power consumption in a modern world

[mobile_bob]

got an old book on power station design, concerns, management etc.

published about mid 40's or so

in it is a chart of residential average power consumption for the years from 1915 to 1940

the average home that was electified in 1915 used approx 250kw/hrs per year
by 1940 the average moved up to about 825 kw/hrs per year

now granted things were a bit more basic in 1915 than they are now, but
do we really need more than what a home could get by with in 1940?

i have to check but this poorly constructed place i am in now, built in 1970 and being all electric
uses on average each month what a home of similar size used in 1940 for the whole year.

i guess it is time for me to visit with those that were alive in the 40's to see what life was really like living
with less than 10% of the power i use today.

certainly they didn't have 3 tv's going all day, nor did they have electric heat, drier, hotwater tank, and other massive
consumers of power, but

it looks to me like they were not suffering greatly either? except maybe by 1940 folks were still suffering the effects of the
depresssion and were much more frugal with their use of power than what otherwise might have been.

i just found the chart interesting and thought i would share it.

bob g

[veggie]

It really is incredible, the amount of energy we use.
There has been a proven relationship between abundant low cost energy and gross domestic product.
Those nations which had the most energy per capital grew the fastest.
Start restricting the energy (or making it too expensive) and the process reverses.
No nation wants to experience a reversal in living standards, so governments subsidize (or take control of) national energy programs in a hope to protect the GDP and living standards (and of course the military fuel supply).

It's amazing what we all take for granted. A few days without electricity or natural gas in winter and people start dying all over the place. A fragile system in may ways when you think about it.

oooops! I'm rambling....

later,
veggie

[miket]

I use about 500 to 700 watts a day this time of year, given the extra need for lighting in the darker evening hours. I keep up mostly using the solar array, this stormiy week in northern cal,  I'll need the backup genny, a lot.

In the summer, I'm pretty self sufficient, even with the swamp cooler which draws about 1200 watts a day.

My system is pretty overloaded with solar panels (1 KW) given the limited insolation I get (maybe 3.5 hours peak, or near peak sun). I've set my system up to get the maximum amount of solar production I can in the  the shortest time possible.

When I was on the grid in town, I typically consumed 20 to 30 kw per day.

Amazing how the responsibility of producing the power changes one's appreciation for  the resource, eh?

Interesting how one 14 watt cfl draws 1.7 amps and two only draws 2.3 amps total.  My inverter idle current is .3 amps.  I've gotten so that I can estimate my current draw by what is on, to within tenths of an amp.  I cross check using the Trimetric.  My son says I'm a geek.... guilty as charged! I used to use a kill a watt but the Trimetric is better for me.  It's all about what coming out of the battery bank for me.

mike

[LowGear]

Talking Story:

Three women were talking about their lives.  They were a 25 year old daughter, 50 year old mother and 75 year old grandmother.  They were asked what was the greatest improvement they witnessed in their kitchen.  The daughter was thrilled with the microwave.  The mother rejoiced in her frostless refrigerator.  The grandmother mused that she'll never forget the day they got running water inside the house.  Things do change. 

[Fat Charlie]

I don't think they were being frugal in power usage so much as they didn't have the things that used power.  My dad (born 1942) remembers when the family got their first refrigerator.  And TV.

Now?  Even the alarm clocks plug in and suck power all day long. 

[cognos]

My parents' home was built in 1947, for a returning veteran of WWII, to the highest modern standards. It was 2400 sq. feet, with an upper apartment. It was heated with oil, a hot water boiler. It came equipped with a very modern 30 amp service that also ran the apartment!

When they bought the place in 1966, they had it rewired (and insulated and re-plumbed, etc...), and my father, having worked in radio, saw the upcoming shift toward electrical use in everyday life, and had a 200 amp service installed. The electrician said he'd never use all that power...

But of course, with all the new appliances, a new pool with pump, various radios and 2 TVs, a second fridge, we even had 2 room air conditioners in the upper floor... we put all those circuits in service, eventually...

When they sold the place 10 years ago, the new owner - a friend of mine - had the place updated - and installed a 400 (!) amp service... then proceded to buy the most expensive,  (cough) energy-efficient yuppie stuff they could get their hands on - dual fridges, flat screens in damn near every room, whole place wired for surround sound, central air...

Guess how full that 400 amp panel looks now?

Sometimes it seems we learn very little. I guess if you can afford it, there is no incentive to conserve anything, and the "Energy Efficient" label on our modern toys assuage our "green guilt"...

Me? I'm just "frugal..."  I'm on grid power, I use around 20-25 KWH per day. That's down from 40 a few years ago, with 2 offices in the house... only one office now, sold my hot tub, replaced appiances when required with energy and water efficient models.

My biggest power users are the electric dryer and central air. And I'm very aware of each appliances' energy requirement, I have a Kill-A-Watt.

I don't personally know anyone else who has one. I would guess that they must not care, except that that they still all complain about their Hydro Bills...

[Geno]

My Mother was born 83 years ago in rural Southwest Ireland in a temporary shelter. They built the house and added the bar to it some time later. This was shortly after home rule began. The economy then made today's economy look very good. There was no pressurized water or electricity during my first visit in 1961. I was around a year old. She was about 14 when they made the move to pressurized paraffin lanterns. She still remembers the excitement when the steam-powered thresher came to the farm. The owner would come inside for a drink while the workers prepared the amazing machine. When I was around 10 years old I can remember 20 or more horse drawn carts going down the road for every one car. Behind the bar there's a groove in the concrete where uncle Mike rolled the kegs of Guinness in and out for many, many years. Some of my fondest memories are tending bar there. I didn't appreciate the stories when I was younger. I do now.

Trying to keep it simple in a complicated world
Geno