The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1896-06-20
COST OF ELECTRIC PoWE1s.
Relation of Electricity to the Use of
Steam md Water

Relation of Electricity to the Use of
Steam nnd Water.
At the Franklin Institute, the other
eyaning, Dr.. Charles E. Emory, an
eminent authority on steam engineer
ing, gave an illustrated lecture on the
subject of electric power and it's rela-
ton, economic and practical, to the
use of steam and water, for power
purposes. III answer to the common
inquiry as to whether electric will be
cheaper than steam power, and there
fore, supersede it, he stated that the
conditions Of each particular case must
be considered. Steady power is de-
pendent upon some means of storing
energy. Water power required natur-s
al lakes or reservoirs to steady the
flow and increase the amount of power
which can, be, utilized. The best stor-
age for q steam engine is the coal it.
self. Electricity is not, at present, a
source of power, but only a means OF
source whenevera a method of produc-
ing the electric current in large guam
titles directly from coal has been dis
covered. 1t is now a convenient
means Of utilizing power by transmit
ting it from mountain Businesses to
centers of trade or mechanical opera
#tions' at considerable distances from
the fall 49, -ss.,s5 ',,>sss.. ...-. .'t = 3
9. The principal improvements in elec-
trical transmission relate to apparatus
which can be, operated at highest elec-
trical pressure than formerly the work
which can be done over a conductor Of
given size being preportioned to the
square of the electro-motive' force of
the current. For instance, with
parrot electrical conductors one-eighth
of an inch in diameter, sixty horse
power could be transmitted 1873 miles,
with a current pressure. of 10000
volts. Steam power, with ordinary
management, for. ten hours daily, can
be furnished for $31 per annum per
horse power, with large engines, and
$75 with small engines. Water power
in favorable locations can be devel-
oped from; So to $12 per horse-pow-
er.. On some of the New England
streams, where much money has been
=. spent in the development, it has
brought the cost UP to- $50 per horse.
power, or nearly to the cost of steam.
1t is now considered the best practice
to use all the water power for generat-
ing electricity, using electrical trans
mission not only to manufa cturing
establishments in the vicinity, but al
so to long distances. -. ~. -4s
4 The lecturer. concluded that for a de-
velopment Of from $4,000 to 100000
horsepower a, company; could afford to
sell power in the vicinity of the works
at SS12 per horse power, and that it
could be proftably sold at distance
of twenty miles at from $12 to $50 per
horsepower in large units. The addi-
tional cost, however, of distributing
this power in small units about a city
would leave little margin of economy
over steam power to the user: but con-
ditions of cleanliness, divisibility and
the multiform uses to which electric
power can be applied would make it
preferable to steam even at greater
cost. Such distributing system
would also be embarrassed by de-
mand for: only ten hours aaday; but
transmission to a distance of twenty
miles would be warranted if power is
sold for twenty-four hours, or in large
units, and it would, in general, be ap-
plicable, wherever the cost of fuel is
IS per ton and upwards.-Bos
Traveller. - 7ts~@ - . 49, g