2002-03-02 If you ask the average electricity user (they, them) how much energy they consume monthly, they wouldn't have a clue. They can look for it on the bill to see what it is, but I doubt they would even know or understand what they are looking at.
All they know is the cost to them. If they pay by budget, they pay the same amount all year, except in July or August, where an adjustment is made. If they don't pay by budget, and their usage is pretty much constant during the year, then they pay no mind. If all of a sudden there is a large unaccountable cost that doesn't seem right, then they worry about what they used. But, whether the usage is measured in joules or Watt-hours, the average consumer wouldn't have a clue as to how to calculate energy usage if his/her life depended on it. The concept of ohms law is unknown to the majority of energy users. This is like fuel consumption. No one really measures it or calculates it unless there is a problem. If you fill the tank once a week and at the time you fill it, the gauge is reading about the same where it always has been, you don't worry. You worry only when a problem occurs. Those who tend to know their consumption usually get it off the EPA sticker. I don't think the average consumer would even notice if the unit of measure was changed to joules. Except if there was a cost increase. You are assuming the population is math numerate, which most are not. They may have been forced to take courses in school, but most hated it and learned it long enough to take the test. Unless your a professional of some type, where math such as algebra is used, you have long forgotten (if you ever knew) anything you were taught (if you ever were). I would prefer the joule, as it is an SI unit. But, I'm not going to hold my breath for my electric utility to start billing me in joules or racing out to my home to change my meter. John ----- Original Message ----- From: "Joseph B. Reid" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "U.S. Metric Association" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Sunday, 2002-03-03 10:08 Subject: [USMA:18506] Re: Metrication and goal setting > One kilowatt-hour = 3.6 megajoules. > > Bill Hooper wrote in USMA 18503: > > >on 3/2/2002 7:38 PM, Joseph B. Reid at [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > > > >> As for electricity consumption kWh is more comprehensible > >> than J, again because we think of time more in terms of hours than seconds. > > > >I can't agree. Joules measures the amount of energy we've used. There is no > >reason why that has to be considered in relation to how fast we used it (the > >power in watts or kilowatts) or how much time it took for us to use it. > > > >That would be like measuring distance in kilometre-minutes per hour, > >found by multiplying the speed (in kilometrs per hour) by the driving time > >in minutes. It could be done, but when you get an answer (say 825 km-min/h, > >from driving at 55 km/hr for 15 min) how does it relate to how far you've > >gone? (It is13.75 km.) How does 825 km-min/h tell you any more clearly that > >you've gone 13.75 km? > > > >Similarly, 55 kW means you use 55 kJ each second, so if you use energy at > >that rate for 15 minutes (which is 900 s), you find you have used > >55 000 kJ (or 55 MJ) of energy. That value can be related to the heat energy > >produced (measured in joules) or mechanical energy produced (in joules) or > >potential energy of water pumped uphill (in joules), none of which is easy > >to compare with 13.75 kilowatt-hours. Joules (and of course kilojoules and > >megajoules) are by far the more comprehensible way to measure electrical > >energy. > > > >It is BECAUSE we measure elecrtrical energy in kilowatt-hours that most > >people find te measurement of energy to be incomprehensible. Most people > >don't even know the difference between a kilowatt and a kilowatt-hour > >because they confuse the two. > > > >Regards, > >Bill Hooper > > > >+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ > >Do It Easy, Do It Metric! > >+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ > > Joseph B.Reid > 17 Glebe Road West > Toronto M5P 1C8 TEL. 416-486-6071 >
