ELECTRIC HEATING.

Otaki Mail, 14 September 1923, Page 4

ELECTRIC HEATING.

COST FOii UOiiiiiiTiC ÜbE. SOME INTlilUiSTiNti FIUUHES. A "News" rupieseiitative, enqutiiilg lii»0 lilu Jji oijaiisS c-au uj. cii!CLJ.C Hyiit tlild \v'u a SUpJjiietl AVUIi U.U IWluWmg JJjt' IttV J. iU. l><li^iJ«llii ( iiibCUiCiti

ivruuguismau iu Lue riorowrieri.ua i-uvvcj' jjuani:—■

me utilisation oi electrical energy j tor lieaiing ana cooking purposes is a development so recent us iui .as Aew | /.cumnu is ooncernea, ULat little, mlofiu&iion un uie sunjeeu nas become avaiWjle lor ilie general purine, it is Uie purpose ol these ie"w notes, there- i tore, to give a' rough indication ol l what can ne. none ana now costs I should worii out at the rates charged- J ny tne majority ol Power JBOarus in { mo Wellington Province, t

Electric neatuig service usually difle.s Horn jUgntnig and motor service ui its vaiUe to ine user and the character or the louu it uuus to uie rower Boarus' lines.

Motor ana lighting service is more oi lcaa a necessity to the consumer, out when 11 comes to the use oi eleetrieny lot: puiposes, (iie prospective consumer will use Hits class oi service oniy if tiie rates be made sufficiently attractive to snow a clear saving over other methods ol cooking and heating. .Moreover i'ower Boards welcome cooking and heating loads tor several technical reasons, which n is not advisable to discuss just now.

The applications oi electricity lo this class oi service are many ana varied. The loilowing examples are oniy a lew ol many that could he. enumerated :—Cooking ranges, water heaters, loot warmers, dentist's sterilisers, curling irons, bath heaters, soldering irons, incubators and brooders, welding apparatus, radiators, domestic irons, kettles.

In this district, however, those applications which-are suitable lor domestic or farm purposes will attract the most attention. This will probably be cooking ranges, water heaters (including kettles;, domestic irons, incubators, brooders and radiators. Let me deal with these lour uses ill older; — No one who has used or had an experience ol electric ranges tor household purposes will deny that they are far and away superior to other classes of ranges, boll) lor economy aud cleanliness, and a lew statements, together with figures from actual cases will not prove amiss. As far as cleanliness is concerned, there can be no doubt about this. There is no smoke, l-soot or ashes, neither is there any j) smell, and these facts alone make the « ! electric range a veritable boon. As . ' regards danger from electric shock, . I this is practically negligible provided j only reasonable care is exercised, and I this statement applies to ail classes of a electrical appliances. Fire hazard is \ also nil, as all ranges are effectively I protected by fuses and all wiring j must pass rigid tests. If a range is to be used economically, however, a certain amount of skill (domestic, not (electrical), is required and the aver'age housewife usually prides herself in this direction. The following four examples are compiled from figures supplied by the Christchurc-h City Council, and are taken at random from, a number of specific cases. Lighting units are included in the total units used but may be regarded as negligible for the purposes of comparison :

it will readily be seen, therefore, that an average range under ordinary conditions, should cost somewhere about £J per month at the rates •• eharged by tine Horowlienua Power | Board. This figure, of course, is merely an estimate, but is based on j actual cases. ' The cost ol installation is also IUI- - other consideration, but this vanes * according to the make or size ol range. Generally speaking a range of from 'i to j kilowatt capacity should prove ample lor a family of 1 lo JO persons. Domestic irons and radiators need no. introduction to the public. The average iron or radiator is rated at approximately .6 kilowtatt capacity, j and at bjd per unit should cost about ■ id per hour. i Water heating in the Horowlienua Electric Power Board's District is on a flat rate of £U per kilowatt per annum. . Efficient protection against loss oi heat must ol course, be maintained, but a, fj h.w- heater at an all-round efficiency of SO per cent, should raise the contents of a 30-galion tank 100 > decrees Farenheit in eight hours. in the Horowhenua District there are large numbers of poultry fanners, and it may be of interest to Know that electric incubators and brooders have proved highly successful The superiority of electricity for this purpose is obvious and there are mcubators on the market which are capable of maintaining the temperature within A to i a degree of the desired temperature As regards current consumption, this figure is very low, being onlv about 10 units per 100 clucks hatched at ljd per unit, this works out at .15d per chick. . j These few particulars, while not : by anv means comprehensive. are sufficient to give an idea of the ad- ] vantages of electric cooking and heatIng to the consumer, and it is hoped that when Mangahao does begin to | i deliver its energy, that the people of i the Horowlienua will take advantage , of the exceedingly low rates offered j bv the Power Boards for this purpose.

ig to I I !? O « 5 ., a 3 gg 3 a ? 3 q . «S :' 3" 4 0 U« hJP- r -£ s a ) 1 6J 3568 3-2 6 0 2 5J 1310 8 -4 44 ! I 61 1784 11 3 0 4 0i 13 17 74