Monday, December 21, 2015

55 Interesting Facts about Energy- Randomhistory.com



  1. Only 10% of energy in a light bulb is used to create light. Ninety percent of a light bulb’s energy creates heat. Compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs), on the other hand, use about 80% less electricity than conventional bulbs and last up to 12 times as long.g
  2. Refrigerators in the U.S. consume about the same energy as 25 large power plants produce each year.e
  3. There are two basic groups of energy: renewable energy (biomass, geothermal, solar, water, and wind power) and nonrenewable (fossil fuels coal, oil, natural gas, nuclear). Three quarters of the world’s energy is generated by burning fossil fuels.h
  4. Enough sunlight reaches the earth’s surface each minute to satisfy the world’s energy demands—for an entire year.d
  5. The amount of energy Americans use doubles every 20 years.g

 read more:
55 Interesting Facts about Energy

Wednesday, November 25, 2015

'Plant Lamp' Draws Electricity from Soil -Discovery.com


Inspired by real and immediate problems in remote areas of the country, researchers at Peru’s Universidad de Ingeniería y Tecnología (UTEC) have developed a remarkable piece of technology — a low-cost LED lamp that uses plants and soil as its batteries.
The delightfully named Plantalámpara — or “plant lamp” — technically draws its power from microorganisms in the soil that are released by plants as they grow.

Tuesday, November 24, 2015

What is dirty Electricity ? - source Care2.com


Source: care2.com
Dirty electricity is a growing issue that can be easily misunderstood due to its complexity.
To help clear up any confusion, here are some answers to common questions about dirty electricity.
What is dirty electricity?
Electricity enters homes and other buildings at a constant frequency, typically 50 or 60 hertz (Hz,) depending on which country you live in. This is considered “clean” energy as it enters your home.
The problem starts when the electricity reaches appliances, computers or other electronic devices. Many of these devices require a transformer to convert the voltage and/or current, which disrupts the flow of electricity.
These power disruptions create irregular, high frequency surges of “dirty” electricity that travel along a building’s normal wiring, which should only contain 50 or 60 Hz electricity. The surges are also known as high frequency voltage transients.
Is dirty electricity harmful to our health?
Electrical wires and any devices that use electricity emit electromagnetic fields (EMF), also known as electromagnetic radiation (EMR). These fields will easily pass through most common materials. They are strongest close to the source and diminish with distance.


Read more: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/what-is-dirty-electricity-and-is-it-harmful.html#ixzz3sPMQIDLs

Monday, November 23, 2015

Saudis use nine times more electricity than fellow Arabs | Arab News





Saudis use nine times more electricity than fellow Arabs

 Published Wednesday Feb 19 2014

 Saudi individuals use on average nine times more electricity than their
fellow Arab counterparts in Egypt, Algeria, Sudan and Morocco, according
to a report published on Tuesday.

These countries have 185.6 million
people, seven times more than Saudi Arabia. Egypt has a population of
79.39 million, Algeria 37.76 million, Sudan 36.43 million and Morocco
32.06 million. Saudi Arabia has a population of 28.4 million.

The report by the economic reporting unit of Al-Eqtisadiah newspaper stated
that an individual in Saudi Arabia consumed on average 8,161 kilowatt an
hour in 2011, compared to 951 kilowatt an hour by individuals in the
four largest Arab countries.

A previous report by Al-Eqtisadiah
stated that Saudi consumption of electricity rose by 3 percent in 2011
and 9 percent in 2012. The housing sector consumed 50 percent of the
Kingdom's total electricity production.

 The energy sector is subsidized by the state, with the Kingdom using an
estimated 4 million barrels of oil a day to power the country.

In the Kingdom, air conditioners consume 51 percent of all electricity
production. This is also because local air conditioners have a low
energy efficiency ratio (EER). The EER is the ratio of the cooling
capacity, in British thermal units (BTU) per hour, to the power input in
watts. The higher the EER rating, the more efficient the air
conditioner.

READ MORE........


Saudis use nine times more electricity than fellow Arabs | Arab News

for more news on Electricity from Arab News 

Wednesday, November 18, 2015

Hot jobs: Future for electricians is wired for growth -Indianapolis Star





“You can join the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
(IBEW) Apprenticeship program, or you can get training through
Associated Builders & Contractors Inc.,” he said. “You can also get
on-the-job training through a private employer.”

For those with the skills and the training, electrical work offers job security as well
as many opportunities in a number of environments, including
communications, residential, commercial, industrial and motor controls.
“There isn’t much you can do without electricity in one form or another,” Davenport said.

Question: What does your job entail on a daily basis?

Answer:
“I work in residential, so it can change with the weather. It’s pretty
strong from spring to fall, then it slows sometimes in the winter. Being
a residential electrician means not having a typical day. You could be
installing lights to begin your day and be troubleshooting or upgrading a
panel by the end of it. It’s rarely monotonous. The hours vary. A lot
of times, you have to work with the client’s schedule. You might be at
work from dawn to dusk some days. I’ve taken service calls at 3 or 4 in
the morning.”



Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: “Being able to help someone when they need it most, and enjoying what I do for a living. I love my job.”

Q: What do you enjoy least about your job?

A: “Taking too long to diagnose or repair a problem.”

Q: What skills and characteristics are needed to be successful in your line of work?

A:“You definitely have to be mechanically inclined, be a good problem
solver and be able to think on your feet and outside the box. You also
have to be sociable and be able to read people and adjust accordingly.”

Q: What advice would you give someone who’s considering going into the electrician field?

A: “Take pride in your work and do it correctly the first time.”

Q: What do you think is the employment outlook for electricians?

A:“I think the need for good electricians will continue to grow. With the
continuing development of alternative energy sources, I think there
will be a lot of opportunity in that field.”


Link to source:

Hot jobs: Future for electricians is wired for growth

Hot Jobs: Electrician MaryJo Walker is wired to detail -source Democrat & Chronicle




Precision is key when you’re installing wires.

“Electricians need to have a strong attention to detail, because you need to make sure
you’re not mixing them up,” said MaryJo Walker, who entered the trade
because she wanted to work with “both my hands and my brain.”

The 34-year-old from Greece added: “They can be as small as a human hair to
the size of an arm. You need to be accurate because it makes a big
difference.”

Employment prospects for electricians are growing
faster than the average for all occupations, the result of homes and
businesses increasingly requiring more wiring. In the Finger Lakes
region, they’re projected to grow 8 percent between 2010 and 2020, with
70 annual openings, according to the New York State Department of Labor.

 In addition to knowing how to install lights, switches, plugs and other devices, electricians must have foresight, said Walker, who does contract work for Rochester’s International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 86. “If you’re going to run a pipe through a building, you need to know where it’s going to go and what it’s going to look like when it’s done, and you need to take measurements and do calculations for that,” she explained


 read more.......

 Link:

Hot Jobs: Electrician MaryJo Walker is wired to detail

A New Website elekrikersverige.com Launched For Finding Best Electricians In Stockholm, Gothenburg, And Malmo - Press Release - Digital Journal




Elektrikersverige.com is a new website that has been launched
recently in order to assist people in Sweden to find and locate the best
of the elektriker (electricians) in three of the major cities of Sweden
namely Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmo.



Electricians are one of those service providers which are most often
required by people all around. But since electricity and issues related
to it require a highly experienced person to handle it and who is an
expert, it is a must for everyone to find and locate the best
electrician around them. With so many service providers available, it
does become somewhat tricky to find the best of them. For the people of
Sweden’s Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmo though, things are expected to
get easier as a new website named elektrikersverige.com has been
launched that will assist them in finding the best elektriker in and
around their locality in just a few seconds.



read more ........



A New Website elekrikersverige.com Launched For Finding Best Electricians In Stockholm, Gothenburg, And Malmo - Press Release - Digital Journal

Friday, November 13, 2015

Austria uses 100 percent renewable electricity: Facts you should know : Did you know?







The 100 percent electricity in Austria's largest state is
generated using renewable sources of energy. This was announced by the
State's Governor Erwin Proell on November 5, 2015.


Here are some facts you might find interesting about the project:

  • A
    total of 63 percent of Lower Austria's electricity now comes from
    hydroelectric power. Another 26 percent is from wind energy, nine
    percent from biomass and two percent from solar energy
  • Lower
    Austria ranks fourth with regard to population density even though it
    contains Vienna's suburbs; this is due to large areas of land being
    predominantly agricultural. Lower Austria includes the country's capital
    Vienna, which has a population of 1.6 million
read more.........


Austria uses 100 percent renewable electricity: Facts you should know : Did you know?

Piedmont Tech HVAC Instructor Finds Enjoyment in Teaching - GwdToday - Greenwood, SC



Electricity has always been in Wade Smith’s blood. It’s been passed down in his family over three generations. And he is sharing that knowledge with the
heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) technology students at
Piedmont Technical College. 


Smith is the third-generation owner of Cullum Electric and
Mechanical. He never had any questions of what he wanted to do. He holds
a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Clemson University.

“Electricity has always interested me,” Smith said. “I toyed with the
idea of fiber optics because of a class I took at Clemson, but I like
volts and amps.”

 A help wanted ad in the newspaper caught his eye 10 years ago. Piedmont
Tech’s HVAC department was looking for an adjunct instructor to teach
electricity in the program. Smith knew David Kibler, HVAC program
director at the time, through the program’s advisory committee. The idea
of teaching interested him, so he applied.


read more......

Piedmont Tech HVAC Instructor Finds Enjoyment in Teaching - GwdToday - Greenwood, SC

Electricity shortages an affront to quality education - The Zimbabwean





Modern education requires the use of ICTs which are powered by electricity. The shortages of electricity blighting our country has made computers and other ICT gadgets useless and inoperable tools.

Research for assignments and teaching material for teachers has been compromised
grossly thus negatively impacting on the quality of the teaching and
learning process.

Pupils are currently sitting for examinations including practical
subjects like chemistry, metal work, and food science among others.

The power shortages have become a headache for teachers to effectively
teach these subjects, let alone run the exams. Pupils on the other hand
can no longer read during night time as there is no lighting.

Those who dare are now using candle light which result in long-term eye sight complications.

Households and schools are now using generators as a mitigation
strategy. This comes with serious environmental consequences and it is
at variance with the global drive of sustainable development. Noise from
generators is unbearable for learners and fumes from the same can cause
health problems.

read more......





Electricity shortages an affront to quality education - The Zimbabwean

Lineman program accepts first woman - News - Dodge City, KS - Dodge City, KS




By Gloria Tucker / Dodge City Daily Globe
Posted Nov. 13, 2015 at 1:01 AM
Dodge City, Kan.


For the first time the Dodge City Community College Electrical and Power Transmission program welcomes a female student.
"I've
been teaching this program five years," instructor Dan Hopkins said.
"This is the first time I've had a female student because this
occupation is 98 percent male. There are not very many women who even
think about getting into this. I've seen female linemen as far back as
the late '80s and early '90s, but they are few and far between."
In
the program students learn the basics of electricity, climbing and
building power lines. In the first semester, they learn how to climb 40-
and 80-foot poles with a fall arrest belt and how to set those poles in
the ground. Certificates are earned in one year and an associate's
degree in two years.
"They can spend two to three
hours at a time up a pole, so they have to be broke into that," Hopkins
said. "The female body is built pretty well for climbing. What females
sometimes lack is upper body strength. You use a lot of upper body
strength once you get up the pole and start working. I know some women
who got into line work and then as years went by went into other fields
like metering and substation work. That pays very well. It really is an
occupation females should look into because they can branch out."
Dodge City native Vanessa Ybarra, 19, said she chose to enter the program because she saw an opportunity to be challenged.

read more........

Lineman program accepts first woman - News - Dodge City Daily Globe - Dodge City, KS - Dodge City, KS

Teachers, students take the Eco-Schools Challenge | VailDaily.com




 It’s Thursday after school, and a group of fourth- and fifth-grade students huddle around a “Kill-A-Watt” meter diligently recording how much energy a classroom fan
consumes when it’s running. At Brush Creek Elementary, fourth-grade science teacher Drew Musser goes above and beyond his regular teaching responsibilities to help this
special bunch of students make a difference at their school. They call
themselves B.E.S.T., the Bobcat Energy Saving Team.
They are part of a growing company of teachers and student leaders in
the Eagle Valley collaborating with Walking Mountains Science Center to
take the Eco-Schools challenge and problem-solve ways to save energy and
reduce waste in their schools. These task forces or Eco-Teams work
tirelessly to make their schools and our community more sustainable.



Teachers, students take the Eco-Schools Challenge | VailDaily.com

Thursday, November 12, 2015

Group blog project for teaching English for elecrticity TVTC students

    Hi all ! 

    If your major is in electricity and you want to participate in an educational group blog on ESP English for students studying Electricity at our TVTC  technical colleges,   this blog is for you.

    If you are an English teacher who is teaching students in the electricity department and wants to participate in a blog experiment, this blog is for you.

    If you are students studying electricity and want to improve your technical English, this blog is for you.

    the project is about sharing, peering and crowd-sourcing  to create a blog to help students studying technical English for electricity.

    Ways everybody can help:

    1- visit the blog

    2- join the blog
    become a member in the blog

    3- invite your students to join the blog.
    Find topics in the blog which you find suitable for your students. Encourage them to comment in English using their real names and college names.

    4- Share with us your feedback
    5- You can become an author on the blog and you can add material directly on the blog.

    we can show you how to do that. It is a very simple process.

    This is part of our experimental teaching. We are trying to collaborate online to create something meaningful.

     Help us built it.

    Sincerely
    Samir Fatani

Interesting facts about electricity



 
  • Only 10% of energy in a light bulb is used to create light. Ninety percent of a light bulb’s energy creates heat. Compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs), on the other hand, use about 80% less electricity than conventional bulbs and last up to 12 times as long.
  • If a person yelled for 8 years, 7 months, and 6 days, he or she would produce enough energy to heat one cup of coffee.
  • If you had a light bulb on the moon connected to a switch in your bedroom, it would take only 1.26 seconds for that bulb to light up, 238,857 miles away.
  • If you travel as fast as electricity, (about 300,000 kilometers = 186,411.358 miles per second the speed of light), you could go around the world 8 times in the time it takes to turn on a light switch.
 read more........

Question on @Quora: What are some interesting facts about electricity?

Who discovered electricity?



Electricity is a form of energy and it occurs in nature, so it was not “invented.” As to who discovered it, many misconceptions abound. Some give credit to Benjamin Franklin for discovering electricity, but his experiments only helped establish the connection between lightning and electricity, nothing more.
The truth about the discovery of electricity is a bit more complex than a man flying his kite. It actually goes back more than two thousand years.

read more........

http://www.universetoday.com/82402/who-discovered-electricity/

The Great Energy Challenge blog



Link:
http://energyblog.nationalgeographic.com/tag/electricity/