RELATIVE COST OF THE ELECTRIC LIGHT AND GAS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XIX, Issue 6422, 17 June 1882, Page 7

RELATIVE COST OF THE ELECTRIC LIGHT AND GAS.

Tub Engineer draws a comparison between tho cost of street lighting for a small town with gas and electricity. The plant required to make gas for, let us say 500 street lamps, which will sullico for say live miles of streets, cannot be less than £2,000. Kach lamp will use five cubic feet per hour, or in all 2,500 cubic feet, and taking gas at ss. per 1000 ft., the cost of lighting will, therefore, be 12s (id. per hour. But to tins must be added something for cleaning, lighting, and repairing the lamps, so that tho whole cost will'be considerably in excess of 12s. lid. per hour. But for 12s. lid. per hour the electric arc gives us tlio light of 04,000 candles, while the gas gives us tho light of 10,000 candles, if the best possible burners are used. Thus estimated, in terms of candle power, pas is actually G' l times dearer than the electric light. It may be argued, and with some force, that 500 street lamps will he, on tho whole, better adapted to the wants of a small town than thirty-two arc lights. Bnt it does not appear to be necessary to use lamps of 2,000-eandlc power. At the Crystal l'alaco is shown a street lamp which appears to be just what is wanted. We have nut measured its intensity, butitis probably less than 1000-candle po#fr. Sixty-four such lamps would, if judiciously distributed, light up a small town very well indeed.