On 2009/04/01, at 4:17 PM, Martin Vlietstra wrote:
“What is the rationale for billing in kilowatt-hours?”
To create a level playing field with the electrical industry.
Dear Martin,
With respect, using kilowatt-hours to bill people for electricity and
for gas does not, In my opinion, create a level playing field. I think
that many people have difficulty distinguishing between kW and kWh and
between their related physical quantities power and energy. It seems
to me that power and energy are more clearly identified when power is
measured in kW and energy is measured in kJ (rather than power
measured in kW and energy measured in kW.h).
Consider an example where natural gas is supplied directly to your
home with an energy content of (say) 53 MJ/kg compared to the same gas
supplied to an electricity turbine to produce electrical energy that
is then transmitted through the grid to your home. The gas that is
supplied to you directly should not be compared to the energy supplied
as electrical energy because of the production and the transmission
losses via this pathway.
Cheers,
Pat Naughtin
PO Box 305 Belmont 3216,
Geelong, Australia
Phone: 61 3 5241 2008
Metric system consultant, writer, and speaker, Pat Naughtin, has
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