Comparative Study of Energy Storage and Supply Strategies for Enhancing Low-Income Community Resilience in Texas during Cold Snaps

Exposure to indoor temperatures below 18°C poses significant health risks across all age groups, with infants, the elderly, and individuals with pre-existing conditions being especially vulnerable. Cold indoor environments can lead to hypothermia, respiratory infections, cardiovascular stress, and worsening of chronic conditions such as asthma and COPD. During extreme winter events like Winter Storm Uri in February 2021, these risks are magnified. The storm brought record-low temperatures and massive infrastructure failures across Texas, leaving over 4 million residents without power and heating and at least 111 deaths were reported. The storm also caused water system failures, disrupted supply chains, and highlighted severe inequalities in access to energy and recovery resources. These events revealed the fragile state of Texas’s energy infrastructure and underscored the urgent need for comprehensive winterization and resilient energy systems.

This study focuses on improving energy storage and grid resiliency in South Texas by evaluating the performance and vulnerabilities of residential and community-scale energy systems during extreme cold events. By integrating climate modeling, building simulation, and thermal energy system design, the research investigates how to enhance winter preparedness and energy resilience through innovative technologies. Three scenarios were developed to assess system resilience during outages due to cold snaps: (1) passive survivability of standalone buildings, (2) decentralized energy resilience, and (3) centralized community-scale borehole thermal energy storage with integrated microgrids.

Thermal and electrical energy storage systems are critical in bridging the gap between intermittent renewable energy availability and peak building energy demands. TES integrated with building envelopes or HVAC systems can reduce heating and cooling loads, level out peak demand, decrease HVAC sizing, improve thermal comfort, and increase energy savings. These benefits contribute directly to grid resiliency by allowing flexibility in load management, demand shifting, and improved response to outages. Furthermore, TES systems support the broader goal of cost-effective electrification of buildings, essential for transitioning toward sustainable energy systems.

The results may demonstrate that passive strategies alone are insufficient to ensure occupant safety during prolonged outages in future extreme cold events. Decentralized systems offer substantial resilience benefits but may face economic and maintenance challenges when scaled to entire communities. Meanwhile, the centralized approach supported by shared resources and intelligent energy distribution may emerge as the most effective model in balancing reliability, cost, and energy independence. By evaluating infrastructure performance under projected future winter conditions, this study provides actionable insights for policymakers, utilities, and communities.

Learning Objectives: • Identify how coordinated, community-scale infrastructure planning can better protect vulnerable populations during a winter storm compared to household-only interventions. • Explains the thermal risks faced by poorly insulated, low-income homes during prolonged winter grid outages and why passive survivability alone is insufficient.