Sounds like a great way to get out of economy crisis. For great depression US had people do all sorts of relatively useless thins for money, redoing electric grid would be useful and allso save a whole lot of money in the long run.
People would have to buy new transformers/electrical appliances, which would take money they don't have. Before, they built dams. Why don't they try building bridges to nowhere?
People would have to buy new transformers/electrical appliances, which would take money they don't have. Before, they built dams. Why don't they try building bridges to nowhere?
Many of those 120V appliances could be recycled and re-purposed into 240V counterparts with some ease. You could make a tax incentive out of the recycling of every appliance you have in order to save on the overhead cost of switching out to the new system, as well as rewarding companies that help put forth the effort to assist in the conversion. This way, the middle class could benefit from a grid upgrade as well, as they get to keep what they invested into their appliances residentially, as well as encourage people to actively invest into the updating of the news infrastructure by getting more businesses to work on changing their power distribution.
I'm not saying updating the US grid would be easy, but it is something we ought to consider. And that many jobs added to the economy could help pull our middle class out of this recession. Linemen make pretty good money, and if we wisely recycle and reuse some of what's pre-existing, much of the overhead cost can be mitigated. Sure, it may take a couple of decades to complete, but as aged as our infrastructure is already, it is of serious concern to the U.S. public...
Many of those 120V appliances could be recycled and re-purposed into 240V counterparts with some ease. You could make a tax incentive out of the recycling of every appliance you have in order to save on the overhead cost of switching out to the new system, as well as rewarding companies that help put forth the effort to assist in the conversion. This way, the middle class could benefit from a grid upgrade as well, as they get to keep what they invested into their appliances residentially, as well as encourage people to actively invest into the updating of the news infrastructure by getting more businesses to work on changing their power distribution.
I'm not saying updating the US grid would be easy, but it is something we ought to consider. And that many jobs added to the economy could help pull our middle class out of this recession. Linemen make pretty good money, and if we wisely recycle and reuse some of what's pre-existing, much of the overhead cost can be mitigated. Sure, it may take a couple of decades to complete, but as aged as our infrastructure is already, it is of serious concern to the U.S. public...
yeah, and in those decades you'd have massive confusion for people undergoing the change and plenty of people would kill their electronics. Not to mention you'd have to have some sort of dual type power grid in the homes to deal with the switch over. You couldn't flip everyone at once and you couldn't leave the power off for the weeks it would take to replace all the panels, breakers, and meters in even the small sections they could take down.
While I do agree that the power infrastructure needs improvements, unfort too many people won't take the expense until a crisis happens and they'll be the same ones that bemoan why nothing happened to fix the problem beforehand.
While I do agree that the power infrastructure needs improvements, unfort too many people won't take the expense until a crisis happens and they'll be the same ones that bemoan why nothing happened to fix the problem beforehand.
Hasn't there already been blackouts covering relatively big parts of US?
Hasn't there already been blackouts covering relatively big parts of US?
several, but they aren't caused by the same thing each time and the happen at least a decade or more apart.
the only thing that will make the elec industry do a complete overhaul voluntarily is a cheap, easy to use/install, all/room temp superconductor wire.
the only thing that will make the elec industry do a complete overhaul voluntarily is a cheap, easy to use/install, all/room temp superconductor wire.
That'll only mean they replace the main cables and won't do a thing about voltages.
