By Elliott Brack
Editor and publisher, GwinnettForum
JUNE 22, 2018 | Maybe it’s because I’m a child of the Depression.
Some folks might even call me “cheap.”
But you see, I like to find ways to save money, or at least reduce expenses. My parsimoniousness is also seen as I’ll stoop over to pick up a stray coin in the parking lot, even if it is a Lincoln copperhead. Do you?
Back in the 1930s and the Depression, the Rural Electric Authority was providing low-cost loans to the Electric Membership Cooperatives to bring electricity to the rural areas.
Some people were wondering if they could afford this new way of providing illumination at night (instead of kerosene lamps), or eventually, providing energy to run a refrigerator or washing machine. People didn’t even imagine home air conditioning in those days.
For the farm household, the electric bill might be as much as a few dollars a month. With money tight during those times, it’s no wonder what children were taught then: “Turn off the light when you leave that room.” (An average monthly Jackson EMC bill in 1939 totaled 124 kilowatts, and cost $5.75. Today an average Jackson EMC monthly bill is $116, as an average home uses 1,200 kilowatts.)
So a common phrase became part of the vocabulary in the late 30s, 40s, 50s, no matter where you lived: “Did you turn off the lights?” Electricity was an extravagance if you weren’t in the room, Many a time I had to return to the room, simply to pull the light chain, or flip a switch, not understanding that each electric light on was money being wasted.
Modern science comes to the rescue these days for some when they exit a room. Detectors can switch off the electric lights as you leave a room. That’s smart, for you are saving electricity, and you also save in another way since electric bulbs, especially of the conventional variety, heat up when you use them. Switching these light off reduces your air conditioning bill. Today’s modern LED bulbs burn cooler, thereby saving energy!
Know what? That habit of switching off lights remains for many of us who came out of that era. I use lamp bulbs (rather than fluorescents) for illumination in my office at GwinnettForum. Whenever I leave the room, even for lunch, I switch off all three lamps. I have also found myself switching off the light in the office restroom on a late Friday, since there’s a big possibility that no one else will be entering that room for a couple of days. Yep, every little bit helps.
At one time I didn’t see any benefit for an automobile having its headlights on in the daytime. It seemed like it was running down the car battery. But now the experts tell us that it’s safer for cars to have their headlights on even during the day, and anyway, your generator is constantly keeping your battery charged. You really are not wasting energy here.
Just this morning, when going for a walk with Hercules (our dog), I wanted to kick myself. I learned I had left the garage light on all the previous night. It was a pure waste of energy!
Switching off lights, or picking up pennies, it’s the way I’ve been taught. Seems like today’s generation never gives such triflings a thought!
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
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