Better Farming - August 2016

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46 Farm News First > Better Farming August 2016
HOWIT WORKS
Some of us older folk remember
when “hydro,” that is electrical
energy – or light and power
– came to the home farm. It was a
time of celebration. We did not have
to depend on coal oil, lamps and
lanterns. But, more importantly, we
did not have to crank the cream
separator and pump water for the
cattle, horses and pigs. Life on the
farm became much easier and more
enjoyable. We actually got most of the
amenities that our city cousins had
enjoyed for many years.
Fast-forward 25 years. As an
agricultural/mechanical engineer, I
worked for Ontario Hydro promoting
the increased use of electrical energy
on all Ontario farms. Those were the
days of numerous 40-cow dairy
herds, an increasing size of swine
herds and the introduction of large
broiler and layer hen operations. We
actually encouraged increased, but
efficient, use of electrical energy – as
long as individual farms kept their
kilowatt (kW) demand below 50. Life
was good. We introduced the central-
ized metering system so that the
expansion of farm enterprises could
be achieved more economically.
As population increased, along
with affluence, electrical energy
consumption per household/
farmstead increased dramatically. In
other words, demand exceeded
supply. Rationing of electrical
energy became necessary primarily
as a result of major residential
expansion and the use of central air
conditioning in almost all commer-
cial and residential buildings. In the
1980s, the summer electrical system
demand exceeded the old winter
peak system demand that tradition-
ally occurred on the Monday before
Christmas.
Reduce your electrical consumption;
reduce your costs
Here are some handy tips to help you reduce your draw on the grid.
by RALPH WINFIELD
A 65-watt sodium type security dusk-to-dawn yard light can effectively replace
the old 175-watt mercury vapor security lights that we all used on the farm
when electrical energy was cheap!