Texas Take 2 -- Resilience

Last month, Texas got some immersion therapy to help us deal with the collective trauma lingering from the 2021 “Snowpocalypse.”

An arctic blast came through – another once-in-a-generation cold snap – just like the one we got two years ago that caused widespread grid failure throughout the state. You can read more about my family’s experience in our newly renovated passive house during the 2021 storm here.

Needless to say, when our Christmas weekend forecast showed six nights well below freezing, with temperatures falling to the low teens, there was some worry around town that we might lose power and/or water again. Compared to 2021, the days were going to be a bit warmer, the nighttime lows were a bit higher, and there were no predicted snow or ice storms. The word from that top was that we should be careful and bring our plants in, but no need for panic or hoarding.

At our house, however, there was an extra sense of security because we are lucky and privileged enough to live in one of the only Phius-certified homes in the South and the only one with Source Zero certification, which means that not only is our home incredibly healthy and comfortable even in extreme weather, it also powers itself and is designed to take whatever extreme weather throws at it.