I second the wood stove backup, or a gas fireplace. I have a natural gas fireplace with a coal fire-pit flu for cooking on the other side and that setup doesn't need electricity. The problem with electric heating is that it puts all your eggs in one basket. You only need a smidge of electricity to get the gas heating up and running, which is a far less strain on the energy grid. Tens of thousands of homes all asking for peak energy to run their heating all at once causes a the grid to blow out -- they can't handle the strain. If everyone set their thermostats to 65, they might be able to get by. When everyone jacks it up to 72 all at once, that's when the grid goes down. On top of that, on a good day turbines and solar panels cannot accommodate energy surges. They cannot simply ramp up production to meet peak strains. Coal and oil plants can just add more fuel to the fire. Nuclear reactors would be able to stress in the short-term as well. Look at England. It may sound comical, but they have to borrow energy from France and Germany through underwater power lines every morning because tea time is serious business. The use of millions of electric tea kettles and electric stoves all being turned on a the same time regularly cripples their power grid. New York also has a similar problem in the Hasidic Jewish community. They can't cook on Passover or certain Sabbaths, so they all have crock-pots set to warm all at the same time. They also have to borrow energy from as far off as Chicago. No, when it comes down to it, diversification of energy sources is ideal. It allows for every resource to be drained evenly, such that none is exhausted before any other, and so nothing is ever overly strained. If we go all in on X energy, then we only end up with a pointless surplus of the others and a shortage of the X energy source. You wouldn't eat ONLY potatoes for all time, would you? Eventually you will be deprived of the vitamins and minerals not present in potatoes. Invention, Moderation, Diversification, and Innovation -- four cornerstones of successful industry. Mandates make shortages. Shortages expose weaknesses. Weaknesses are exploited. We can't allow it to happen.

I second the wood stove backup, or a gas fireplace. I have a natural gas fireplace with a coal fire-pit flu for cooking on the other side and that setup doesn't need electricity.

The problem with electric heating is that it puts all your eggs in one basket.

You only need a smidge of electricity to get the gas heating up and running, which is a far less strain on the energy grid.

Tens of thousands of homes all asking for peak energy to run their heating all at once causes a the grid to blow out -- they can't handle the strain. If everyone set their thermostats to 65, they might be able to get by. When everyone jacks it up to 72 all at once, that's when the grid goes down.

On top of that, on a good day turbines and solar panels cannot accommodate energy surges. They cannot simply ramp up production to meet peak strains. Coal and oil plants can just add more fuel to the fire. Nuclear reactors would be able to stress in the short-term as well.

Look at England. It may sound comical, but they have to borrow energy from France and Germany through underwater power lines every morning because tea time is serious business. The use of millions of electric tea kettles and electric stoves all being turned on a the same time regularly cripples their power grid. New York also has a similar problem in the Hasidic Jewish community. They can't cook on Passover or certain Sabbaths, so they all have crock-pots set to warm all at the same time. They also have to borrow energy from as far off as Chicago.

No, when it comes down to it, diversification of energy sources is ideal. It allows for every resource to be drained evenly, such that none is exhausted before any other, and so nothing is every overly strained. If we go all in on X energy, then we only end up with a pointless surplus of the others and a shortage of the X energy source.

You wouldn't eat ONLY potatoes for all time, would you? Eventually you will be deprived of the vitamins and minerals not present in potatoes. Invention, Moderation, Diversification, and Innovation -- four cornerstones of successful industry.

Mandates make shortages. Shortages expose weaknesses. Weaknesses are exploited. We can't allow it to happen.