TIME SWITCHES

Feilding Star, Volume 8, Issue 2426, 11 May 1931, Page 8

TIME SWITCHES

OX WATER HEATERS ROWER BOARD 'ENGrXEER EXRI.AIXS In a special report tn the Power Board to-day, Mr \\ . A. Waters, Engineer io the Mann watu-Oroim Po#Cer Boaid, said with regard to ihe installation of time switches in houses, some consumers had an objection. to the. switch being' put in, but when the matter was explained they seemed io be satisfied. As at preseni set, the time switches cut off lor 2.V hours per day, that is ii —l2 noon, and 4.30 —6 p.m. or s—-5 —- 6.30 p.m. thus giving- a 21 h hours service The matter of giving a continuous service to water heaters is not good business, ns the water heating load used by these few favoured consumers must come on the peak loads, when the lines anrl transformers could be more profitably employed on other loads, while the return per kilowatt is low to the Board, and the cost to consumer higher. Any well insulated cylinder will not drop in temperature more than 5 degrees in 1 V hours if the clock cuts it off tv hen it was boiling (,2i2deg.), and of course there will be a lesser drop in temperature at .lower values, so that on this account the consumer would rarely notice this difference. Tn regard to cost, the consumer can get more hot water at a given annual, sum with the time switch rate than he can with the continuous rate. Example:—■ 600 watts continuous service £l2 k-w., y'.y 4 s per year. Units per week, 100.8. 700 watt element, time switch, £h 15s per year (,£o k.w.). Units per week 112.875. With time switch consumer gets 12 per cent, more heating for (",* per cent. less money. Very few Boards in New Zealand will allow a continuous service on water heating, and as we never get any diversity on the load., 1 consider it should be deleted from the tariff.