Let’s start with the age of the British system. The first public electricity generator in the United Kingdom was erected in Godalming, Surrey, in 1881. The Electric Light Act, which was the first public law dealing with electricity delivery, was passed the next year. In the same year, Dr. John Hopkinson, an electrical engineering professor at Kings College, London, and a consultant engineer for the English Edison Electric Light Co., patented his three-wire direct current distribution system.
The Battle of the Currents
Direct current is the flow of electric charge in a single direction, such as in a battery-powered circuit. The flow of electric charge in an alternating current changes direction on a regular basis.
A debate raged in the late 1800s about whether to use an alternating current (AC) or direct current (DC) distribution system. The conflict or war of the currents has been referred to on occasion. In the United Kingdom, Hopkinson and Sir William Thomson (and, starting in 1892, Lord Kelvin) backed DC, whereas Sebastian Ziani de Ferranti and Professor Sylvanus Thompson backed AC.
Because of the ability to employ transformers to step up and down the current, AC won prevailed.
So what was the next development?
Several Acts of Parliament were passed in 1900, giving power firms indefinite rights to supply energy to permitted ventures, as well as for industrial and manufacturing reasons. This is how the industry began: a local government would construct a small power plant. Coke would be brought in by rail to feed the power station, which would be generating and distributing at a specific voltage, such as 2200V.
These council power stations would be interconnected, offering them a great deal of flexibility and supply security. This interconnection’s technology was developing, allowing for larger voltages to be used. Voltages increased from 6.6 kV to 11 kV, 22 kV to 22 kV, 33 kV to 33 kV, 66 kV to 132 kV by the 1920s. As a result, the small municipal generators could be replaced with larger, regional power plants.
National Co-ordination
The Electricity Supply Act of 1926 was the first step toward effective national coordination. The Central Electricity Board was established to concentrate electricity generation in a small number of power plants. A nationwide grid intended to connect these stations, which was fully completed by 1935.
In the 1930s, they connected all of these larger, primarily coal-fired power plants to the 132kV national grid. The locations were decided by the availability of coal, which meant that many of the power stations were built on coalfields or along the Thames’s banks, where coal could be easily transported by barge via the canal network.
Supergrid
By the 1960s, technological advances had increased the transmission voltages that could be achieved (up to 275 kV and subsequently 400 kV), allowing the “Grid” to be superimposed by a “Supergrid.” This system interconnected massive power plants similar to what we see today.
We began to observe a mix of generation, which had an impact on the site of power plants, such as nuclear power plants, which required cooling water from the sea. Instead of transporting coal to the UK’s south, the Supergrid allowed massive power plants to be erected directly on coal fields, with electricity delivered down through transmission cables.
Nationalized Industry
All of the National Grid’s large generators were owned by the Central Electricity Generating Board (CEGB). They supplied energy to twelve local electricity boards (such as the London Electricity Board or the Yorkshire Electricity Board), which converted it to 132kV and sold it to “consumers” in their catchment area.
The 132kV network was no longer the country’s backbone at this point. With the generating equipment removed, the power stations it once connected were most likely only switching points. So, while the lines appeared to be transmission lines, their function was considerably less related to power station connectivity, and they were transferred from the CEGB (founded in 1957) to the distribution firms around 1970.
Privatization of the UK Electricity Network
The system was overhauled after privatization in 1990. To begin, generation was divided between three primary generation businesses, but additional participants were encouraged to join. The CEGB’s transmission system was entrusted to National Grid plc, a regulated business that provided transmission infrastructure and a market place for England and Wales, but did not buy or sell electricity on its own. The twelve electrical firms paid the generation companies for their units of power and National Grid for the transmission of that electricity to their customers.
How does it look today?
In terms of transmission, SSE now serves Northern Scotland, SP Energy Networks serves Southern Scotland, Northern Ireland Electricity serves Northern Ireland, and National Grid serves the remainder of the United Kingdom. SSE distributes to the South of the UK and Northern Scotland, UK Power Networks distributes to the South East, Electricity North West in the North West, Northern Power Grid in the North East, and SP Energy Networks distributes to Southern Scotland and North Wales.
When did electricity become widely available in houses in the United Kingdom?
Electricity was used to light new residences in urban regions of Britain from the 1930s. The National Grid took a long time to electrify the majority of the country, but by the end of the 1930s, the number of dwellings with electricity had risen from 6% in 1919 to two-thirds.
Electric illumination at home was considered as aspirational, as it was hailed as clean, convenient, progressive, and modern (especially when compared to gas, as electricity suppliers would be quick to point out).
The majority of lighting schemes were fairly simple, with only one central light and a few wall lights or plug-in bulbs. Modern, minimalist design was combined with new task lighting for work and home, such as the famous Anglepoise lamp.
Electric lamp stands constructed of cutting-edge materials like urea formaldehyde honored the new milder interior colors made available by cleaner electric lighting.
Did homes in 1910 have electricity?
The general people was finally able to enjoy the rewards of the previous century’s achievements in electrical engineering in the early years of the twentieth century. Many suburban homes had been linked with electricity by 1910, and new electric gadgets were being developed with zeal. Vacuum cleaners and washing machines had just recently been commercially available, and many middle-class families still couldn’t afford them.
Millions of American households were already connected by manual switchboard when the telephone was introduced in 1910. Those without a phone to call their neighbors had to rely on the newspaper for news; radio technology was still in its infancy, and regular broadcasts were still years away.
The age of the airship began in the first years of the twentieth century, with a craze for dirigibles like the Zeppelin and the Wright Brothers’ famous flight at Kitty Hawk in 1903. In 1908, Henry Ford unveiled his groundbreaking Model T, making automobiles accessible and affordable to the general public for the first time.
In 1910, chemistry accelerated at a breakneck pace. With the introduction of the first electric freezers and air-conditioning systems, the world was cooled, while French inventor Georges Claude harnessed neon in glass tubes and launched neon lighting in Paris, permanently transforming the face of sleazy advertising.
Other innovative technologies that made waves a century ago, both influential and inane, included:
Razor blades that can be thrown away
By 1910, the globe was rapidly modernizing, but some of the ordinary items we take for granted today were still only a glimpse in their inventors’ eyes.
Men relied on buttons and women relied on uncomfortable corsets until 1913, when the zipper and contemporary brassiere were developed, giving garment technology a boost. Unfortunate zipper mishaps were likely treated more effectively after the advent of the current Band-Aid seven years later.
Steel rusted until the middle of the decade, when stainless steel introduced a new era of efficient gun barrels and, subsequently, gleaming appliances.
Finally, despite the fact that the pop-up toaster was introduced to the public in 1919, it took almost ten years for its utility to be fully understood. In Missouri, in 1928, the “greatest thing” of the modern age, the one creation against which all others are now measured, sliced bread, was created.
- The Top Ten American Inventions
- 10 Significant Events in History
- Ahead are ten significant innovations.
When did electricity become widely available in homes?
Household electrification in Europe and North America began in the early twentieth century in major cities and areas supplied by electric railroads, and progressed fast until around 1930, when 70% of residences in the United States were electrified.
Rural areas were first electrified in Europe, and the Rural Electric Administration, founded in 1935, provided electrification to rural areas in the United States.
When did electricity come to rural England?
Several Acts of Parliament were issued in 1900, allowing power firms indefinite rights to supply electricity to permitted ventures, as well as for industrial and manufacturing reasons. This is how the industry began: a local government would construct a small power plant. Coke would be brought in by rail to feed the power station, which would be generating and distributing at a specific voltage, such as 2200V.
Privatisation of the UK Electricity Network
The system was overhauled after privatization in 1990. To begin, generation was divided between three primary generation businesses, but additional participants were encouraged to join. The CEGB’s transmission system was entrusted to National Grid plc, a regulated business that provided transmission infrastructure and a market place for England and Wales, but did not buy or sell electricity on its own. The twelve electrical firms paid the generation companies for their units of power and National Grid for the transmission of that electricity to their customers.
Was electricity available in 1912?
In 1882, Thomas Edison’s Pearl Street Station became the first to offer electric service. In 1912, only thirty years later, household electrification was beginning.
The National Electric Light Association, or NELA for short, was the forerunner of today’s Edison Electric Institute. That year, NELA released a book listing the essential appliances for every area.
It said, specifically targeting the rich household:
“The fully wired home has a relentless electric servant-of-all-work on hand; the past few years have witnessed the introduction and refinement of devices for virtually every type of household duty.
When we consider how difficult it is to find qualified and contented domestic help, we may appreciate the importance and practicality of such equipment.”
What country was the first to have electricity?
The streets of the Surrey town of Godalming in the United Kingdom were lit with electric light in late 1881, making it the world’s first public electricity supply.
When were the first electric lights used?
Carbon arc lamps are made up of two carbon rod electrodes that are exposed to the air and are powered by a current-limiting ballast. Touching the rod tips together and then separating them creates an electric arc. The arc that follows generates a white-hot plasma between the rod tips. These lamps are more efficient than filament lamps, but the carbon rods are short-lived and require continual adjustment while in operation because the arc’s strong heat erodes them. The lamps create a lot of ultraviolet light, therefore they need to be ventilated when used indoors, and they need to be protected from direct sunlight because of their intensity.
The carbon arc was the first practical electric light, invented by Humphry Davy about 1805. It was employed commercially for large building and street lighting beginning in the 1870s until it was replaced by incandescent light in the early twentieth century. Carbon arc lights use a lot of energy and create a lot of white light. They are also a light source with a single point. They were used in a few applications that required these features after WWII, such as cinema projectors, stage lighting, and searchlights.
When did gas lights become popular in homes?
Whale oil was a desirable alternative to candles in the early part of the nineteenth century, and kerosene became popular after the Civil War. Gas lighting was first introduced in the early 1800s and became widely used in households by the 1880s. In 1879, Thomas Edison invented the lightbulb, and by the 1930s, electric illumination had become the norm across the United States.
While lighting technology has advanced tremendously over the last century, and decorative elements of fixtures have reflected the fashions of the time, fixture types have stayed relatively stable. By perusing the web store of an experienced antique lighting vendor, you can learn a lot, and some of the items feature stunning craftsmanship.
A lamp hung from the ceiling was prevalent in the parlor level hall in the nineteenth century. It might have been strung on an adjustable chain during the whale oil era. It hung from a pipe during the gaslight period. The flame was protected from wind gusts by the covered sides.
Is it true that electricity was widely used in the 1920s?
Consider what your life would be like if you didn’t have access to electricity. Cooking on wood stoves and heating clothes irons, pumping water by hand, reading and working under kerosene lamps. Until long into the twentieth century, many people in rural America lived like this. The majority of people only got electricity by banding together with their neighbors and joining electrical cooperatives, or co-ops for short.
In the 1880s, inventors such as Thomas Edison, George Westinghouse, and others began to build workable electric power systems. By the 1920s, most American cities and towns had access to electricity, which was provided by either privately owned or public utility corporations. Running lines into the countryside, where there may only be a few people per square mile, appeared to be uneconomical for both investors and taxpayers. Only around 10% of rural America was electrified by 1932, and nearly half of those who were electrified had to purchase their own country-home power plants. This electrical divide exacerbated the disparity in living standards between city and farm, limiting rural Americans’ capacity to participate in the modernization of their country.
Electricity would boost labor efficiency and home comforts in rural areas, encouraging more Americans to stay on their family farms. Franklin D. Roosevelt made rural electrification a campaign issue in 1932, working with Congress to establish the Rural Electrification Administration (REA). Rather than just constructing power systems, the REA provided electric cooperatives with loans that were repaid over a 30-year period. People from the countryside banded together, formed cooperatives, and contributed work to help develop the systems that they eventually came to possess.
Knowing how to use electricity is one thing; having it is another. REA hired experts like Louisan Mamer (1910-2005) from southern Illinois to help people learn the new technology. Mamer and her colleagues traveled around the country for decades, putting on what they called a “electric circus.” They demonstrated how to operate and maintain equipment, cook and do home chores with electricity, and utilize the system safely to those who had never used electricity before.
Mamer grew up on a farm and knows firsthand how difficult rural life can be, as well as how individuals may feel pressured to give up farming. She began teaching home economics and writing on the subject after graduating from the University of Illinois College of Agriculture. Mamer joined REA shortly after it was founded and worked as a Home Electrification Specialist as well as writing training texts and vetting program materials. We have roughly a dozen appliances from Mamer, as well as her paper archives from the 1940s and 1950s that detail much of her work.
The REA’s work was disrupted by World War II. “From the standpoint of raising the living standards of rural America and providing a more efficient form of farm management, one of the most important projects interrupted by the war is the extension of rural electrification,” Roosevelt said when signing the Rural Electrification Bill in September 1944.
President Roosevelt went on to say that rural electrification should be open to all areas, not just those with more resources: “Extensions of rural electrification must be planned in such a way that service can be provided on a per-area basis. In the past, it was far too common for private utility companies to commit to serving primarily the wealthier and more populous rural areas. As a result, families living in less favored and sparsely populated areas were left without services. I believe that our postwar rural electrification initiative should provide agricultural households in the back country with contemporary electric power service.”
The rural communities that founded, built, and now own their cooperatives have reaped the rewards of their efforts. After most of rural America was electrified, the Rural Electric Administration (REA) (now the Rural Utilities Service) continued to endeavor to deliver telephone lines and, eventually, broadband Internet access to the countryside. Hundreds of rural cooperatives continue to supply power and other services to their members around the country. Louisan Mamer and her colleagues would be proud of this legacy.