Week 27 of 32 • Page 3
Lighting the night created opportunities for entrepreneurs. An entrepreneur is a person who organizes and operates a business. Lighting the night created opportunities for many businesses. Candles Candlestick makers found opportunities to make more candles. Candle making was a long process of dipping a wick into liquid wax. The wax would harden. The candle would be dipped again and again. Candles got used up quickly. People needed many candles in a week to illuminate the night. Oil Edwin Drake drilled into the earth and discovered oil in 1859. Drake proved getting oil was possible. He sparked additional drilling. The nation’s fuel and energy source changed quickly. Oil has to be processed. With oil, we make products like kerosene, gasoline, and lamp oil. Drilling for oil opened many new opportunities for entrepreneurs. Electricity Electricity has been studied for centuries. Benjamin Franklin conducted experiments with lightning. Franklin’s experiments were published in 1751. Franklin developed the terms we use today in learning about electricity. Michael Faraday discovered that electricity could be The Business of Energy
produced by a motor. Faraday built a motor, generator, and transformers. All of these things could create electricity safely. Thomas Edison invented the light bulb. Edison found a way to use electricity to create light inside a glass bulb. The light bulb was safer than candles because it had no open flame. Nikola Tesla designed the way to get electricity safely across long distances. Tesla teamed up with George Westinghouse to build the first electric power plant generator. Electricity was created by a generator. The generator was powered by moving water, or burning coal or oil. Wires were put on towers from power plants. Wires strung from tower to tower moved electricity safely to homes and businesses. Homes were wired for electricity from the towers. Edison’s light bulbs were now paired with Tesla’s electric current. In 1893,
the Chicago World’s Fair became the first public place to be illuminated at night by electricity.
Nikola Tesla in his lab
How has energy production and
consumption changed at the White House? Underline evidence in the article to answer the question.
The History of Electricity at the White House
1979: Energy production moved toward conservation with the installation of solar panels on the roof of the west wing. The solar panels were installed to heat the water in the White House staff cafeteria and dining area. 1993: Upon moving into the White House, President Bill Clinton attempted to conserve energy through various projects. Energy- efficient windows were installed, a new air conditioning system replaced the old, ineffective system, and all the lightbulbs were replaced with energy-efficient bulbs. 2003: Toward the end of his first term in office, President George W. Bush installed the first solar electric system in the White House, which included 167 solar panels on the roof of the maintenance facility to power the building. Solar systems were also installed to heat the water for the White House pool and spa. 2008: The famous lantern on the White House portico was updated and new light-emitting diode (LED) lights were installed. LED light bulbs use 75 percent less energy and last 25 times longer than incandescent light bulbs. 2014: Solar panels were installed on the main building of the White House during President Barack Obama’s second term in office, providing 6.3 kilowatts of solar energy. This is enough energy to power a 2,000 square-foot home.
The White House was originally constructed in 1792 to serve as the home of the president of the United States. The White House has gone through extensive changes during its over 200-year history. One of the greatest changes was the energy source that powered one of the most important buildings in the United States. The first sources of energy used in the White House were candles and eventually oil lamps. That all changed with the introduction of electricity in 1891. Sept. 14, 1891: Electricity was first installed in the White House. At this time, many people were afraid that they would be electrocuted by the electric surge of energy running through their homes and businesses. President Benjamin Harrison and his wife Caroline were no exception. They feared that they would be electrocuted by this new source of energy and refused to touch the light switches themselves. 1926: During the presidency of Calvin Coolidge, the first electric refrigerator was installed in the White House. 1933: Air conditioning was installed in the private rooms of the White House during Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s first term in office. 1948-1952: The White House underwent a major renovation. New electrical systems were installed throughout and updated fixtures and features were added.
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