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Identifying Low-Resilience Homes Amid Increasing Electrification
With winter storms and summer heat waves placing significant pressure on the energy grid in the United States, researchers from Stevens Institute of Technology have pioneered a new method for pinpointing households that are most susceptible to outages—all without requiring a home visit.
The Need for Understanding Electrical Vulnerabilities
This research comes at a pivotal time. Currently, over 25% of American homes are entirely powered by electricity, and projections indicate that solar power installations will surge threefold within the next five years. As such, it is essential to comprehend these vulnerabilities for effective emergency preparedness and public safety.
“While we advance towards greater electrification as part of our fight against climate change, it’s crucial to remain aware of potential risks,” states Professor Philip Odonkor from Stevens Institute, who spearheaded this research initiative. “What implications do these electric-only homes face during blackouts?”
Examining Climate Impact on Electricity Use
To address these pressing concerns, Odonkor collaborated with recent graduates and AI summer interns Andrew Majowicz M.Eng. ’24 and Chetan Popli M.S. ’24.
The findings were published in the Journal of Smart Cities and Society, where they investigated future challenges for electrified American residences through advanced analytics using Department of Energy (DOE) data.
The study scrutinized energy utilization across 129,000 single-family houses in eight states aiming to reveal intricate energy “signatures.” These signatures allow differentiation between fully electrified homes—depicted as those solely relying on electric power—and those employing mixed sources.
Moreover, they extended their analysis to understand which appliances transitioned to electrical usage within mixed-energy households versus those that remained reliant on traditional fuel sources.
Insights into Household Resilience During Extreme Weather Events
The analysis revealed compelling distinctions among household energy profiles which provided crucial insights into resilience during outages.
For instance, while solar-equipped residences exhibited remarkable durability under sweltering summer conditions; they were particularly vulnerable during winter storms—fully electrified homes were nearly threefold more prone than their mixed-source counterparts during cold-weather outages.
“Consider Texas’s experience in early 2021 when widespread power loss occurred amid severe winter weather,” reflects Odonkor. “As we increasingly transition towards all-electric homes; preparing for such scenarios becomes paramount.” He adds that although solar panels thrive under sunny conditions—they fail to fulfill heating requirements during harsh winter blackouts.”
Pioneering Predictive Models for Future Preparedness
This groundbreaking study not only sheds light on important findings but also introduces innovative machine-learning frameworks capable of assessing individual home vulnerabilities with over 95% accuracy based solely on consumption patterns.
This advancement empowers utility providers and emergency management teams to identify at-risk families within entire communities seamlessly—eschewing previously necessary door-to-door surveys or inspections whilst respecting privacy rights.
“In earlier efforts,” notes Odonkor “we had no choice but personally survey each house’s electrical status. Now we can autonomously identify households most at risk enabling timely support when needed.”
Catalyzing Community Resilience Strategies Amid Aging Infrastructure
The implications go beyond merely aiding homeowners; city officials tasked with climate-resilient strategies can utilize this information effectively enhancing responses amid outages or planning sustainable community layouts moving forward.
With many regions facing dilapidated infrastructure confronting an uptick in extreme weather occurrences—the need is urgent by all accounts as society collectively pivots toward greener initiatives geared toward mitigating climate change impacts while ensuring household safety amid emergencies
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A Call for Vigilant Planning Against Climate Threats
< pnceased reliance carbon emissions necessitates developing comprehensive strategies bolstering security protective measures safeguarding residents dependent totally upon electric systems. Odonkor elucidates further — “Advancing sustainable urban ecosystems extends beyond adopting greener alternatives it encompasses adopting resilient methodologies too.” Through building insight around housing susceptibilities now has become essential aspect proactive community defense against climatic shifts threatening normalcy.” More information: Andrew Majowicz et al., Quantifying household vulnerability to power outages: Assessing risks of rapid electrification in smart cities., Journal of Smart Cities and Society (2025). DOI: 10.1177/27723577241306340
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Solar-powered Residences Thrive Under Summer Conditions But Struggle During Winter Outages (2025 Year-Date)
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