In this article, we trace six pivotal moments in the long, disruptive march of electrification — showing how electricity gained ground and why it is, once again, gaining momentum. We draw on rarely used data sets from Pinto, Fouquet and IIASA, considering both useful as well as final energy.
by Sol3dweller
2 comments
This is a key-aspect, that I think is often overlooked:
>Though the outcome may now appear inevitable, electrification in these sectors was fiercely contested at the time. Gas lobbyists resisted electric lighting; city leaders hesitated; electric motors were dismissed as too weak for heavy industry. New technologies were considered too expensive, too complex, or simply implausible — until their advantages became undeniable.
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>This first wave of electrification showed how quickly change could unfold as soon as new electric technologies outperformed the old — not just on performance, but on price. And when that new technology is also more efficient, as electricity tends to be, energy demand can fall even as energy services grow.
It’s interesting watching bits of history echo.
70 years ago it was street lighting. One unit of electricity could replace three to four units of gas so overall energy requirement for street lighting fell massively as the world electrified and gas street lighting was rapidly phased out.
Today, one unit of electricity running a heat pump for residential heating can provide the same heat as three to four units of gas….. which hopefully means the graphs will follow the same trend as street lighting.
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