Five Things You Didn't Know About Electricity

THINGS YOU DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT ELECTRICITY Electricity. We use it so much, in every facet of our lives, that it's easy at times to forget just what a scientific marvel it is. On top of that, almost a third of the world's electricity usage comes from inside the home (with industrial and commerical usage rounding out the rest of the numbers). With this in mind, let's take a look at a few easily overlooked facts about electricity and take a moment to appreciate all that it's done to improve our lives. Thanks Edison! 2 IDLING EATS ENERGY! 7 CHANGE YOUR LIGHTBULBS Is your home filled with the latest and trendiest electrical appliances? Well it may surprise you that in the average household, over 75% of the energy used to power electronics is consumed when the devices powered by them are turned off! An idle computer can eat up 80 watts of energy whilst on standby. A TV can go through 30. The biggest offenders though are games consoles- a PS3 can eat through up to 200 watts when it's not even switched on! Only around 10% of a lightbulbs' energy goes into creating light - the rest actually generates heat. If you still use traditional light bulbs in your home, consider making the switch to a florescent bulb post-haste: A CFL bulb uses up to 80% less energy than a traditional bulb and can last up to 12 times as long 3 GOOGLE IS AN ENERGY BEHEMOTH 4 . SO IS ICELAND The New York Times has recently revealed that Google now accounts for approx. 0.013% of the entire world's energy usage- that's electricity from entirely enough to power 200,000 But for entirely different reasons! Iceland is currently the first and only country to generate 100% of it's renewable sources, namely geothermal and hydroelectric power. homes! As it stands, 100 Google searches generates enough power for a 60-watt bulb to shine for 28 minutes. Now consider that Big G currently energy. The USA on the runs 3.5 billion searches Norway isn't far behind, currently clocking in with a 97% rate of renewable other hand? A mere 13%... PER DAY! ELECTRICITY KEEPS YOUR HEART BEATING Did you know electricity helps keep your heart pumping? Electricity causes muscle cells in the heart to contract, which in turn causes it to beat. U Electrocardiogram (ECG) machines, used by medical professionals, measure the electricity going through the heart. As the heart beats in a healthy person, the ECG machine displays a line moving across the screen with regular spikes. THE SUN IS STILL NO.1 U Despite all of this, enough sunlight reaches the earth's surface every minute to power the entire world for a year. The Universe is a big place everyone. This infographic was brought to you by Generator Power Ltd. If you require power in a remote or difficult location, give us a call. www.generator-power.co.uk Sources: http://www.berwickelectric.com/the-electrical-blog/bid/71719/10-Fun-Facts-about-Electricity http://ecmweb.com/galleries/five-things-you-probably-didn-t-know-about-electricity#slide-3-field_images-50291 http://blog.myshipley.com/5-interesting-facts-about-electricity