4 six pack pick-up to drive 35 miles to the mall to get a 10kW petrol genny, petrol (obv), a few beers, and load the flat bed with the damned wood you should have bought knowing the bad weather was rolling in and go home.

You might even be able to get a charge from the petrol genny into your "tent" to make it useable when the sun comes out again.

I read about the weather in Texas, incredible.
Both sides are trying to blame the other; one side saying that depending on wind turbines caused the power grid to crash, the other that it was all down to fossil fuels.
The was a picture of the Acropolis in Athens in the Telegraph the other day - covered in snow! MrsC was once there in February and it was red hot!

Rather a temporary solution though, for what with global warming may very well be a long-term problem!

I have some TH friends who live in Texas, their houses are not geared up for this. That might have to change.

My aunty Doreen and cousin John live in a one horse town called Oxo on the plains in Alberta, Canada. The house is nothing more than a kitchen / diner / garage up top, but down below it is huge. In summer it gets horizon to horizon blue for weeks on end and ever so hot, in winter snows of four feet or more with constant minus temps are not uncommon. Living underground cures the two problems.

cromwell wrote:I read about the weather in Texas, incredible.
Both sides are trying to blame the other; one side saying that depending on wind turbines caused the power grid to crash, the other that it was all down to fossil fuels.
The was a picture of the Acropolis in Athens in the Telegraph the other day - covered in snow! MrsC was once there in February and it was red hot!

Wind is 18% of Texas power and half of it was still going. Gas is 54% of Texas power and they simply couldn't keep up with demand and had not weatherproofed it against the cold.

It is "trendy" to blame the switch to renewables, but the reality is that Texas has less than half the number of people the UK does, generates 1.5 times the power and can't keep the lights on in a winter storm.

Blackouts have been rolling. If you are off for the night, you're on for the day and probably the next night.

This has been a failing of a state energy sector that doesn't connect to other states and did not make enough provision for cold weather. But it has had some interesting outcomes. People with their own Solar/Battery setup's being islands in the sea of black. EV's doing dual purpose and a shivering population. Yet, when all is said and done, the temps are expected to be back in the 20's C by Thursday. BTW, that image with the low single digits?? Deg F.

Texas state's power failure is all very well - their problem, but using a Tesla as a wigwam on a chilly night is possibly one of the worst excuses I have heard for owning one of Saint Elon's machines (other impractical EVs are available).

But do keep them coming, we need laughs in these dark times.

Cold snaps and / or heatwaves can and will happen in unexpected places from time to time. Owning an EV will be of little help, but keeping an eye on the weather forecast and not being a total plonker might, as was always the case. Even G-g-g-g-g-g-g-add a few-g-grandpa Ugg and his pet mammoth knew that.

Attempted share's boost?

Who needs a share boost? Tesla shares were up 680% in 2020 and short sellers lost $35bn trying to trade them down..

The whole point is that owning an EV gives you a reservoir of energy which need not necessarily be used for driving.

Warmth in a winter blackout is only one possible use. V2G technology is already maturing and the UK is leading the world in technology and standards.

Next you'll be telling us that EVs are essential to recharge our phones when we are stuck up Ben MeCracken. or in the middle of the Gobi desert in a storm.

V2G. Charge your car from the grid then let the grid take the charge from your car to charge other cars thus depleting yours. How very efficient.

I am not buying the emissions free hype, not until the production of renewable energy exceeds total consumption: 2025:2030:2040 - no chance. Then there's the environmental destruction and recycling problems EVs create. Let's just forget them, eh?

The Texas power problems are a direct result of Republicans running the state for decades. They turned the power grid private and disconnected from other grids to avoid regulations and make lots of money for a few people. Not winterising their system was part of this. I wonder how many Republicans see the irony that Biden has gone straight in with FEMA and offering as much aid as they needed. Unlike his predecessor, a state not voting for him does not stop him being a proper president.