Many States are Experiencing Record Low Temps and Blackouts
There are many states across the Midwest, Southern, and East Coast regions of the United States that are experiencing arctic-like drops in temperature. Texas, in particular, has been heavily struck with power outages across many metropolitan areas. This is due to a sudden change in the polar vortex around the North Pole. In North America, this vortex hovers around the Northern regions of Canada and Alaska. However, doppler radar has shown that this vortex has crept its way down to as far as Texas. With the sudden freeze that these areas have been experiencing, many people have turned to use a higher amount of electrical resources to stay warm and keep devices charged in the event of an emergency. On top of this, many major plants that have been frozen have had a large amount of strain put on them, leading to power outages. According to USA Today, 4.5 million customers in Texas went without electricity on Tuesday, February 16, 2020. In Kansas City, Evergy, one of the largest power plant corporations, had to cut power to 100,000 residents at a time to conserve resources.
Why is Power Usage Being Limited?
Energy usage for heat in affected areas has increased substantially, as many states have been plunged into single-digit temperatures and some are even in the negatives. With more people being confined indoors due to the extreme weather conditions combined with residential areas and large facilities increasing the power requirements to keep their buildings warm, power plants are seeing a lot more strain. Many power companies issued mandates, asking residents to limit their power usage to only what is essential so as to not impact the amount of power essential facilities like health care facilities and emergency service stations need. Facilities with inefficiently running HVAC systems or systems that aren’t running at all should have their systems checked to keep their building at a comfortable temperature. Your building’s furnace should be checked as well; a furnace that hasn’t had its filters changed is not only a hazard, but will greatly affect the amount of heating at your disposal.
If you would like more information about what HVAC and Heating Services we manage, fill out the “Request More Information” form on your right.
What Else Can Be Done to Conserve Electricity?
There are many steps you can follow to make your facility run more efficiently. Whether it be the installation of solar panels, getting rid of technology that has seen a minimal amount of use, or swapping to more energy-efficient lighting solutions! You could swap out every incandescent bulb and CFL bulb in your facility and lower the amount of power your facility draws by less than half. Another benefit to swapping to LED lighting is that is also a lot more cost-efficient, as you will seldom have to replace bulbs. If you are considering doing something about your facilities lighting, you can learn about the lighting solutions we manage. Facilities that run more efficiently result in less strain placed on the plants that power them. Doing this helps lower the severity that blackouts during extreme weather conditions such as a deep freeze.
If you need an assessment to ensure your facility is running at top efficiency, contact City Wide today!
