You don’t need to run your 5+ ton HVAC full time. Get an EV and run the AC there (no more than 3kW). Sleep in the EV. A typical 80kWh EV battery will last several days. And this is not just theoretical; plenty of people have done this.

For Christ’s sake a natural disaster just struck and you want to live like nothing happened? The entitlement is unbelievable.

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throwaway219450 a day ago | parent | next [-]

I think you’re better off getting a good sleeping bag and sleeping in the house in relative comfort. You can camp down to very cold temps, and your house is both better insulated than a tent wall and is a better wind break, even if it was bad enough that you got well below freezing. If we’re at the stage of “sleeping in the car”, indoor camping is reasonable to me.

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szvsw a day ago | parent [-]

They were talking about loss of power during heat stress and needing cooling not heating, more specifically dealing with latent heat & needing dehumidification, mainly in a post-hurricane context, whereas you are talking about a cold stress event.

	▲	throwaway219450 17 hours ago \| parent [-]
		Oh that’s a good catch, internal environmental bias there.

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BobbyTables2 a day ago | parent | prev | next [-]

I’ve been torn about this. On one hand, I could spend $2k on a small portable generator, get a window unit, lots of extension cords, and survive a few days without power with cords strung all through the house.

I’d still have to deal with wheeling it out, and doing periodic oil changes. Not sure how/where I’d want to deal with a 200lb unit… A natural gas unit would be more practical - I don't have gasoline yard tools.

I could get a transfer switch installed and use my house’s main AC unit. The cost of the larger generator isn’t that much more and I wouldn’t need a window unit and lots of cords.

Of course, then I could skip the portable unit and get a whole house generator with automatic transfer switch.

It’s hard to put a finger on it. The “cheap” solution doesn’t seem worthwhile while the others start making me wonder “how often does the power really go out”? It all seems silly for 3 days outage once every 5-10 years.

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jefftk a day ago | parent [-]

> others start making me wonder “how often does the power really go out”? It all seems silly for 3 days outage once every 5-10 years.

I think very little is worth it for three days every few years. Instead, I see the benefit of batteries + solar or a serious generator as reducing tail risk from rare serious disasters that leave the grid down for months or longer. These are not likely, but if they happen I'd want to have something in place.

	▲	BobbyTables2 19 hours ago \| parent [-]
		I’ve also thought about that. I figured refrigerator uses about 1KWh per day. Just 2 days would require 200Ah of 12V batteries. Lithium looks attractive for weight and other factors but is more expensive than lead acid. Have a large overhang that could temporarily be used to lay panels on too. For portable AC unit, seems like would need another 10KWh per day or so of capacity. At that point, generator becomes more financially practical… Also wrestle with how much I can depend on solar. If only 100KWh of battery capacity was practical…

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grosswait a day ago | parent | prev | next [-]

I didn’t hear this person expecting anyone else to do this for them

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wat10000 20 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

I don't think it's entitlement if it's actually doable. They're not saying they expect the world to give this to them on a silver platter. They're saying that they can actually do it. And if that's what they want to spend their money on, who are we to say that it's not a good use of their resources?

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eldaisfish a day ago | parent | prev [-]

i am regularly shocked by the assumptions that the techbro crowd makes. I should not be, but i still am.

The desire to operate a massive AC just after a natural disaster is just unhinged. Similarly, this idea that your life should be able to continue as before, your neighbours be damned, is also psychotic.

People like me push for the better solution (against great opposition) - neighbourhood-level improvements so the rich don't hoard all the resources while the rest are left to die.

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zdragnar a day ago | parent [-]

> The desire to operate a massive AC just after a natural disaster is just unhinged

The humidity after a hurricane is a great way to get mold problems in your walls. It is a major health hazard, and once it sets in you have a very disruptive and expensive remediation effort. Keeping the AC and central dehumidifier (assuming newer construction) running is pretty much the only way to prevent it.

The only thing unhinged here is your response.

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bob1029 a day ago | parent | next [-]

The biggest issue is any wind damage to the roof. If it's leaking even a little bit, it's going to be leaking hard for hours.

With a consumer dehumidifier you might get 5-6 gallons per day. A 5-ton HVAC system will pull over 50 no problem. You might have hundreds of gallons of water soaked throughout the framing, drywall, insulation, etc. It can take a really long time to remediate without a powerful HVAC system.

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eldaisfish 21 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

when a natural disaster happens, especially one that disrupts electricity for weeks, your likely first priority is being alive, safe and being able to eat, not mould or your air conditioning.

	▲	zdragnar 7 hours ago \| parent [-]
		In a conversation about whether or not battery backup is useful when the power is out, being safe and alive are foregone conclusions. What's with all the moving of goal posts?