Our Bathwater Has Become One Of N.Z.'s Major Problems

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume LXXVII, Issue 14858, 21 December 1948, Page 4

Our Bathwater Has Become One Of N.Z.'s Major Problems

Huge Drain On Electric Power Hot Showers Mean Big Saving The major problem in electrical supply is coping with load increases, said the electrical engineer of the 1 Wellington City Council (Mr R, S. Maunder) in his address to the In--1 stitution of Engineers, as retiring chairman. Of baths from the electric heater and radiators in homes and city buildings Mr Maunder said much, reinforced with calculations of the burden that providing bath water has become to power and distribution engineers. The position, he said, is dominated by domestic consumers, as they use 60 per cent, of the city’s consumption. “The supply of electricity for hot water purposes is presenting the whole country with one of its major , problems,” said Mr Maunder. Loss On Every Bath “Probably* about one-quarter of this huge sum is being spent to supply inefficient electric waterheating systems, at tariffs far below present costs, but tariffs, which, in general, are not allowed to be increased.” A moderate bath, he said, required three units of electricity without any losses, and with losses, from poor installations and in distribution, say, 4.5 units. So, allowing only two baths a week for each member of the total population—and the potential demand was for a complete electric hot water supply to the whole community—the annual generation for this purpose alone would be 800,000,000 units a year (more than a third of the total generation of hydro-electric power in New Zealand in ,1946). To deal with this problem a draft standard specification had been prepared, and, if adopted, would partly improve the efficiency of new installations. The remaining problem was to improve existing installations and to educate users how to economise in the use of hot water. He proposed solutions: Higher efficiencies in water heaters, higher rates, and economy in the use of hot water. “One .major method of economy, if the facilities could be installed and the public persuaded to use it, would be the use of showers in place of baths. The saving in this direction would be 50 per cent, to 60 per cent, of the hot water now used for baths. “Another major economy would be the increased use of sink units in kitchens. “Another major factor affecting consumers’ demand is the radiator. The sale of radiators has been restricted for six years, but if these restrictions were removed while the shortage of fuel and gas remains, and the community has a high purchasing power then the increase in demand from residences, shops and offices would be very great during the winter months, and involve a very large capital outlay in generating plant and distribution equipment. “The lack of new office buildings and the great difficulty and cost of installing fuel-heated hot water radiators in existing buildings has greatly accentuated the problem,” said Mr Maunder. “The alternatives appear to be more regulations and restrictions for years to come, or regulating consumption by price increases in electricity.”