Energy efficiency is the forgotten fuel to prepare Texas for climate extremes

Feb. 24, Eva Csaky, executive director of the SMU Dallas Hunt Institute for Engineering & Humanity, for a piece advocating for better energy efficiency in Texas to avoid circumstance such as the severe weather that devastated the electrical power grid. Published in the Houston Chronicle (print) with the heading Energy efficiency is the forgotten fuel to prepare Texas for climate extremes: https://bit.ly/3nrxObB or http://bit.ly/3uwf1gk

During the historic winter storm that nearly toppled the Texas grid, Texans were asked to conserve energy in the hope of avoiding blackouts. Quickly it became apparent that they were being asked to do the impossible. Indoor temperatures rapidly dropped into the 30s and 40s as outages hit, and during the periods in which heat was on, temperatures barely climbed into the 50s in many homes. Calls for residents to “conserve energy” proved to be paradoxical considering that many of the buildings lack sufficient insulation and other necessary features to do so.

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