Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    What (Watt) We Need to Know to Reduce Electricity Bills
    What (Watt) We Need to Know to Reduce Electricity Bills
    What (Watt) We Need to Know to Reduce Electricity Bills
    Ebook57 pages30 minutes

    What (Watt) We Need to Know to Reduce Electricity Bills

    By Sid Eavis

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    Consumer’s dependency on electricity has encouraged wastage. We’re seriously overpaying for inefficiency as well as wastage. Technology has changed – we haven’t, politicians won't! We need to hold the following thought as we read on. For every 1kW we consume, 3kW has to be generated because 2/3 of electricity generated from fossil fuel power stations is lost in heat and other inefficiencies. If we really wanted to we could dispense with the electricity grid altogether and use current technology to meet our energy needs. But that’s a bit further down the track and requires a change in consumer culture. The problem is the 'system', which is based on centralised power generation of large quantities of electricity obviating the need to transport it hundreds if not thousands of kms. Instead of perpetuating the ‘system’, we should move towards consumer located power systems e.g. solar collectors with a battery bank connected to an inverter. Solar panels collect free energy; the inverter acts as a battery charger and chemically stores energy for withdrawal when its dark or the sun doesn’t shine. The inverter then converts dc (direct current) to ac (alternating current) so it’s just like mains electricity. Inverters are at least 95% efficient, but more to the point electricity is generated at the point of consumption, not thousands of kms away. This effectively saves 66% lost in inefficiencies before we even start. These ‘systems’ could be small stations in each consumer’s premises or combined small stations for a group, street or suburb. ‘That’s going to cost a lot of money’, I hear you say. Indeed, but so is building large power stations under the ‘old system’. The alternative ‘system’ is efficient and cheap (did I say cheap, sorry I meant free) but we need to know what (Watt) to do. Instead of re-building power stations with the same inefficiencies, the alternative would create a new industry attracting employment for Australians. ‘Yeh Yeh’, respond the cynics, who always know what’s best for us, especially since they advise and we pay! Part of the plan needs consumers to be educated in what (Watt) to know to reduce electricity consumption. It’s much less complicated than consumers trying to negotiate with electrical retailers. Reducing electricity consumption is a quantum leap away from switching off the lights. Its generally accepted governments are the only means of reducing electricity cost because they control power generation ‘systems’. It's also true, the ‘system’ creates massive carbon emissions, except we all create demand because we have each developed an insatiable appetite for electricity. We simply don’t know what (Watt) to do to reduce our consumption, so let’s all wait for the government to do something. Hello, are you still there? Fossil fuel Power Stations in Australia are approaching the end of their useful life. and so the 'experts' advise new fossil fuel stations should be built. It would also perpetuate the need for poles and wires. Another solution would be to close them down and adopt a more efficient ‘system’ and get rid of poles and wires. A saving of 66% in a single hit. I can hear cries from cynics, ‘but we need base power that only large power stations can supply for manufacturing’. Hang on! I didn’t think we were a manufacturing country any more! In any event manufacturers are not all demanding MW but even if they were, let them buy their own generators. It would be much cheaper and cleaner and more efficient. Just run them when they're needed, at the same location they consume it. Power consumed at the point of generation always starts with 66% saving. ‘Yeh, Yeh, but what about the noise, diesel engines are very noisy’. I know, so are buses and trucks and trains, which are also diesel powered. Stationary diesels can be contained in silenced enclosures – been done for years! Sid Eavis - retired power station/distribution design engineer

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSid Eavis
    Release dateNov 4, 2018
    ISBN9780463952733
    What (Watt) We Need to Know to Reduce Electricity Bills
    Author

    Sid Eavis

    Sid Eavis was born in England at the outset of the 2nd World War and completed tertiary education as well as an engineering apprenticeship with a large manufacturer of high voltage switchgear. During this period the world moved toward a central generating authority close to coal mines and water. It was around these areas in UK that industry developed as major consumers of electricity. The distance between major cities like Liverpool and Manchester (55 kms) was economic. The distance between Sydney and Brisbane is over 900 kms. It was a mistake to import the UK model. Sid recognised this model needed revisiting especially as technology and science had fast developed. Climate change has also developed. Sid studied electrical engineering and worked in the power generation and distribution industry for 45 years. Whether people think mankind is responsible at least in part for global warming is not the issue. In reality we all create a carbon footprint, which contributes towards a collective carbon shadow over the planet. Sid addresses the problem, which appears to be too hard for governments all over the world to meaningfully confront. Sid and his family immigrated to Australia in 1970 and recently moved out of Sydney to the Southern Highlands - an escape to the country

    Related to What (Watt) We Need to Know to Reduce Electricity Bills

    Related ebooks

    Study Guides For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Off-grid Energy 101

      Mar 15, 2022

      Off-grid Energy 101
      4 min read

    • Article

      Circa 1930 Kitchen Redo

      Aug 4, 2020

      Circa 1930 Kitchen Redo
      5 min read

    • Article

      My Project

      Apr 29, 2021

      My Project
      4 min read

    • Article

      Taking Your Home Off THE GRID

      Oct 21, 2019

      Taking Your Home Off THE GRID
      2 min read

    • Article

      How Solar Panels Work

      Oct 1, 2021

      How Solar Panels Work
      1 min read

    • Article

      Solar Pv Panels

      Mar 3, 2022

      Solar Pv Panels
      2 min read

    • Article

      Sur-Ron Electric Dirt Bike

      Aug 25, 2021

      Sur-Ron Electric Dirt Bike
      4 min read

    • Article

      Masonry: 14 Things To Know

      Jun 2, 2022

      Masonry is by far the most widely used method of wall construction in the UK housebuilding industry. The majority of new homes today are built with cavity walls made from conventional ‘brick and block’ or some variation on the theme, such as outer le

      7 min read

    • Article

      Use It Up, Wear It Out

      Apr 22, 2022

      As I’ve mentioned in these pages before, I am, by inclination and experience, a textile artist. I’ve collected many yards of fabric over the years as my sewing ambitions have outstripped my time to sew. When a good friend learned how to quilt, she in

      2 min read

    • Article

      The Ham Notebook

      Sep 1, 2020

      The Ham Notebook
      5 min read

    • Article

      Arduino Nano Every

      Jan 27, 2020

      Arduino Nano Every
      2 min read

    • Article

      Leisure Batteries

      Dec 29, 2020

      Leisure Batteries
      9 min read

    • Article

      How Does 5g Work?

      Jul 5, 2019

      Just like 4G before it, 5G requires whole new masts and technology inside the phones to make it happen. It’s a very different beast to 4G, and this might make its roll-out across the country even more complex. 5G is based on shorter-range antennas th

      1 min read

    • Article

      Building With Containers

      Aug 14, 2020

      Building With Containers
      5 min read

    • Article

      Batteries Included

      May 5, 2020

      Batteries Included
      3 min read

    • Article

      Installing Solar Panels

      Aug 13, 2019

      Installing Solar Panels
      7 min read

    • Article

      How To Get Water All Winter

      Nov 4, 2021

      How To Get Water All Winter
      8 min read

    • Article

      The Holy Grail

      Sep 11, 2018

      The Holy Grail
      5 min read

    • Article

      Power Management

      Jun 1, 2022

      Power Management
      6 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for What (Watt) We Need to Know to Reduce Electricity Bills

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      What (Watt) We Need to Know to Reduce Electricity Bills - Sid Eavis

      What we need to know to Reduce Electricity Bills

      by Sid Eavis

      Author: © 2018 Sid Eavis.

      Smashwords Edition License Notes

      This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your enjoyment only, then please return to Smashwords.com or your favorite retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

      ISBN 97804639527333

      Table of Contents

      Chapter 1 Reverse Cycle Air Conditioner

      Chapter 2 Electric Oven

      Chapter 3 Hot Water Heater

      Chapter 4 Kettle

      Chapter 5 Space Heater

      Chapter 6 Clothes Washing Machine

      Chapter 7 Clothes Drier

      Chapter 8 Dish Washer

      Chapter 9 Hair Drier and Electric Iron

      Chapter 10 Vacuum Cleaner and Refrigerator

      Chapter 11 TV, video, DVD, PC etc

      Chapter 12 Light Globes

      Chapter 13 The Ultimate System

      Epilogue

      About the Author

      Other Books Written by the same Author

      Connect with the Author

      Acknowledgements

      Cartoons by Jason Chatfield

      Renowned for Ginger Meggs, Editorial Cartoons, Caricatures, Illustrations

      and Stand-up Comedy

      www.jasonchatfield.com

      Introduction

      It would be helpful to know what electricity is, so by way of introduction here’s a crash course. Electricity is a man made invisible source of energy, conventionally generated by rotating one magnetic field inside another. These are called generators and are driven by steam turbines, burning coal, oil or gas to raise steam. Generators can also be driven by wind or water.

      We can’t see electricity, smell or taste it. We can feel it of course except we won’t live to tell the tale. It travels at a speed of about 300,000 km per second and is used all over the developed world in varying degrees of ‘inefficiency’. The degree of ‘inefficiency’ of centralised power generation and distribution surprisingly is 66%! This means every 1 kW we consume, 3 kW has to be generated. More to the point, we’re paying 3 times more than we actually consume. . The focus of this booklet is to show consumers how to reduce consumption because this is the way we can reduce our electricity bills.

      Electricity is measured using three elements, ‘Volts’ ‘Amps’ and ‘Watts.

      ‘Volts’ is a measure of pressure and for the domestic consumers it’s nominally 240 Volts delivered to your door. Electricity pressure could be thought of like water pressure. When we turn on

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1