A History of the Coal Power Plant
Modern power plants were created because of the invention of Thomas Edison’s light bulb. Edison realized that to make his invention practical, he would need to find a way to power many of them. The first power plant was built in London, and it started operation in January 1882. This plant was initiated by Thomas Edison, but was managed by his partner, Edward Johnson. The next power plant was built in New York City in September 1882, which provided 59 people with 110 V total. Also established by Edison, this station provided electricity to lower Manhattan.This station provided DC power, which would eventually be replaced with AC power because it could handle only low voltage. An example of this was that people needed to live within one mile of the power station to be able receive power because of the power loss through the cables.
In the late 1880s, there was a “war” between whether AC (alternating current) or DC (direct current) should be used to provide electricity to people through power plants. Edison wanted to use DC power because he had been using it since he invented the light bulb and he didn’t want to lose all the money he earned from his patent. DC power worked well for incandescent bulbs which were the mainly used bulbs at the time. DC systems could also easily be used with large batteries to store power. In early AC systems, there was a flaw which caused all lights on a circuit to lose power when one light on that circuit lost power. Many European companies wanted to use AC power because the company Ganz Works had electrified the entire city of Rome using AC power. Using AC power, electricity could be distributed to people farther than one mile from the power plant. Eventually AC power won and has been used for most electronic devices since, including wall plugs.
The Pearl Street Station was only 50 x 100 feet, but provided 85 with electricity, at a total of 400 lamps, for only approximately 24¢ per kilowatt hour . Eventually, this plant grew to serve 508 customers with a total of 10,164 electric lamps. This station was destroyed by a fire in 1890, which destroyed all but one engine, which is kept in a museum in Dearborn, Michigan.
In the late 1880s, there was a “war” between whether AC (alternating current) or DC (direct current) should be used to provide electricity to people through power plants. Edison wanted to use DC power because he had been using it since he invented the light bulb and he didn’t want to lose all the money he earned from his patent. DC power worked well for incandescent bulbs which were the mainly used bulbs at the time. DC systems could also easily be used with large batteries to store power. In early AC systems, there was a flaw which caused all lights on a circuit to lose power when one light on that circuit lost power. Many European companies wanted to use AC power because the company Ganz Works had electrified the entire city of Rome using AC power. Using AC power, electricity could be distributed to people farther than one mile from the power plant. Eventually AC power won and has been used for most electronic devices since, including wall plugs.
The Pearl Street Station was only 50 x 100 feet, but provided 85 with electricity, at a total of 400 lamps, for only approximately 24¢ per kilowatt hour . Eventually, this plant grew to serve 508 customers with a total of 10,164 electric lamps. This station was destroyed by a fire in 1890, which destroyed all but one engine, which is kept in a museum in Dearborn, Michigan.
Drawings of the Pearl Street Station
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