Got into an interesting discussion on what matters in communication.
Nuance gets missed a lot when people tell half-truths. For instance, an astonishing amount of folks say they want gas as their heating system because of power outages.
Most gas-fired systems still need electricity to operate. Which, anyone who has lived with one during a power outage, already knows.
That half-truth is that a gas-fired system can more easily be supplied with emergency power. But most people don't have that.
So does the point even deserve to be made?
Truly, I think it doesn't.
The loss of any primary system becomes an emergency in extreme cold. And you'd be better-off to prepare for that.
A gas-fired heating system is not preparation for that. It makes one consideration easier, sure. But first and foremost people need to make that consideration - which most don't.
And there are plenty of backup options. I, for one, would rather have some propane on-hand for a portable heater when shit hits fan.
@peregrine Yeah, they're fantastic. I've seen people run very large heat pumps off a portable generator. You just hear the generators gradually get taxed more as the heat pump spins up.
Of course, in extreme cold, the heat pump can't produce a whole lotta heat on its own - and sizing the generator to run the heat strips, while possible, means you're buying a gnarly one. But even just a heat pump by itself will probably keep you well above freezing.
@peregrine If I were absolutely committed to resilience, I'd probably get a 100-gallon propane tank, use it to power a generator, and run a line to a through-wall propane heater for the days a heat pump might not be enough.
And that's really what gets me, here - there are so, so, soooooo many ways to do this with even more resiliency than relying on the gas grid to be there and working.
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Jason