The River Falls times. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1894-1933, 1896-05-19
COST OF ELECTRIC POWER.
relation of Electricity to the Ise OF
steam and Water.

Relation of Electricity to the use OF
steam and Wafer
Ut the Franklin Institute, the otner
CIV sIing. DR.. Charles E. Emory I'LL
eminent authority on steam engineer
ing. gave an illustrated lecture Oh tlle
subject of electric power and IT'S feth-
tion. economic and practical, 10 Tue
nse of steam and water, Tor power
nnrnoSes. In answer to the common
inuuiry as to whether electric Will pe
cheaDer than steam power, ana thelo
fore Supersede it, he stated thaC the
conditions of each particular case niust
he considered Steady power IS ue-
pendcnt upon some means OF stolllis
energy. Water power required natuf-
nj lakes or reservoirs to STEADY the
flow and increase the amount OIL power
which can be utilized. The best stof-
age for q steam engine is the coal IL
self Electricity is not, at present,
source of power but only Il means OIL
Transmitting it. 1t will become
source whenever Il method OF prouuc-
ing the electric current in large quah-
titles directly from coal has been as
covered 1t is now conVenleul
means of utilizing power by transmit
ting it from mountain businesses "
centers of trade or mechanical opera
lions at considerable distances from
the fall.
The principal Improvements in cleo
tricaI transmission relate to apparatus
which can be operated at highest elec-
tricaI pressure than formerly, the work
which can be done over a conductor OF
given size being proportioned to the
square of the electro-notiye force OF
the current. For instance, with u
pair Of electrical conductors one-elghth
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
horsepower, with large engines, anu
$40 with small engines. Water power
in favorable locations can be deVel-
Oped from So to S12 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 general
ing eleCIflc1tV, using electrical Trains
mission not only to manufacturing
establishments in the vicinity, but al
SO to long distances.
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 ST. per horsepower, and that it
could be profitably sold at a 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 a de-
mand for only ten hours a day; but
transmission to distance of twenty
miles would be warranted if power is
sold for twenty-four hours, or III large
units, and it would. in general, be APP
plicable, wherever the cost of fuel is
S. per ton and upW ards.-Boston
Traveller.