| Lights out again... |
[Jun. 16th, 2008|04:14 pm] |
I am tired of the power going out in my house. I really am. I mean, I got UPS and stuff on my computers, but they really only serve as big surge suppressor with a 1-2 minute shutdown time, heh. I need more of them, at better wattage, and connect some to the router and switches so I don't lose network. The last time our power went out, it took more than 2 days to turn back on again.
I remain logged into my systems at work, and then *boop* I lose my ssh/nx connection and ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) takayla's last statement was:
(3:49:50 PM) Takayla: it's very stormy here
[sigh...]
When I lived in Reston from 1992-2000, we had maybe 4-5 power outages in those 8 years. Most only lasted a few hours or less. I was told that's because Reston's power cables are underground, but I am not sure how true that is. I think our house loses power about 4-5 times a year in Fairfax, and it's making me wonder if I should invest in a generator at this point. Not the $8000 yard-grabbing monstrosity Dominion Power tries to sell me in monthly mailings, but like a $400 Yahama or something. Yes, I know not to run it indoors, we had an employee here who did that and almost died. |
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I'm not entirely sure if the thing about underground wiring is true or not either, but my experience of living in areas with buried wiring and areas with overhead wiring suggests that there's some truth in it.
While I lived in areas where power was delivered using overhead wiring, I experienced more frequent and prolonged interruptions in power than when I lived in areas with underground power lines.
The Falls Church area was the absolute worst of the lot. We'd lose power every time the wind blew, every time some moron struck a pole too hard AND every time the shitty transformer station nearby got overloaded and went fizzle pop.
From: wjb3_reads
2008-06-17 03:06 pm (UTC)
Location, Location, Location | (Link)
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My folks live at the end of a 12 block long power line. 80% of the time that they lose power, houses on three sides of them still have power (all three houses are across the streets). Dad runs an extension cord to the neighbors for the big freezer chest.
The problem with both whole house backups (battery, diesel, etc.) and portable backups, is they have to be maintained. I am purchasing a portable AGM battery backup for my CPAP. My spouse's boss just ask what I am buying for their CPAP. All the research I have read says "when buying rechargeable batteries for emergency use, never stock up. Buy what you need. Buy new ones when those fail". I need a backup for my CPAP. I will probably go a little overboard since the same setup will power my AA battery charger (headlamps and flashlights), cell phone charger (911) and Portable DVD player (anti-boredom).
My father-in-law lives in the woods and has a diesel backup generator. Four times a year he has the local mechanic look it over and do maintenance. When the power goes out for weeks, he needs the generator to work.
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