Subject: Edison's Rural Home



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(683)   Mon 17 Jun 91 21:32                             
By: Don Kulha
To: All

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From Home Power Magazine #8 (Dec88-Jan89):
 
Edison's Rural House

   When Thomas A Edison was asked whether the blessings of electric 
power could be extended to rural homes unreached by utility, he 
turned his attention to the problem and came up with an answer like 
gen set plus.
   A demonstration project called the Edison Twentieth Century 
Suburban Residence was opened to the public in 1912 in Lewellyn 
Park, NJ with electricity provided from twenty seven 150 amp/hr 
batteries kept charged by a 4hp gas engine generator (housed in the 
stable).
 
   The house must have been a marvel. Sixty-four light fixtures and 
lamps gave it a degree of illumination rare in those days, even in 
electrified city homes. The list f appliances is impressive even by 
1988 standards: vacuum cleaner, washer, ringer, iron, 
refridgerator, stove, broiler, toaster, perk, teapot, egg-boiler, 
baby bottle warmer and hot shave mug. The bedrooms had bed warmers, 
the billiard room had a movie machine, the living room had a 
phonograph and the library had a dictating machine. Chicks were 
hatched in an incubator-brooder in the stable.
 
   Edison saw the efficency and economy of storing power from a 
part-time source in batteries and having it available on a full 
time basis.
 
(Originally condensed from the 1982 issue of the now extinct SOLAR 
AGE magazine)

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