Climate Change and our Land of Fire, Flood and Drought.

Exactly Brian! The house I spent the first thirteen years of my life in had exactly one power point. This operated the radio, after we moved up from a crystal set in 1944 or 45, and got a double adapter for the refrigerator when we got one (first in the street I believe) in about 1950. The iron worked from a double adapter in the light socket above the kitchen table, which was used as an ironing board.

The wood stove was replaced by an electric stove in about 1951, but there was only one power point until we built the new house in the mid fifties. It had a power point in every room, I think.

The old house had no heating until about 1950, when it got a wood heater, and there was, of course, no airconditioning. And no insulation. (Had a few other minor issues - for example the need to strategically place buckets whenever it rained! This was the result of it having been built in the 1920s using second hand iron, with a number of redundant nail holes, combined with a very low pitched roof.)

looking at electricity demand data for SA for the last 15 years, the peak demand hasnt changed. so im lead to believe our expectations have not changed.

People start most fires, either deliberately or accidentally.

This is how investigators find where and how a fire started
This is how most bushfires in Australia start, and how we know - Science News - ABC News

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Originally Posted by Eevo

looking at electricity demand data for SA for the last 15 years, the peak demand hasnt changed. so im lead to believe our expectations have not changed.

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I think you might find that there have been a lot of changes if you look at a reasonable period of time, not just the recent past. Go back fifty years instead of fifteen.

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Originally Posted by JDNSW

I think you might find that there have been a lot of changes if you look at a reasonable period of time, not just the recent past. Go back fifty years instead of fifteen.

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Exactly,in the last 15 yrs people have become more conscious of power usage particularly as prices go up.
Also the efficiency of lighting,appliances,manufacturing,etc,etc,has increased massively during this time.

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Originally Posted by JDNSW

I think you might find that there have been a lot of changes if you look at a reasonable period of time, not just the recent past. Go back fifty years instead of fifteen.

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unfortunately the data i have only goes back 15 years.

The high level of uptake of residential solar cells in the last 15 years may have had an impact on those numbers too.
I don't know how they include their contribution in those figures,but the contribution will be significant on a hot summers day.

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Originally Posted by clive22

The high level of uptake of residential solar cells in the last 15 years may have had an impact on those numbers too.
I don't know how they include their contribution in those figures,but the contribution will be significant on a hot summers day.

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i agree its an influence but only about 20% of houses have solar. hard to call that a high level of uptake.

From near nothing to 20% is a high level in 15 years. May be I should have said comparatively. No matter 20% of houses with their solar cells operating at or near 100% on a hot afterrnoon when peak demand is at its highest will be significant.

Adelaide has a few Train Routes electrified now (well one actually, Seaford Line :rolleyes:) & a fairly full Tram network that 15 years or before was run from the MTT Power Stations at the Eastern end of Pirie St & Port Adelaide now/was the Aboriginal Art Centre. Then ETSA through Feeder Stations dotted around the burbs.

Now I understand it is all powered by SA Power Networks from somewhere.

Look at all the Air Conds on roofs & walls & they are the ones you can actually see easily. never was like this 15 years ago.

One Power point? Yep can remember those days, Mainly Housing Trust I thought, or certainly Post War.