Homes that have been well insulated and have had air leaks sealed can save people’s lives when the power goes out during extreme weather. If the power goes out during a freezing winter storm or a heat wave, a well-insulated and sealed home will keep comfortable and safe temperatures inside — and dangerous weather outside — for longer. In the case of multiday power outages, which many Southeast residents are no strangers to after Hurricane Helene, Winter Storm Fern, Winter Storm Elliott, and numerous other extreme weather events in recent years, the extra hours of safe temperatures inside the home can mean the difference between life and death.
This point was illustrated by a study from a group of national laboratories, which was brought to my attention by a recent blog post by ACEEE.
The national labs’ study examined the resilience benefits of measures that make homes more energy efficient, focusing on measures that would continue to perform in the event of a power outage—things like adding insulation and sealing gaps where conditioned air leaks outside. One aspect they looked at was how many days of safely habitable temperatures homes would maintain during a 7-day power outage with varying levels of energy efficiency in several locations around the country during a winter storm and a heat wave.
In the South, they looked at Atlanta and Houston, and their findings are highly compelling:
Weatherizing existing average homes up to modern energy code standards would keep the home in safely habitable temperature ranges during a power outage for an additional 22 hours in Atlanta during a winter storm and an additional 3 days during a heat wave. It’s an additional 3.1 days of safety for a winter storm in Houston and 3 days of safety for a heat wave. See the table below for more information.
Energy Efficiency Also Reduces The Likelihood Of Power Outages
It can’t go without saying that making our homes more energy efficient also lowers the likelihood of some power outages to begin with. High-performance homes that are well insulated and air sealed use less energy to keep at comfortable temperatures during heat waves and cold snaps. This means less demand and less stress on the electrical grid when utility companies often issue energy conservation alerts and sometimes resort to rolling blackouts, as many Tennessee, North Carolina, and South Carolina residents experienced with Winter Storm Elliott a few years ago.
Energy Efficiency Lowers Utility Bills During Big Weather Swings
After cold snaps and heat waves hit, customers are often hit with another terrible surprise when their energy bills arrive. Bills following major weather events are often hundreds of dollars higher than typical. A high-performance energy efficient home stays comfortable while using less energy and costing less money. The dollar savings of having an energy efficient home help prevent adding insult to injury after an extreme weather event passes.
