Can You Tell a Brownout From a Blackout?
Most of us are painfully aware that power outages are becoming more frequent in the U.S. The No. 1 cause is extreme weather (more on that later), but there are a variety of other causes.
What some of us may not be aware of is that the length of these blackouts is increasing. Dramatically so.
The length of power outages in America has increased from approximately 3.5 hours to more than 7 hours. That’s over a recent eight-year period. According to the Energy Information Administration.
That’s a significant increase. Especially when you consider it’s not safe to eat food kept in a refrigerator without power for four or more hours.
When blackouts become likely, government officials tell people to reduce electricity consumption. Turn down the heat when it’s freezing cold? That’s easy for them to say.
Blackouts Usually Come Without Warning
What about brownouts? Are they any easier to deal with than blackouts? And what’s the difference between the two? Let’s take a look.
A blackout is a complete interruption of electrical power in a certain service area. Sometimes they are confined to small areas. But often they are much more widespread.
They almost always come without warning. And it’s difficult or impossible to know how long they will last. Power utilities sometimes provide estimates regarding how long they will last. But that’s all they are – estimates.
As mentioned, blackouts are caused by a large number of factors. Including severe weather and peak power demands.
Brownouts Are Normally Planned
A brownout is very different from a blackout, but can still cause plenty of problems. Brownouts are partial, temporary reductions in system voltage or total system capacity.
The word “brownout” refers to lights dimming when the voltage sags. Rather than turning off altogether.
Brownouts can be unintentional. But often they are an intentional drop in voltage in an electrical power supply system.
In an emergency, power utilities will use a brownout to reduce the load in order to avoid a blackout. Or even a total collapse of the system. Brownouts usually last only minutes to an hour or so.
Different Electrical Devices React Differently
Now, we can tell ourselves that brownouts are better than blackouts. After all, we’d rather have dim light than no light at all.
But the fact that brownouts occur at all? That’s another example of how our aging and vulnerable electrical grids are failing us.
A typical brownout will reduce the system voltage by approximately 10 to 25%. And usually for a short period of time. Different electrical devices will react differently to this type of sag in power.
Take heat and lighting systems, for example. They can function well on suboptimal voltage for short periods of time. But sensitive electrical equipment requiring more precise voltages could malfunction. Including computer disk drives.
What About Rolling Blackouts
Earlier I mentioned that blackouts “almost always” come without warning. An exception is rolling blackouts.
These are full outages, planned for a specific and usually short period of time. They’re designed to prevent the system from overloading. Which would cause a much longer blackout.
Utility officials will generally issue warnings prior to implementing a rolling blackout. This allows customers to use electrical appliances prior to the rolling blackout.
And so that customers can ensure they have fully charged backup power banks. Which will assist with whatever electrical needs they have during a rolling blackout.
Weather & Vehicles Can Cause Outages
What are the most common causes of power outages in the U.S.? You can guess most of them.
Not surprisingly, severe weather represents the No. 1 cause. Such as rainstorms, blizzards, ice, and wind. Lightning figures into the mix as well.
Another cause is trees coming into contact with power lines. High winds can break off branches. But sometimes older trees collapse, resulting in the same problem.
Vehicles involved in accidents can also cause power outages. Generally when they collide with a utility pole or power station.
Animals, Excavation, & Earthquakes Also Contribute
Sometimes our small, furry friends get too curious about electrical wires. And where they lead. This can cause short circuits. It doesn’t end well for the animals either.
On occasion, excavation digging disturbs underground cables. Check with city officials before doing any digging on your property.
Here’s another one related to weather. Both extreme cold and heat result in high power demand. And that can prove to be too much for electric cables. As well as transformers and other electric equipment.
Finally, even though they are rare, let’s not forget earthquakes. Even “small” quakes can damage electrical facilities and power lines.
Outages Are Inevitable; Peace of Mind Is Possible
Unintentional blackouts and brownouts. Intentional blackouts and brownouts. At the end of the day, they mean basically the same thing.
It’s an interruption in our lives that we would like to live without. It means little or no light. Little or no heat or air conditioning. Food spoiling. Computers failing. Phones going dead.
And for some people, essential medicines going bad. Or medical equipment failing to operate.
Sorry for the doom and gloom here, but it’s reality. Fortunately, there’s another reality: backup electrical power is available. Prepare for the inevitable and gain the peace of mind you deserve.
Is Leap Year Really Necessary?
Can you imagine what life would be like on Earth if someone had failed to figure out we need a Leap Year every four years?
Well, right now we’d have winter conditions, but the calendar would say June 2025. That’s because it does not take exactly 365 days for the Earth to revolve around the sun.
That annual journey requires approximately 365.25 days. For those of you keeping score at home, it’s actually 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, and 45 seconds.
Unless we account for that extra one-quarter of a day each year – or one day every four years – everything gets discombobulated.
New Year’s Day in the summer?
We wouldn’t notice the lack of Leap Years for a while. But eventually, our calendar year would get out of sync with our solar year.
For example, New Year’s Day would start to come earlier in winter than it does now. Then it would occur in the fall. And after about 780 years, it would match up with the summer solstice.
Because this is not an exact science, adjustments have been made through the centuries. In 46 B.C., when Julius Caesar figured out we needed a Leap Year after many years without one, he added 80 days to the calendar.
Then around 1575 A.D., Pope Gregory XIII took 10 days off the calendar and declared that three out of every four Leap Years ending in 00 should be skipped.
The way things are currently set up, we will not have a Leap Day in the years 2100, 2200, and 2300. We did have a Leap Day in 2000 and we will again in 2400.
Stock market doesn’t like Leap Years
Most people are in agreement that a Leap Year is needed nearly every four years. But some folks consider Leap Years to be bad luck.
They point to stock market downturns and crashes in 1992, 2000, and 2008. In the 10 Leap Years since 1984, the average annual stock market returns have been less than 8%. In non-Leap Years since then, they’ve been 23%.
Others look at the explosion of Covid-19 in 2020 as another Leap Year harbinger of bad news. U.S. presidential elections occur in Leap Years, and we all know the upheaval they’ve caused the last couple of decades.
There is also a superstition that getting married during a Leap Year is bad luck. And it’s even worse to get hitched on a Leap Day.
Earth’s orbit is slowing. Which may mean no more Leap Year
Now, I don’t expect any of us to be around 4 million years from now. In fact, it seems difficult to believe human beings will still exist on Earth.
But if we were, we wouldn’t need Leap Years, according to scientists. That’s because the Earth’s orbit is slowing, ever so slightly, due to tides.
In fact, eventually we would need to delete one day from the calendar every few years – rather than adding one – to keep the passing of seasons and the calendar aligned.
But I don’t think we need to worry about that yet. For now, the lesson seems to be don’t mess with solar. And that goes for solar power as well as keeping our calendar straight.
With our vulnerable electric grids, we need solar-powered devices to function properly. Solar is the key to emergency preparedness. Blackouts are on the increase, both in number and in length of time.
This year you have an extra 1,440 minutes
Depending on solar power rather than electrical power is a serious subject. And I hope you’ll take it seriously. But I want to end with a few Leap Year fun facts. Maybe you can impress family and friends with your knowledge of this special day.
- During a leap year, you have an extra 1,440 minutes to use.
- Famous people whose birthday is February 29 include motivational speaker Tony Robbins, jazz musician Jimmy Dorsey, and actors Dennis Farina and Antonio Sabato, Jr.
- There are approximately 10,000 members of the Honor Society of Leap Year Babies.
- People born on a Leap Day are sometimes called “leaplings.”
- The twin cities of Anthony, Texas and Anthony, New Mexico claim the title of “Leap Year Capital” of the U.S.
Do you know what is just about as rare as February 29? A deal that gives you a free mini solar generator with the purchase of a larger one. And this deal expires, fittingly enough, today, on Leap Day.
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