Broad stroking, Super-insulated houses made their "play" back in the 80's. All the numbers were there. All the benefits were outlined. I wish I had a dollar for every article and spec I read on vapor barriers.
There was this one black caulk that was popular for holding 6 mil poly to the studs. It made flypaper seem like Teflon. The stickiest stuff I have ever seen. A real PITA to work with.
Simpler ways are now available, thank god. But the bottom line is the building industry on mass (Pun intended) is about time, cost, replication ease. Are there exceptions? Sure. But exceptions will not win the day.
But yes, putting all you eggs in one basket design is never a good defense against Murphy. He will take you down.
Original Message:
Sent: 12-22-2023 09:43 AM
From: M Keith Sharp
Subject: Hardening against EMP
https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-112hhrg80856/html/CHRG-112hhrg80856.htm#:~:text=According%20to%20this%20Oak%20Ridge,power%20collapse%20from%20electromagnetic%20pulses.
"According to this Oak Ridge Study, the collapse of our power system could impact 130 million Americans, require 4 to 10 years to fully recover and impose economic costs of $1 to $2 trillion. The National electric grid has almost no backup capability in the event of a power collapse from electromagnetic pulses."
EMPs are yet another reason not to rely on electricity for everything.
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M Keith Sharp
Emeritus Professor
Louisville KY
Original Message:
Sent: 12-22-2023 01:38 AM
From: william fitch
Subject: Hardening against EMP
Actually its Active Solar and Geo-thermal.
"EMP just adds another source,.."
EMP or CME's are a very different event than Weather related events. Half the planet will get hit roughly at the same time, at a min., depending on how many hours, how many "pluses" the event produces. No two are the same.
I remember very vividly the Halloween CME generated Northern lights, watching from central PA. I grew up in NH where Northern Lights and Milky Way viewing were common. However, the best and most spectacular N.L. I have ever seen were the ones in 2002, from said CME. The only time I ever saw Red.
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william fitch
Owner
www.WeAreSolar.com
Original Message:
Sent: 12-21-2023 09:51 PM
From: M Keith Sharp
Subject: Hardening against EMP
Fitch, I will take your word for it that there is a 1% chance of an EMP event.
Just want to point out that in many parts of the country, there are already higher percentage power disruptions (from tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, accidents, even just freezing weather in TX). Resilience to power outages is becoming a greater concern with climate change. EMP just adds another source, although the outage may be more wide-spread.
Fitch, I know you have a passive solar home. Ours has not been below 68F indoors this winter, no electricity required. Nighttime outdoor temperatures have been in the teens. We seem to average about two power outages per year, but I never worry about them causing the house to become uncomfortable.
Sky radiation instead of electricity can provide refrigeration, but that is a different topic.
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M Keith Sharp
Emeritus Professor
Louisville KY
Original Message:
Sent: 12-21-2023 07:43 AM
From: william fitch
Subject: Hardening against EMP
Assuming this was asked in my direction, I am not sure what you are asking here.
You say CME so I assume you are talking sun based rather than Nuclear Suicide (No immunization exists, Nuclear Winter, devastating Nuclear Summer)
"...a CME at that distance would induce a sizeable EMP anywhere here?"
You verbiage suggests a hypothetical structure. There is no hypothetical here. It is well documented history.
"The Carrington Event of 1859 was a massive geomagnetic storm triggered by activity on the sun. People saw auroras at low latitudes that were bright enough to read by."
Telegraph operators unplugged there batteries due to heat ups and fires, only to find that their keys and coils still functioned, and they were able to still send and receive by the induced currents in the lines. The only thing immune to all induced EMR is optical and fiber based. But that does not cover that which powers the lasers or the lasers themselves (Semi-conductor based), and all other related electrical equipment.
As I mentioned in my other post, we have been hit by EMR (X ray and Geomagnetic) events far, far greater in the past. But stones and clubs are immune.
Probability is about 1% per year. We had a narrow miss in Summer 2012 (Yes, the Movie year) by a week or so. But as they say, close only counts in horse races. It will happen probably before we kill our selves off. Its just a question of when. Tomorrow or 100 years. There is probably a running bet out there on this event I would think.
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william fitch
Owner
www.WeAreSolar.com
Original Message:
Sent: 12-20-2023 02:41 PM
From: Jan Galkowski
Subject: Hardening against EMP
Can you educate us on how a CME at that distance would induce a sizeable EMP anywhere here? Even if there were a shared polarity in pulse or pulses it's hard to believe it could be sizeable. It would make more sense to defend it against nuclear attack, not that anyone would.
-- Jan Galkowski,
Westwood, MA
Original Message:
Sent: 12/19/2023 12:32:00 PM
From: Mark Juedeman
Subject: Hardening against EMP
As the 2024 solar maximum approaches, and I consider the risk (albeit small) of a coronal mass ejection taking down the grid, I wonder what advice our experts here have about hardening our PV system (including storage) against an electromagnetic pulse. Faraday cages around the balance of system components? Factory-hardened inverters? Something equivalent to a lightning surge protector?
Signed,
(slightly) Paranoid in Montana