The Portland daily press., 1883-11-15
THE ELECTRIC LIGHT.
Conditions of Efficiency in Arc
Lighting.
COMPARISON OF THE WESTON AND
THE THOMsON-HOUsTON sXs-
TENS.

(From the Portland Daily Adsertiser)
OFFICE AM. ELECTRIC AND ILLUMINATING
COMPANY, BosToN, November 12,F 1883. +
To the Editor of the Advertiser:
Our attention has today been called to an.
article in your issue of Saturday, the 10th in
slant, entitled "The Electric Light; Improve
ment in the Management of Incandescent
Lights" We are inclined to be merry over
its absurd statements, and indignant at its mis-
representation of facts. But first let us assure
you, Mr.. Editor, that We hold you guiltless of
the one and the other. 1t is clear that the arr
ticle was inspired" According to it ''the
greatest improvement in electric lighting yet
made" consists in attaching incandescent
lights to the arc circuit without iniuring the
current for arc lights The fact is that this
is nothing new. The experiment has been
tried over and over again in every electrical
Laboratory in the country. 1t is the subject Of
no patent, it is free to the world, and CONNER
cially aoorthless. The method is to split tho
current into a number OF parts, and let each
part do the work for one incandescent lamp.
II one of these goes out as is more than proc
able, owing to the character of the current
destroying that lamp the whole force of the
entire current is thrown upon the remainder
and the destruction of another lamp is practi-
cally inevitable. This again increases the cur
rent on the remainder and the destruction of
all the lamps and the breaking of the main
current, putting out all the arc lamps in cir
cult is assured, unless an attendant is by to
either supply new lamps or interpose resistance
In their stead.
To call this we'll known and long abandoned
scheme "an Improvement" is worse than false;
it is stupid
The statement made to the effect that the
Weston system stands FIRST the Brush second,
the Fuller third, and the rest nowhere, with
the prediction that these latter will "the SOON
or come to grief" hardly COMFORTS with the
facts as developed by scientific tests made by
disinterested experts. In Cincinnati, at the
annual exposition this year, the United States
or Weston" and the Thomson Houston sys-
TENS competed for prizes. The Weston COM
purpose. The Thomson Houston put in one
which had been running for some time in the
lighting station in Columbus, Ohio. The
Thomson-H Houston system was awarded $500
for "the best system" and gold medal for
"the best lamp" and this SO angered the Wes-
ton company that they advertised their defeat
and made themselves public laughing stock
| by bringing suit against the commissioners of
the exhibition to restrain them from deliver
| ing the prizes. AS to looming to GRIEF it
| does not look much like that for the Thomson
| Houston system in your city. The weston
| or United States has been there over two
| years. and figures up thirty lights. The
| Thomson-H Houston system, used by the Con.
| solidated Electric Light Company of Maine
| is running over one hundred lights. Til.
| plant has been increased during the last week
to 150-light capacity, and orders are already in
| hand for nearly the entire number.
| In making comparison between the eff
cheney of various systems of electric arc light
| ing it is q common error to suppose that if the
| dynamo generator yields d high percentage oil
| electricity for the power consumed, the
| system is necessarily good. The fact is that
none of the dynamos in extensive use differ
very greatly in their percentage yielded, 1t is
safe to say that if this percentage ranges from
80 to go per cent in PRACTICE little better can lie
| asked since it is plainly impossible to attain
| 100 per cent. by any means whatever; while q
| loss of about 10 per cent. at least is almost
necessary To what thea is the difference in
the lights as seen due? To the photometric
| efficiency or the percentage Of light yielded in
proportion to power consumed in driving the
| dynamo generator. This depends on the ca.
| pability Of the lamp to properly utilize the
electricity supplied to it. A badly designed
| 40 per cent, of the electricity supplied while
| giving only shaky, kissing, unsteady light.
| 1t is notable fact that with very unr
steady light, more light is demanded to eject
equal illumination than with 0 more perfect
and steady light. 1t is also an undisputed fact
among electricians lat the whittier The light;
that is, the less yellow it is, the higher the
economy. This is true for both arc and incan-
descent lights By economy" is meant
light yielded foT power expended. Another
fact of great importance is the percentage of
loss on lines, due to resistance OF wire, bad
joints, contact of switches, faults in wire, all
of which are ever present in a circuit.
Under similar conditions Of line, system
using double the current of another must by
ELECTRICAL law inevitably suffer four times as
Il
tance, or, to put it differently, If the equivs-
lent of ta0o lights is lost with the better system
upon five miles of wire there will be the eeuivas
lent of eight lights lost with the poorer sys-
tenn, Employ dynamo generator of high
economy, use the most perfect lamp, regulate
the current supplied to an absolute standard
by instantaneous automatic regulators, SO as to
avoid losses due to fluctuations of current, use
the current so that the loss of lines is mini
mum and you have the best conditions for a
successful business. Start with dynamo of
105 per cent capacity, were that possible, use
lamp that wastes the current supplied, yield
ing under its best conditions a poor percentage
of light for current taken, requiring more
light because it is unsteady, consuming more
carbon per hour in consequence, and couple
this with quadruple loss on Lines, and in
creased supervision OF skilled nature to keep
the think going at ALL and You have the con-
ditions that must fail as business.
The comments on the paragraph copied
from the Press of your city are viciously mis-
leading. 1t distinctly states that the capacity
of the apparatus at that time in the Con-
solidated company's station was one hundred
lights. Now the strength of chain is the
strength of its weakest links. The company
had at that time 4 Delight dynamos, and
whether it had $50 or 1900 engine horse power
capacity, its lighting capacity was only 100
lights. As matter Of fact the $50 horse en-
CINE will give surplus power over the demands
OF 200 lights, and the additional so horse
engine is to be used for day circuit of 80 or
less lights, and for an all night circuit, thus
avoiding the use of the big engine at times
when smaller one can be used more economic
caily. It need hardly be said that all the
figuring based on the use of $50 horse power
for 101 lights goes for nothing
The statement that the Omitted States or
"Weaton" company has sscertsined from its
own experience that it cannot produce and sell
its light at profit, is to be taken as authorita-
tive, and is not to be questioned. Indeed the
rapid dwindling of the number of Weston
lights in all the cities of New England where
il has been in use confirms it,
But what Is true of the weston" or
"United States" system in this respect is not
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