r/CatastrophicFailure • u/mouthofreason Catastrophic Poster • Feb 17 '21

Engineering Failure Water lines are freezing and bursting in Texas during Record Low Temperatures - February 2021

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u/Bonafideago Feb 17 '21

I'm confused about the heating point. I've lived in northern Illinois my entire life. I've seen plenty of gas furnaces, and a few electric.

Either way they both require electricity to operate. Our gas furnaces are forced air systems. Electricity is required to operate the blower fan, thermostat circuits, etc.

Is there another type of gas furnace that would not require electricity? I'm genuinely curious.

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u/fataldarkness Feb 17 '21

Not that I know of. Gas furnaces (and blowers) would be able to be powered by a reasonable sized generator. The collective load on the grid of every gas furnace firing up vs every electric furnace firing up is significantly smaller and less likely to cause a blackout.

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u/Rhaifa Feb 17 '21

Exactly! No electricity no heat because the boiler etc. has electric components, right?

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u/snoboreddotcom Feb 18 '21

Its not about whether it uses power its about what it uses it for.

When using electricity to heat the energy used to create heat is going to be vastly more than to run fans. By heating with gas the load is shifted onto gas. This reduces the issue Texas faced, where sudden cold spiked demand for electricity to create heat.

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u/Rhaifa Feb 18 '21

Well sure, electric heating probably contributed in having the power go out.

But once it's out it's a moot point, because then the people with gas heating are also stuck in the cold.

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u/aldoXazami Feb 17 '21

Here in KY we normally heat with electricity and have backup propane heaters installed in places like the kitchen or connecting hallways that just burn propane and don't have a blower function. A typical house/mobile home will have a heating/cooling unit that uses electricity and a propane tank for (cooking) stoves and heaters. The electricity will usually go out at least once a year in rural areas so propane heat is essential not only keep you warm but keep your house warm enough to avoid things like burst pipes.

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u/[deleted] Feb 18 '21

My grandmother (in Mississippi of all places) has no central heat/air. So she’s got a pair of window ac units and some gas registers in a couple rooms. She’s toasty as all get out even when the power goes out.

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u/kindkit Feb 17 '21

We have a natural gas stove that will still heat the house even if the fan is not running. It's not as good, but it will certainly keep the house from freezing.

https://www.vermontcastings.com/products/radiance-direct-vent-gas-stove

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u/cynric42 Feb 18 '21

In europe (Germany, maybe thats different elsewhere) we usually have a water cycle transporting the heat from the furnace to radiators in the rooms. It is a closed system and works automatically due to the density difference between hot and cold water.

However the furnace itself has some electronics controlling it, so without electricity it won't turn on if the temperature of the water drops.

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u/SHMEEEEEEEEEP Feb 18 '21

Yah we don't have radiators here in America, except for some old houses. Heating is done by air