For pipes in walls, I'd suggest:

Caulk the inside corners between the sheathing and the stud of any cavity that the pipe runs in to prevent air ingress from outside. Put the best insulation in the cavity you can find (I'd probably use a closed cell urethane foam) and make it fit the cavity tight, with no gaps. Leave the area between the pipe and the inside sheetrock open.

If you want something better, install an access door or removable panel in that section of wall that you can open in really cold weather, to get warm air into the cavity.

For your dog house, build a new one with the insulation extended down below grade on all sides. No air gaps, good insulation, etc. Have a heat source inside. I probably wouldn't use a work light unless I made the inside fireproof. My brother's house in Dallas caught fire when a workman left a work light on underneath it one night.

For the pipe coming up under the house through the crawl space, built an enclosure as above, extending the insulation down below grade. Install a pipe heater or heat tape that's easily turned on.

You're right. We've never seen a situation where demand exceeded supply and caused a major power outage on the rest of the FERC regulated grid. Stupid Texans.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1996_Western_North_America_blackouts

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northeast_blackout_of_2003

https://www.politico.com/states/california/story/2020/08/18/california-has-first-rolling-blackouts-in-19-years-and-everyone-faces-blame-1309757

Also, Oklahoma and Texas do not have the same weather. Texas borders a body of water called the Gulf of Mexico that tends to keep the southern portion of our state moderate in most winters. This was an exceptional blast of cold air that pushed much further south than is usually experienced.

I'll also repeat what I wrote earlier, it wasn't the Texas grid that failed. It was a portion of our gas supply, which partially froze off as further aggravated by a loss of ~10GWs of renewables supply. If we'd had the gas, we'd have had the power.

Lastly, I seriously doubt the claims that it would have taken months to restart the Texas grid. Days, maybe weeks. But check my links above. Those were bigger grid failures (especially the NE blackout), and they got power back online within a couple days.

Our village has 30 million people (and growing). There will be changes, but connecting ERCOT to the FERC regulated grid seems unlikely/unnecessary.

I think you mean Contributing to society with solutions in medical and consumer sector needs. Because that's what I do. Did you get any of those $600 govt checks from the trough? I did not.

Socialists are lazy idiots who want other people's production for free. Well, I suppose that they do produce copious amount of whine to exchange.

Sometimes it sinks. Sometimes floats. Bobs on the surface.

Now that everyone in TX is doing ok... :)

Again, none of those things came about because of Socialism.

Did a Socialist invent the toilet? (no.)

Did a Socialist invent the road? (no.)

Did a Socialist invent the car? (no.)

Conservationists, not Socialists, brought us National Parks.

There sure are a lot of people that are completely ignorant about Texas except to know they hate everything about it.

They all seem to be progressives. I am sure that is just a coincidence.

I particularly love that these fools are holding up our national collection of private monopolies (electric and gas utilities) as excellent examples of socialism at work. Indeed, the US grid is federally overseen, but substantially all of the the capital and operations are private operations (I will admit that there are federal agencies that generate power and operate distribution lines, but they are a minority).

I also like how these are likely the same idiots railing against long-haul pipes from our frozen friends up north. If private enterprise wants to build massively capital intensive infrastucture, you should effing let them (subject to permitting, etc.) -- Fer fuchs sake, the market is trying to tell you something. As Americans, we should be furious that pipelines, arguably the most efficient and environmentally friendly form of oil and gas transportation are being killed by activist politicians. That is terribly short sighted stuff. More supply is more better as our recent cold snap has demonstrated.

Seriously, there's some ignorant posts in this thread.

? Maps, google earth, use them.

I can be at Windstar Casino in the same time it takes me to drive to the city of Dallas.

I can make Oklahoma City an hour faster than I can make Austin.

Guess what I pass a bunch of when I drive through OK.

Wind farms.

Guess who has the same weather as me?

And yes, I'm in TX.

SRSLY? I know you're from the Dallas area, but Texas is more than Dallas.

Let me Google something for you:

https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=average+temperature+in+texas+in+february

https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=average+temperature+in+oklahoma+in+february

Does Dallas weather more closely resemble that of Oklahoma than Houston? Yes. We can agree on that.

Just in case anyone is looking for a new truck......

https://thepostmillennial.com/man-in-tx-powers-his-whole-home-with-his-f150-truck-during-blackout

"Randy Jones, who lives in the Houston suburb of Katy owns a 2021 F150 hybrid truck with the Pro Power option. He has been able to use it to power his whole house during the power outages due to the storm.

Jones, who is 66 years old and recently retired from the oil industry, is now prouder than ever of his purchase of the hybrid truck, which did an amazing job of providing power to his home, using only "a few gallons" of gas the whole time."

They did develop ****ty disposable pressboard furniture tho...

Texas is more than Houston.

If you go between Enid, OK and I-35 on highway 64 you will see a lot of wind generators for miles and miles stretching to the horizon. One story I heard from a friend talking about his friend (so I don't consider it proof positive but still likely) is that the were all shut down when the temps were below zero and the winds were at blizzard conditions last Sunday.

We did not open the garage door or start a car for the last 6 days. The snow is still very thick on residential roads and sidewalks that have not been shoveled. We are supposed to get back to 60s next week. The plumbers and HIVAC guys will be slammed for a while.

It's bigger than a bread box. It's got a few different environments and climates. Temps and levels of rainfall/moisture can vary a tiny bit here and there.

https://www.plantmaps.com/texas-record-high-and-low-temperature-map.php

https://ravenscourtgardens.files.wor...-zone-map.jpeg

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...B6ppen.svg.png

Agreed.

But not a lot. :D

Nippy in SW Oklahoma. We actually made it to 32 today! Whoop, whoop!

Daily low/Daily record

2/14 5/5
2/15 -7/15
2/16 -12/9
2/17 12/11
2/18 5/4
2/19 0/10

48º where I am today.

There's still a tiny bit of snow/ice behind our building where it's always shady.

How are the power outages in Oregon going?

Try talking that mess in Dallas