The Golden State: Where & How to Live, Secure, Visit, Enjoy and Thrive in California

Practical Electricity And House Wiring

Consequently the third hand cannot yet have passed 9, but must be just before it, so we write down 8 for the third, and of course 9 for the last hand because it is between 9 and 0. The total reading is then of course 6289. Subtracting from this the figure at the beginning of the month, 6019, gives us a difference of 270, the number of Kw-hr. used during the month.

Refer back to Fig. 3. If the fourth hand had stood between 0 and 1, we would have written 0 for the right-hand hand, but instead of writing down 8 for the third hand, we would have written 9, because obviously the fourth hand, being beyond 0, had moved the third hand to just beyond the 9. In other words, when any hand points directly to any number, determine whether it has reached or passed that number, by noting the position of the next hand to the right. If the hand to the right is past 0, write down the number that the hand to the left points to; if the hand to the right of it has not yet reached 0, write down one less than the number to which it points.

This is exactly what you do in reading time on a clock. If there were no minute hand and the hour hand pointed to 9, it would be difficult to tell whether it is just before or just after 9 o'clock. If however, the hour-hand points to 9, and the minute hand is 2 minutes before 12, then we know that it is 8:58; if the minute hand is 2 minutes past 12, then we know that it is 9 :02. The minute hand tells us whether the hour hand is just in front of, or just past, a given figure. On the electric meter, the position of any one hand pointing somewhere either just before 0, or just past 0, will determine whether the hand to the left of it has just passed, or is about to reach the figure it apparently points to.

Power Rates.—Electric power is charged for by the kilowatt-hour. Rates vary greatly in various parts of the country, and almost always are dependent upon the total number of kilowatt-hours used during the month. In almost every case the charge is higher per Kw-hr. for the first portion of the kilowatt-hours used, than it is for the last portion of the bill, varying roughly from 5c to 1c per kilowatt-hour. A typical rate structure is as follows:

First Next Next Next Over

50 kilowatt-hours per month 50 kilowatt-hours per month 50 kilowatt-hours per month 200 kilowatt-hours per month 350 kilowatt-hours per month

4c per Kw-hr. 3c per Kw-hr. 21/2c per Kw-hr. 2c per Kw-hr. 11/2c per Kw-hr.