It depends on where you live. About 15 years ago, the geniuses of our power company decided that they could save on tree trimming near power lines. a few years later, they were bragging about the savings... and then, in the middle of winter, with about 3 feet of snow on the ground, we had an ice storm that took out power for well over half the city. My house was without power for 4 days, with highs in the 20F. There's enough population density our lives were not in danger, but the house was only habitable because we had a generator.
And guess what? 5 months later, the summer comes, the tree trimming still wasn't done, and half the city lost power again due to a summer storm. Out for 6 days in our house. Every day we reached the 90s. Good luck insulating yourself from that heat for almost a week! Having A/C was pretty nice. The power company now inspects and trims around lines every couple of years, just to avoid power outages so wide they can't bring power back at an acceptable timeframe.
That said, the situation is rather regional: I'd not care about AC or heating in a power outage if I lived in Northern California. Around here, where we can hit the 100s in the summer and go under zero in the winter, you have to care a bit. My friend in Alaska cares even more.
So first world problems? Depends on where you live.
Relying on electricity for heating should be on the list of questionable decisions, though. That changes the parameters of emergency planning significantly.
We also had temperatures in the nineties for the last five days here, yet nobody has AC in their home. It's not a big problem with insulation. Of course we also don't have non-redundant overland power lines. Power outages we super rare.
From what I've heard, houses in certain humid and warm regions (like Florida) quickly succumb to mold without air conditioning. In some cases of abandoned properties, the house quickly becomes a total loss.
> Erhm, do you honestly expect to keep your A/C running during a power outage? First world problems indeed..
Yeah. Lets pay $18,000 for a backup solution instead of $3000 one.
The real "first world problems" are the guys who have so much money they can afford to purchase based on ethics, as opposed to practicality.
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My power-outage plan is btw: walk to the mall / library and use their AC. If I were to get a backup unit for my house, it'd be sized for my AC unit for sure however.
Insulating your property to keep heat out/in is a hell of a lot cheaper than buying enough backup power to keep your A/C running...