ApneaNews Wrote:Frustrated Greater Danbury officials prepare to storm power company
by Robert Miller
John McAuliffe of Ridgefield suffers from sleep apnea. He can get a good night's sleep if he's wearing his CPAP -- continuous positive airway pressure -- mask and the device is plugged in.
But McAuliffe lives in a town that is without electricity, thanks to Hurricane Irene. There's little hope of seeing power restored by week's end.
So he has to find a place that has power. He has a hotel room in Danbury for two nights but isn't sure where he'll stay next.
"For me, it's dire," McAuliffe said Tuesday, heading to Ridgefield's emergency shelter at the Yanity Gym. "And I know it is for others."
But Northeast Utilities -- the utility that supplies power to much of the state -- doesn't have enough crews in the area, and isn't keeping the crews on the job long enough, area town leaders said Tuesday. As a result, people like McAuliffe are left scrambling.
"It's painstakingly slow," said First Selectman Rudy Marconi of Ridgefield, where 85 percent of the town is still without power. While sections of Route 35 in the Copps Hill commercial area got power Tuesday, Main Street, Route 7, and all the neighborhoods adjoining them were still powerless.
As a result, Marconi called Tuesday for a face-to-face meeting this week with area town leaders, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and NU officials, to learn why NU has responded to Irene in the area in the way it has.
"We need crews," Marconi said. "The level of frustration is growing."
In response, NU spokeswoman Janine Saunders said NU now has 800 crews working to restore power in the state.
"It's a long-term restoration effort to a lot of devastation," Saunders said.
And, Saunders said, people should remember that the devastation wasn't confined to Connecticut. Extra crews are needed up and down the East Coast, she said.
"It was a U.S. storm, an East Coast storm, a Canadian storm," Saunders said.
But such explanations don't always cut it with people used to living with electricity.
"I think you can see by our faces, this is Day Three," said Janet Jacobs wryly, as she filled water jugs at the Yanity Gym.
"It's amazing what we take for granted," said Kathy Lang, who with her daughter, Elizabeth, was going to the newly reopened Parks and Recreation center in Ridgefield for hot showers. "Lights, power, water, phones, the Internet."
Because of the unhappiness of the people in their towns, Mayor Mark Boughton and Newtown First Selectman Pat Llodra said Tuesday that if Marconi can arrange such a meeting, they'll be there.
"We understand this situation," Boughton said of Irene, whose winds and rain disconnected about half the state from the power grid.
But Boughton said Danbury, which has about a third of its homes without power, has been left waiting for NU crews to arrive. The utility's delay frustrates people, he said, who then sound off to elected officials.
"My phone has been ringing off the hook," Boughton said.
"I've been tearing out my hair," said Llodra. Seventy-five percent of her town was without power after the storm. Llodra said it took her six hours of phone calling to get five NU trucks to Newtown to supplement the two that were there.
But Llodra said she doesn't expect the crews to restore power to much of the town until Thursday or Friday at the earliest.
"I feel for people," said Llodra, who has no power in her home. "It's very frustrating. I'm living it."
State Sen. Michael McLachlan, R-Danbury, called the power company's response "abysmal" in a letter he wrote to the president of Connecticut Light & Power Tuesday.
"As of this morning, I have seen very little service response from Connecticut Light & Power in the towns making up Western Connecticut, especially Danbury, New Fairfield, Sherman and the Stony Hill neighborhood of Bethel," McLachlan wrote. "Such a response, or rather the lack thereof, is completely unacceptable to the people who pay to utilize your services."
New Fairfield First Selectman John Hodge said Tuesday, "The numbers don't add up.
"I want to see a list of the allotment of their crews," Hodge said. "We don't have them here. It's incredibly frustrating."
Hodge said the town of New Fairfield had the same problem with NU in June, when a concentrated, wild storm downed many trees there.
And Marconi said all the towns in the region face the same problems with NU, year after year.
"It's something we complain about," he said. "There are hearings and reports. Nothing ever happens."
fair use from:
http://www.newstimes.com/news/article/Gr...147394.php
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WARNING to CPAP Users: PREPARE for the Unexpected - When the power goes out
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02-29-2012, 08:28 AM
RE: WARNING to CPAP Users: PREPARE for the Unexpected; When the power goes out
02-29-2012, 08:29 AM
RE: WARNING to CPAP Users: PREPARE for the Unexpected; When the power goes out
ApneaNews Wrote:After Irene, candlelight and solitude
02-29-2012, 08:30 AM
RE: WARNING to CPAP Users: PREPARE for the Unexpected; When the power goes out
Bumping this thread.... in light of the following story:
Quote:
SuperSleeper
Apnea Board Administrator www.ApneaBoard.com INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED AS MEDICAL ADVICE. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA. INFORMATION POSTED ON THE APNEA BOARD WEB SITE AND FORUMS ARE PERSONAL OPINION ONLY AND NOT NECESSARILY A STATEMENT OF FACT.
DONATE to Apnea Board
Change your own pressure - Get the Clinician Setup Manual for your CPAP here OSCAR - Open Source CPAP Analysis Reporter
02-29-2012, 08:31 AM
RE: WARNING to CPAP Users: PREPARE for the Unexpected; When the power goes out
johnomg Wrote:Hi All,
02-29-2012, 08:33 AM
RE: WARNING to CPAP Users: PREPARE for the Unexpected; When the power goes out
rbrown3rd Wrote:Hey everyone. I heard you were talking about backup systems and solar panels so I thought I would chime in with mine. My house is powered by 22 200 watt panels for a total of 4.4 kilowatts. Even though it is winter and days are short we generated 53 percent of our energy yesterday from our solar panels. We also have a battery backup system that powers our whole house through in power outages. Remember, we live in an area that has hurricanes. Just a few years ago we had four hurricanes that passed over our house. So, as you can imagine we have lots of power outages. We installed our system back when the state of Florida has a generous rebate for installing solar panels. We were faced with putting a new roof on a 50 year old house and it was "now or never" for our lifelong dream of a solar powered house.
02-29-2012, 08:34 AM
RE: WARNING to CPAP Users: PREPARE for the Unexpected; When the power goes out
Bob, you've got a great solar system there! Excellent.
I think you and I would get along great... I'm into solar energy too (albeit in a MUCH smaller, 12-volt scale)... I'm surprised that you're also in to bicycling (I have a Trek 520 touring bike)... haven't tried the Recumbents yet, but I'd like to! (getting old and need to lean back and relax). I see you're a pilot also... I soloed in my dad's Cessna 172 back in the early 90s. Still interested in Aviation... trying to get into the radio-controlled arena now (a lot cheaper flying) With the new batteries they have now, it's a lot better than with the old heavy model engines of the past. Oh, and the Disclaimer on your personal blog was a hoot.
SuperSleeper
Apnea Board Administrator www.ApneaBoard.com INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED AS MEDICAL ADVICE. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA. INFORMATION POSTED ON THE APNEA BOARD WEB SITE AND FORUMS ARE PERSONAL OPINION ONLY AND NOT NECESSARILY A STATEMENT OF FACT.
DONATE to Apnea Board
Change your own pressure - Get the Clinician Setup Manual for your CPAP here OSCAR - Open Source CPAP Analysis Reporter
02-29-2012, 08:35 AM
RE: WARNING to CPAP Users: PREPARE for the Unexpected; When the power goes out
PaulaO Wrote:Thanks for the reminder. I need to check and charge the batteries. NOT going to go through what I did last year!
02-29-2012, 08:35 AM
RE: WARNING to CPAP Users: PREPARE for the Unexpected; When the power goes out
-tim Wrote:Someone mentioned not running sensitive electronics off of a generator. That is true but sometimes you don't have a choice. An S9 will take about 45 watts worst case which is too small of a load for a 400 watt generator when it starts so start with a different load. A small electric heater set on low if its low setting is about 1/2 the capacity of the generator works fine. Once it has started up, then you can turn off heater but you need something and the best things have large iron transformers. The generator will cause surges when it starts sputtering when the fuel runs out as well. The best option is hook the generator to a "full online UPS" which charges a battery and then runs an inverter. Even a cheap UPS is better than nothing. Most generators can charge 12 V batteries and a 12V deep cycle boat battery will last a long time with a full charge running a CPAP machine. They will last about 100 cycles if you run them all the way down but they are only going to last about 5 years. A truck battery may be cheaper and last only 30 cycles and also 5 years. Make sure you can check their fluid level and top it up if needed. If your power supply is "International" and you live in the parts of the world that have 120V power, there is far less risk. The ResMed Aussie supply has to cope with 366V for brief times since that is common Downunder and spikes to 477V are common in its homeland but the power brick is made in China which has cleaner power than rural NSW.
02-29-2012, 08:35 AM
RE: WARNING to CPAP Users: PREPARE for the Unexpected; When the power goes out
Good points, Tim. Thanks.
Also, I've been told that one should never run down a 12-volt deep cycle battery below 75-80% capacity (usually around 12.4 volts, open terminal voltage) otherwise the life of the battery will be drastically reduced. But, I've run my S9 AutoSet CPAP on my Wal-Mart Marine Battery for 3 nights in a row and it only got down to around 12.5. Haven't tested beyond that.
SuperSleeper
Apnea Board Administrator www.ApneaBoard.com INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED AS MEDICAL ADVICE. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA. INFORMATION POSTED ON THE APNEA BOARD WEB SITE AND FORUMS ARE PERSONAL OPINION ONLY AND NOT NECESSARILY A STATEMENT OF FACT.
DONATE to Apnea Board
Change your own pressure - Get the Clinician Setup Manual for your CPAP here OSCAR - Open Source CPAP Analysis Reporter
02-29-2012, 08:36 AM
RE: WARNING to CPAP Users: PREPARE for the Unexpected; When the power goes out
PaulaO Wrote:Because the CPAP is basically just a very small electric air pump, the drain on a battery would be very small. |
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