Of course, anytime temperatures get this high, the power grid struggles to keep up. I am pretty sure our neighborhood experienced a bit of brownout last night, when power was cut for around 10 minutes. (At least, I am being generous to Entergy New Orleans by giving the power cut a demand side reason.) One the most important aspects of investing in Energy Efficiency is helping municipalities to reduce the peak power pull. If New Orleans made a serious commitment to weatherizing its homes and right-sizing the air conditioner units I would have been spared the 10 minutes of absolute horror that I might have to try to sleep through a night of 87 degrees and high humidity without air conditioning.
An excellent way to weatherize a home in New Orleans is using Thermal Coupling. This technique reduces the moisture exchange with the ground - a major problem in humid sections of the country. This allows homeowners to set their thermostats higher on these hot days because A/C really serves two purposes - cooling and dehumidifying. By reducing the need to dehumidify, a home can significantly reduce the amount of coolant required to maintain a comfortable interior temperature.
All of this ran through my head when the power cut at 1am.
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