Tips To Lowering Electricity Costs

The cost of electricity has doubled over the last few years. Wise homeowners are using every tip they can find to keep the cost of electricity at affordable levels. The top eight tips are:

1. Heating System Maintenance
At least once a year the filters on your heating system need to be replaced. The best time to do this is in the fall before the first cold snap. In addition, if your system has been working overtime during a lengthy or exceptionally cold winter, it is always a good idea to check the filters halfway through the season or in early spring.
2. Lower Your Thermostat 7 -10 Degrees Overnight
Although 7-10 degrees is best, even a drop of 5 degrees overnight will lower your electric bill. The most convenient way to lower your thermostat by 10 degrees is to keep the winter temperature at 65 during the day and wear more layers of clothing. Then at night lower your temperature another 5 degrees overnight and sleep with extra blankets.
3. Seal Your Home
After you make sure your insulation in your walls and attic are the best you can install, take a look at your windows and doors. Use double-paned windows and replace the seals on your doors, if necessary.
4. Use Window Coverings
Another tip to keep out the cold winter air is to use window coverings. You would be amazed at how much protection window coverings provide to the comfort of your home. Some people, especially in the cold northeast, often make or buy quilted window coverings just for the winter.
5. Turn Off Your Computer And Monitor
This is an excellent solution to cutting down on electrical consumption. Although your computer doesn't use as much electricity as your refrigerator, you can turn off your computer overnight, something you should never do with your refrigerator.
6. Use Power Strips For Minor Appliances
All appliances use electricity when plugged in, even when not in use. So to save on your electric bill, you can turn off all minor appliances overnight with one flip of the switch with a power strip.

7. Use Cold Water For Your Laundry
Even if you use cold water, your laundry will still get clean in cold water. Using hot water was your grandmother's idea when everything was washed with lye soap. This is a different age.
8. Use A Home Solar System For All Your Electrical Needs
Even if you do all of the above, you could still be spending a small fortune on electricity. The best way to beat the cost of the increasing price of electricity is to install solar panels in your home. Gone are the days of passive solar heat. Now you can enjoy warm winters and cool summers and be comfortable all year long. The battery storage in a solar system will even take you through those overcast winter days. You only need to purchase a home solar system once to have all your electrical needs met.

What is the Difference Between a Variable and Fixed Electricity Plan?

The implementation of energy deregulation in several states such as Texas not only provided the people the power to select their Retail Electric Provider or the Texas electric company that services and facilitates their supply of electricity, but it also provided them the option to choose their preferred choice of electricity plans. Consumers living in areas with a deregulated electric market can select between a variable and a fixed rate plan.
The atmosphere of competition that energy deregulation has provided the Texas electricity market prompted Retail Electric Providers to come up with various payment schemes and payment rate plans that would suit the lifestyle, need or capacity of the consumer. For consumers, finding the right electricity plan that would suit their needs can be a very daunting task. Making a wrong decision would have considerable repercussions on their electricity bills and may go wary from what they have planned or preferred.
The following provides a brief overview to explain the differences and mechanisms behind fixed and variable rate payment plans. It would be wise for the consumer to check the merits of each so they could eventually make the best decision for them and their household.
What is a Fixed Electricity Plan?
The term "fixed" means something that is constant or unchanging and in terms of electricity plans, a fixed-rate plan means the rates are locked or fixed for a certain period (eg. 6 months, 12 months, 24 months, etc) as agreed upon by the consumer and the Texas electric retail provider. The agreement is bound by a contract between these two parties, and the consumers are guaranteed to pay only the same rate per KWh of electricity usage.
Consumers under this plan will get the benefit of a fixed rate even if the energy market wholesale price fluctuates. However should market prices drop below the agreed fixed rates, consumers are required to pay the guaranteed price as stipulated in their contracts. Other Retail Electric Providers offer a balanced or levelized payment scheme for their users who are not delinquent on their payments, wherein the customers can pay a levelized amount calculated from their electricity usage for a certain period such as twelve months or more.
What is a Variable Electricity Plan?
The opposite of a fixed rate plan is the variable or month-to-month payment scheme wherein the Texas electric company bills consumers based on the current conditions or pricing trends of the energy market. This could be advantageous to users should there be a lowering of energy prices in the market. However, if the fluctuations in the prices result to higher rates, the consumers have no choice but to pay their Texas electricity bills based on these fluctuations.
How to Choose between Variable and Fixed Electricity Plan
The following is a short guide to aide consumers on what Texas electricity plan they would choose for their energy needs.
* Users who would not want to be burdened of fluctuating energy prices can choose to select a fixed rate for a certain period of time. Before the contract period will expire, the Texas electric retail provider will contact the consumer on whether to continue with the same plan for the next period.
* Consumers who are aware that they would be staying in their current abode for a short period of time or currently under a short term lease would do well in choosing a variable electricity plan as they will not be constrained or tied up by a fixed payment contract.
* Those that prefer to have the freedom to switch Texas electric companies or their payment plans without having to pay an early termination fee could opt to use a month-to-month plan. Regulations however, stipulate that people under a fixed-rate contract are not required to pay a pre-termination fee if the reason for their termination is to relocate to another city or state not covered by the Retail Electric Provider and not to switch to another provider.
* Choose Retail Electric Providers that offer special incentives or giveaways for consumers who pay regularly and are not delinquent on their Texas electricity bill payments. These giveaways of incentives can vary from free movie tickets to paid trips to pre-determined destinations depending on what the Retail Electric Providers offer subscribers.

Electrical Materials - Choosing Electrical Connectors

Electrical Material represents the parts or the elements that are used in order to make each and every electrical structure from a house circuit to a big factory. Electrical Materials can be the electrical fittings, the lugs, electrical circuit breakers, the motor control, the electrical conduit, the lighting or the enclosures.
The Electrical Material contains all the time movable electric charges. In the electrical metallic conductors, like the copper or aluminum ones, the movable electric charged particles represent the electrons. The positive movable electric charges are in the form of atoms. All the electric conductors are containing movable electric charges that will move in case that a potential difference is applied in separate points on the electrical material. This flow of electric charge represents the electric current. In most of the materials, the actual rate of the current is direct proportional to the voltage, provides the temperature to remain constant, in order that the electric material doesn't changes it's shapes and sizes.

The most known electrical conductors are the metallic ones; copper is the most common used material for all the wiring. Silver is the best conductors, but is also very expensive, and the gold as electric material is very good for the high quality surface-to-surface electrical contacts. There are also many conductors that are not metallic, such as graphite, solutions of salts and all the plasmas. All these electrical materials will offer some resistance and also some warm up when an electrical current will flow through them. The design of any electrical conductor is taking into consideration the temperature that the conductor will need to be able to endure without any damage, as well as the actual quantity of the electrical current that will flow.
The thermal and the electric conductivity will often go together (for example, many metals can be both electrical and thermal conductors). However, many materials can be electrical conductors without having good thermal proprieties.
In most of the countries from around the world, the electrical conductors are measured by the cross section in square millimeters. However, in the United States, the conductors are measured by the American Standard Wire Gauge for the smaller ones and by the Circular Mils for the larger ones.

The voltage on an electric conductor is mostly determined by the whole connected circuit, and not by the connector, itself. The electrical conductors are surrounded, or even supported, by the insulators, and only the insulation can determine the maximum voltage that can, and will be applied to any electrical conductor.

Electrical Safety Training - Best Electrical Safety Tips For Your Home

Every home has electricity flowing through it and normally safe however, if you have young children or are planning to do work on you home, you must make sure you have some basic electrical safety training and electrical safety rules. Electricity is a part of modern society however without the proper precautions electricity can kill very easily. This article will give you some very basic electrical safety tips.

Small children love to learn by exploring and touching. Parents and caregivers must diligently remove any electrical hazards in their home and keep their children safe. First remove or repair any loose electrical lines. If you have loose electrical sockets or frayed wires protruding from the wall, you should have the issues fixed by a trained electrician. You can easily find one on the Internet. Also, replace any frayed power cords on electrical appliances you use. In some cases you can have a frayed power cord repaired but you should also consider replacing the appliance completely.

After any electrical wiring issues in your home have been repaired, take some time to learn about electricity and what to do in the case of an emergency. When there are small children in your home you must know what to do in the case of an electrical emergency. Purchase a training DVD that will explain electrical safety in an easy to understand detail. If learning from a DVD is not for you, some communities offer electrical safety training for free through the electrical power company. The goal of learning about electrical safety is to not become an expert in electricity or electrical repair but to gain enough knowledge to be able to react in an emergency.

Now that you have training and the most pressing electrical hazards in your house resolved. Start childproofing your home. Cover all electrical sockets with plastic electrical socket covers to prevent your child from poking items into the sockets. Be sure that the covers you choose to use cannot be removed easily by your children and are large enough that they are not a choking hazard.

Finally, prepare for the possibility of an electrical fire by purchasing a fire extinguisher specially designed for electrical fires. Water should never be used on an electrical fire because the water has the potential to cause the fire to spread. Knowing about electrical safety means being prepared for the possibility of an electrical fire by purchasing a chemical fire extinguisher and checking the charge on your extinguisher yearly.

While chances are you will never need to use your electrical safety training or use your fire extinguisher the knowledge of electrical safety tips in the home is vital to protecting your children. Take the time to take electricity and electrical safety rule serious and your house will be happy and healthy for years to come.

Generating Electricity at Home - Magnetic Power Generators

Wouldn't you like to drastically reduce your power bills by generating electricity at home? If so, you are ready to make and install your own home magnetic power generation system. Wind, solar, and water generated power rely on external resources, but magnetic power generation is not like this. This is a system that does not rely on any outside forces to make electricity. You will be making electricity 24/7 all year and become your own utility company. Your goal of being energy independent and live off grid is easily achievable, and here I will present helpful steps for you to reach this goal.

Generating Electricity with Magnetic Power?

Steam, water, wind, or gas are commonly used to turn an electrical generator. But with a magnetic power generator, magnetic forces are used instead. With solar energy there is only about five hours per day of useful sunlight, and the panels will not work on foggy days or at night. A reliable flow of wind is required when using wind energy which can be quite unreliable. Wind turbines also require the use of a dump load to protect the blades from over spinning. With magnetic energy you have a system that is it's own source of energy, and produces electricity safely, reliably, and self-perpetuating.

Magnetic Power Generation, How Does It Work?

Like polls of two magnets will repel one another, and as kids, I think most of us remember this. You can feel this force, and as a kid you were probably amazed by this. With a magnetic system we are harnessing the internal force of the magnets to generate electricity. A propulsive force is created by the magnets to turn the generator shaft and make electricity. This can continue indefinitely so that it may be thought of as a perpetual motion machine. You can provide all of the free electricity you want at home by making one of these devices yourself. It is very simple to make one of these devices using materials commonly found at most any hardware store. These devices are simple to use, safe, and extremely efficient.

What Equipment is Needed for a Home Magnetic Power System?

A magnetic power system for home use will require many of the same components that are used for solar and wind systems. The first component needed is a charge controller so that the batteries are protected from over charging. Next, you will need deep cycle DC batteries. These types of batteries are designed to discharge over a long period of time and recharge quickly, and are ideal for magnetic power. Lastly, a power inverter is used to convert DC volts to AC so it can be used in your home power system. Your magnetic power generator is ready to be used once all these pieces of equipment are tied together. Keep reading to learn more on how you can enjoy free electricity forever.

Solar Energy to Generate Electricity at Home

There are many Renewable Energy Sources which are being used to generate electricity. Solar, wind, ocean, hydrogen are few forms of renewable energy sources which has high potential to generate electricity. Among all these alternative sources, Solar is among the most preferred form of renewable energy being used to produce electricity at home. The reason is quite simple, Earth receives abundant solar energy which can be converted into electricity by using solar panels which only requires one time installation.

We are seeing a tremendous growth in solar panel technology. Solar power panels are becoming more and more efficient, less costly and are coming with many incentives. Many countries have installed Solar Power Plants producing megawatts of power daily. Solar energy is very effective and green way of generating electricity.

Nowadays, cost of electricity and global warming is increasing while fossil fuels are decreasing. It's completely certain that cost of electricity is going to rise further as fossil fuel resources are diminishing. Many people are taking actions to become immune of any further electricity price hike. Their actions has also help them reduce their carbon footprint.

The best way to overcome your electricity problems is to generate your required electricity at home. We already have technologies that can produce electricity using renewable sources, you only need to take the decision. The most preferred and commonly used method to generate electricity at home is by employing solar panels on roof to harness solar energy. You can easily generate over 500 watts of electricity daily using solar power panels. This is over 50% of your electricity requirement for a day. More solar panels used, more electricity will be generated.

So here's what do you need to Generate Electricity at Home using Solar Panels?

1. Solar Panels

Buying solar panels can be sometimes tricky and will require you to do some math before buying them with certain ratings. Before moving on to math, you should have a clear understanding of types of solar power panel(s) you wish to use. You can either buy a solar power panel from a merchant, manufacturer which may cause you over $300 for 1 panel, or you can try DIY approach which might just cause you below $150.

Once you decide your approach for solar power panels, you should put your attention in analyzing the desired output from them. If your daily consumption is 1 KW and wish to generate 50% of electricity at home using solar panels, then you will require combination of 2-4 Solar power panels that can collectively produce 500 watts of power.

Thus buying solar power panels with suitable ratings is extremely important.

2. Installation guide

You will need a detailed installation guide that shows the exact installation steps both in pdf and video. Depending upon the approach for solar power panels you take, you will need the appropriate guide.

DIY guides may cost you around $50 while installation guides for manufactured solar power panels will cost around $20.

Solar energy is the best way to generate electricity at home. It only has initial cost of installation which will be recovered in a short time.

Windmills' Electricity - How Wind Turbine Electricity Works and Saves 12-100% of Household Energy

Windmills Electricity or Wind Turbine Electricity is a form of Renewable Energy using the kinetic energy of the wind to allow the Turbine to spin independently against a generator, producing free electricity.

More and more people every year are adding the wind turbine electricity saving measure to their homes to help make ends meet with the dreaded electricity bill.

A Wind Turbine Electricity installation is one of the easiest ways of producing energy in large quantities from virtually any back yard, they are a lot louder than Solar Power Cells, but they work at night, so there are pros and cons.

However having both Windmills Electricity and Solar Power Cells are a brilliant combination as the bad points cancel each other out and produce even more electricity together!

How a Wind Turbine Electricity Installation Works

Windmills Electricity works by placing the main generator/blade housing on top of a 25-30 foot pole in a convenient place in an average household back yard or field. A Wind Fin on a horizontal shaft at the back of the housing is used to point the turbine blades in the direction of the wind, like weather vanes seen on top of buildings.

The Windmills Electricity Turbine blades are pitched at an angle which would make the best use of the wind speed, thus turning the blades faster with heavier winds and slower with lighter winds, generally the blades turn at even the lightest of breezes, around 5-12mph.

Some models have a automatic braking system as standard if the wind speed is too high for the bearings or charge controller to cope with.

As the blades turn they are connected to an internal shaft inside the generator housing, producing electricity as it turns. The continuous electrical charge is carried through a long cable down the 30 foot vertical shaft of the Wind Turbine Electricity Installment to an old AC (Alternating Current) Motor (if Home Made). This charge can be converted to a DC current provided you buy a cheap converter for it.

This is then connected to a battery which is where all the power is charged, stored and ready for use. The battery is permanently connected to the mains system of your house, constantly adding a surplus of energy.

A Charge Controller is recommended for Solar Power Cells and Windmills Electricity, as charge varies from wind speed it may exceed the maximum recommended amps for the system, 7 amps is the average for a Wind Turbine at 450 watts.

These charge controllers are cheap and easy to find in levels from 7 all the way to 70 amps, no matter how many Turbines or Cells you have running, your always covered.

Blade Lengths do vary from model to model, from 3 blades to 5 blades, all depending on wind activity in your particular area. Commercial Wind Turbines are placed at high wind spots called "Wind Farms" so their large blades can pick the wind up and rotate, generating an environmentally sound electricity option.

Residential Wind Turbine Electricity Installations can produce anything from 450-2000 watts of power depending on Wind Speed, Model and Efficiency.

Luckily, Wind Power Cost and Investment is not very high if you look in the right places!

There are two ways to utilize Wind Turbine Electricity, either build your own Windmills Electricity Installation from cheap parts, costing about $250 and a few hours labor. The other alternative is just to buy a ready made good value Wind Turbine Installation for around $300-$1200 depending on how much you want to spend/save etc.

Let's Take a Look at How Electricity is Produced

Could you imagine life on earth without electricity. I think not, apart from our basic needs to survive such as food, water and air, life without electricity would be a nightmare. This article gives just a basic outline of electricity and how it can be produced.

We already know that lightning is electricity, also the friction between two materials produces what we call static electricity.

Kinetic energy is produced when we use a magnet with a piece of copper wire which then converts to electricity. Energy is produced in many kinds of ways by using, non-renewable sources of energy and renewable sources of energy, such as, wind power, solar energy, hydro-power, atomic and of course coal.

Coal

This is a non-renewable source of energy which is found in the mines. By heating the water using the coal this converts into a water vapor. Big pipelines transfer the water vapor into a turbine which will activate a magnet inside the generator, finally sending it off to huge power transmitters as high voltage. This transmitter will then convert this static current into direct current which is the energy we use in our homes. After this method has completed the vapors are cooled and then converted back to water which they reuse.

This form of electricity will one day be exhausted, as we know coal is a non-renewable source of energy which means that before too long we will be unable to depend on coal as a method to produce energy.

Atomic Power

Substances such as uranium are set off in huge atomic power stations where huge atomic reactions are caused. With incredibly high temperatures, radiation is created. This form of energy production in these power plants can be very dangerous. Atomic power is still used in many countries, such as France but for the majority of us this is certainly not the answer to grid power.

Hydro-Power

Since we have an unlimited supply of water this method is a renewable source of energy. Huge dams collect the water from canals, lakes and rivers. The water falls from the dam onto water turbines which starts the rotation. With the height and speed of the water falling, the turning of the turbine is what produces what we call a direct current. Which again can be used to supply energy for our homes, because of the huge amounts of water available this system is a very accepted way to produce electricity.

Solar Energy

Solar energy would have to be the ultimate way to produce electricity. The energy from the sun is also a renewable source of energy, we certainly don't have any worries about running out of it. Solar panels are usually the best way to convert this kind of energy, with smaller solar cells that absorb the sun's rays and then convert to electricity ready for use around the home. There a many homes today that are already using solar water panels to heat their water, including myself. I actually live on an island in the pacific where the majority of the homes here are all on solar hot water and currently in the process of changing over to solar energy. My god, we even have cars here that run on solar energy.

Wind Power

There are countries around the world that are using windmills to create electricity to power entire towns. When the force of the wind rotates the windmill (also referred to as wind turbine or wind generator) and with the power generated from this, it is then converted into ready to use energy.

Electricity - How it Came to Be

Electricity and water are the two main things that the majority of the world's population take for granted. With the flick of a switch we are able to power anything from the humble light bulb to an entire city. However, less than 90 years ago no more than 10% of British households had electricity in their homes. So what exactly is it that has made it possible to power billions of households across the globe?

To begin with it's important to note that electricity was never really "discovered", but harnessed. Electricity has existed since the dawn of time; in nature for instance we see it in the form of bolts of lightening that light up our skies or the small static shocks we get from time to time.

Many consider Benjamin Franklin to have been the one that "discovered" electricity as far back as 1752; this is not the whole truth though. Instead he paved the way for other great scientist of the time to study this new and exciting technology further.

The following 50 years was a frustrating time for scientist across the globe as they knew of electricity, but had no dependable source of it with which to conduct experiments. This all changed though in 1800 when the Italian scientist Alessandro Volta made a major breakthrough. Volta discovered that placing a piece of salt paper in between sheets of zinc and copper created an electrical current.

Volta had created the first ever electrical cell, which was strung together to create a battery; in honour of this a battery's power is measured in "Volts". From this point forward scientists had a dependable form of electricity which they could study further, the second major breakthrough.

Around the same time, Michael Faraday, an English scientist discovered that an electrical current could also be created by passing a magnet through copper wiring - this paved the way for today's electric motors and generators.

A large portion of electricity's progression was down to scientist's obsession with light, and with the invention of the battery, another scientist - Thomas Edison was focusing on how to use this technology to create the world's first light bulb. It was a long and arduous journey, but eventually Edison combined the right materials required to create the first dependable incandescent light bulb.

The next problem faced was bringing the electricity to the people, a system that was both practical and inexpensive had to be designed. In a few years time Edison had overcome the problems, and on 4th September 1882 Edison lit up lower Manhattan with the worlds first power station.

To begin with electricity prices were steep, the development of AC (alternating current) power systems however, made cheap electricity a possibility. For some time many were wary of this new technology, some fearful of bringing it into their homes - today though a world without such utilities would be practically uninhabitable.

Electrical Safety Training - Best Electrical Safety Tips For Your Home

Every home has electricity flowing through it and normally safe however, if you have young children or are planning to do work on you home, you must make sure you have some basic electrical safety training and electrical safety rules. Electricity is a part of modern society however without the proper precautions electricity can kill very easily. This article will give you some very basic electrical safety tips.

Small children love to learn by exploring and touching. Parents and caregivers must diligently remove any electrical hazards in their home and keep their children safe. First remove or repair any loose electrical lines. If you have loose electrical sockets or frayed wires protruding from the wall, you should have the issues fixed by a trained electrician. You can easily find one on the Internet. Also, replace any frayed power cords on electrical appliances you use. In some cases you can have a frayed power cord repaired but you should also consider replacing the appliance completely.

After any electrical wiring issues in your home have been repaired, take some time to learn about electricity and what to do in the case of an emergency. When there are small children in your home you must know what to do in the case of an electrical emergency. Purchase a training DVD that will explain electrical safety in an easy to understand detail. If learning from a DVD is not for you, some communities offer electrical safety training for free through the electrical power company. The goal of learning about electrical safety is to not become an expert in electricity or electrical repair but to gain enough knowledge to be able to react in an emergency.

Now that you have training and the most pressing electrical hazards in your house resolved. Start childproofing your home. Cover all electrical sockets with plastic electrical socket covers to prevent your child from poking items into the sockets. Be sure that the covers you choose to use cannot be removed easily by your children and are large enough that they are not a choking hazard.

Finally, prepare for the possibility of an electrical fire by purchasing a fire extinguisher specially designed for electrical fires. Water should never be used on an electrical fire because the water has the potential to cause the fire to spread. Knowing about electrical safety means being prepared for the possibility of an electrical fire by purchasing a chemical fire extinguisher and checking the charge on your extinguisher yearly.

While chances are you will never need to use your electrical safety training or use your fire extinguisher the knowledge of electrical safety tips in the home is vital to protecting your children. Take the time to take electricity and electrical safety rule serious and your house will be happy and healthy for years to come.

Niagara Falls and the History of Electricity

To see the role of Niagara Falls in electricity, we have to go back to electricity's humble beginnings.
Most of us know that Thomas Edison was credited with the invention of the incandescent light bulb. It was a technological achievement that ultimately changed the way we lived as our activities started to encroach well beyond sunset.
However, did you know that Edison almost undermined the electricity revolution by championing the DC electric current for electricity networks?
DC current (or "direct current" as opposed to AC current or "alternating current") pertains to the flow of electrons directly from the source (like a battery) to the load (like a light bulb). You can kind of think of it like water flowing from a reservoir high up on a hill and streaming downhill in a channel or creek towards a waterwheel, where the force of the moving water turns the wheel and does work for you. If you were to look at a DC current on an oscilloscope (which displays voltage as a function of time), it would be more or less a straight line.

Ever the entrepreneur and inventor, Edison sought to leverage his patents and control the electricity delivery (transmission) to customers needing to light up the night without noxious and staining fumes from gas lamps or candles (see how the power grid for transmission and distribution of electricity works).
However, DC has its drawbacks as it tended to be limited in range as it was susceptible to energy loss (as heat) as it moved across the wires carrying the electricity (wires could be modeled as resistors, which generate what's called Joule heating when current passes through it). Many of the clients who employed DC had to be located within one mile of the DC generators as a result. The voltage was also low voltage since Edison positioned it as "safe" and worry-free from electrocution.
George Westinghouse and Nikola Tesla (who ironically was Edison's secretary) challenged Edison and championed AC current.
AC pertains to the alternating direction of flow of electricity from source to load. Periodically, the current moves in one direction, then flows in the opposite direction. If you were to look at an AC current on an oscilloscope, you would see a sine wave wiggling about zero volts in the vertical middle (i.e. the mean or average).
It turned out that AC had many benefits and it allowed engineers to capitalize on breakthroughs at the time. This included Tesla's induction motor (which exploited Faraday's Law to convert magnetic fields into an AC electrical current - the basis of most generators today) as well as William Stanley's commercial transformer (which allowed the ability to "step-up" or "step-down" AC current - the basis for transmission of electricity over long distances and overcoming line losses) among others.
Edison tried to vilify AC as dangerous. He even encouraged capital punishment to use AC for electric chairs to make the public associate AC with death and thus turn to Edison's "safer" DC.
After several years of fighting a public relations, legislative, financial, and technological battles, it turned out that Niagara Falls would play a crucial role in tilting the battle of AC versus DC in favor of AC.
The falls was like the scene for the climax of the epic battle between AC and DC. Both camps saw the powerful waterfall as a means to demonstrate the superiority of one technology over the other. The stage was set for numerous power companies to try to divert water upstream from the falls and route them to turbines which in turn generated the electricity.
Edison's limited range DC meant customers had to be close to the falls to attain the benefits of the DC generators he championed. This is the basis for what's known as distributed generation, where users had to be located close to the source of the power though you could have multiple generators each serving a localized community in a de-centralized network.
Meanwhile, the Tesla/Westinghouse camp were able to directly use the AC generated by the turbines spun by the force of the Niagara River diversions, step up the voltages with a transformer (up to hundreds of thousands of volts), send it long distances (to Buffalo nearly 30 miles away and eventually to Manhattan where there's Broadway and Wall Street), and step down the voltages with a transformer to a more usable form for lights and eventually other inventions to come like machines (for manufacturing), radios, televisions, calculators, etc.

While the hydroelectric schemes at Niagara Falls weren't the first to demonstrate Tesla's generation motors or that it was possible to use hydro for electricity, it was the first of its kind for industrial use.
Thus, the stage was set for the adoption of AC, which eventually paved the way for energy monopolists (like Samuel Insull), federal involvement in regulating (and in many cases enhancing monopolies) of electricity, standardizing the electricity (so you could plug your electronics in one area and it would still work elsewhere in the country; our current American standard is 120V AC oscillating at 60Hz), and the expansion of the electricity grid across the Nation as well as the world.
In essence, the AC current paved the way for centralized generation and consequent distribution and transmission of electricity to customers. Thus, the energy utilities started to gain influence and power, which still remains to this day.
Today, we take for granted that we plug in our electronics to the wall socket and get electricity to power our computers, chargers, TVs, lights, microwaves, refrigerators, etc. Yet it was a waterfall that was instrumental in the eventual adoption of our electricity grid, and thus changed our lives forever.
Now while Edison ultimately lost the technological battle between AC and DC, he might end up getting the last laugh as environmental, political, and economic pressures are steering the electricity industry back towards de-centralized distributed generation (though not totally in favor of low voltage DC as Edison would've liked). This opens the possibility for clean renewable energy (solar, wind, geothermal, wave, etc.) to compete with energy utility monopolies for power generation and distribution (which is currently by coal-fired plants, natural gas, nuclear, and hydroelectric) by being more efficient, environmentally friendly, and cheaper. Whether this happens sooner rather than later largely depends on all the backroom dealings, money exchanges, promises, and debating amongst government and industry interests (this includes lobbyists and politicians taking money from industry) who make the decisions as to how the Nation moves forward on this matter.

Electricity - The Past and The Future

Electricity is a necessary and integral part of our daily lives. It allows us to light our homes and our streets. It keeps us cool in the summer, warm in the winter and allows us to power a wide array of gadgets. Electricity is the force that powers all of our lives.
Even though electricity is so important to us, it still remains somewhat of an enigma. Most of us give little thought to its very presence, let alone contemplate its history or future. Today we are going to rectify that situation by not only giving you the history of this vital force of nature but also by giving you an overview of how electricity is going to change our lives in the very near future.
The History Of Electricity
It is now commonly believed that electrical forces were harnessed by mankind, albeit on a very limited scale, as early as the first century A.D. This belief has been fostered since 1938, when William Konig discovered earthenware objects that were believed to have been used as the first batteries. These artifacts were made of terracotta and contained both a copper cylinder and an iron cylinder inside. It is believed that the ancient people in this area filled these pots with either lemon juice or vinegar, used as a weak electrolyte. This would strip electrons from one metal post and depositing it on the other metal post, thus creating an electric current. Because of this potential for electric current, these artifacts have since been dubbed Baghdad batteries.
Even though the ancients may have had a basic understanding of electrical properties, it wouldn't be until the seventeenth century until scientists really began to investigate the seemingly magical properties of electricity. This is when an English scientists named William Gilbert really began looking into the properties of electricity with a series of experiments that produced static electricity by applying friction to a piece of amber. William Gilbert would go on to coin the word "electricus", a Latin word that means "like amber", and would later evolve into the word electricity.
Research into the properties and applications of electricity would continue at a snail's pace until the nineteenth century when some of the greatest minds in the world began to refine the principles and generation of electricity. Some of the people who helped revolutionize this field included Nikola Tesla, Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas Edison, George Westinghouse and Lord Kelvin. These great minds transformed electricity from a mere intellectual curiosity into the defined scientific principle that it is today, thereby transforming the entire world.

The Future Of Electricity
Having established the long and illustrious history of electricity, let's turn our attention to the future. What new advances can we expect to see in this field? Quite a few, actually. Let's look at what electricity is likely to be transformed into.
Wireless Power
Wouldn't it be nice to power you laptop without having to worry about charging its batteries or running a television somewhere that isn't close to an outlet? Well, that might just be the future of electricity. Researchers at MIT's Department Of Physics has made significant strides in making this a reality by developing something they call "WiTricity." It works by transferring electricity right over the air like Wi-fi. They have already demonstrated their ability to do this by lighting a light bulb that draws its power over the air rather than through an electrical cord.

All Things Electric!!
It is predicted that in the future electricity will take on an even more prominent role in our lives. It will be used to power anything and everything. This includes combs, brushes, shoes and even articles of clothing. These innovative ideas may further increase our dependence on electricity, but it will also open up new possibilities for us. If you don't believe that electricity will play an increased role in our future lives, then all you have to do is look at the electric car. A few years ago these vehicles were pretty rare but they are now becoming more and more common.

What Is Electricity?

ELECTRICITY :-

Electricity is a form of energy consisting of a flow of electrons. It is a basic part of environment which is actually a secondary energy source made from the conversion of other sources of energy such as coal, natural gas, oil or nuclear power and other sours. Water is a frequent source of generating electricity via use of mechanisms to harness the power of free flowing water such as water falls or rivers.

Obviously any mention of the history of electricity would include lightening. Lightening is a large discharge of electricity which has been created during thunderstorms. Cumulonimbus clouds become charged with electricity, not unlike when you become charged with electricity when you drag your feet across a carpet. Similar to when you touch an uncharged object and release a "shock," so a cloud does when it reaches near enough to something to release the stored static energy.

Generating electricity is typically accomplished by elctro-mechanical generators driving by an alternate fuel source such as steam, fossil fuel, heat from nuclear power or kinetic energy derived from water or wind.

Because electricity can not be easily stored in large quantities to meet demands on national scales, what is needed at specific points must be exactly provided. This requires power companies to pay close attention to peaks and valleys in usage of areas they service. Too much power when it is not needed is then waster and too little causes an entirely different set of issues such as black outs or brown outs which can result in delicate equipment damage

ELECTRIC WIRIRNG :-

Electric wiring is a means by which a consumer of electric energy can operate his items of electrical equipment as and when he wishes. The wiring extends from the consumer's terminals, where it is connected to the electricity supply mains, to the various outlet points such as ceiling roses and wall sockets. The term fixed wiring is often used to distinguish the wiring serving the fixed outlet points from flexible wiring such as that attached to appliances, familiarly known as leads.

Wiring comprises cables together with associated apparatus for control and protection. Cables consist of conductors, insulation and sometimes mechanical protection. The purpose of a conductor is to carry the current, and it is therefore constructed of a material offering little resistance to the flow of electric current, such as copper or aluminum. The conductor is generally in the form of either a single wire or of a group of wires (known as strands) in contact with each other.

The function of insulation is to prevent the current from leaking away from the conductor at places where it is not required to flow. Thus, a material which offers an extremely high resistance to the flow of current is used for the insulation, such as polyvinyl chloride (p.v.c.) or magnesia (mineral).

Mechanical protection may take the form of an integral overall sheath of insulating material or metal, or the cable may be enclosed within a conduit, trunking or duct. Two or more insulated conductors included within a cable and provided with mechanical protection are each described as a core.

The form of protection used largely determines what is described as the system of wiring. Typical systems of wiring include p.v.c-insulated p.v.c.-sheathed cables, insulated cables within conduits (either metallic or nonmetallic), and mineral-insulated metal-sheathed cables.

Systems of wiring should not be confused with methods of wiring, such as the looping-in method employed when wiring is within conduits, and the joint box method applicable to sheathed wiring.

What are the Wiring Regulations?

The I.E.E. Wiring Regulations, or more correctly the Regulations for the Electrical Equipment of Buildings, are principally concerned with the safety of electric wiring and electrical installations generally. They are recognised as a U.K. national code in this respect. The Wiring Regulations Committee of the Institution of Electrical Engineers frames the Regulations and amends them from time to time as necessary in the light of new developments. The Institution also publishes a Guide to the I.E.E. Wiring Regulations which aims to point out some of the reasoning behind the Regulations and their implications in day-to-day terms.

The Regulations relate mainly to requirements for installation, testing and maintenance of consumers' wiring and equipment, but certain requirements for the construction of electrical equipment are included, mainly in the form of references to British Standards. For guidance on good practice in certain aspects of electrical installations beyond the scope of the I.E.E. Regulations, reference can be made to the British Standard Codes of Practice issued by the British Standards Institution.