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Early electric service was less reliable than gas. My house had mixed gas lighting and electric, and there were even fixtures that were both. Not sure how long
by Isamu 4y ago
Early electric service was less reliable than gas. My house had mixed gas lighting and electric, and there were even fixtures that were both. Not sure how long this transitional period lasted.
Adoption of phone service was even slower. First and second generation systems were pretty crappy by today’s expectations.
- analog31 4y agoWhen I was in grad school, my cheap old rental house had light fixtures that allowed you to choose between electric and gas in one fixture. The gas pipe had long ago been disconnected, but the electric bulb sockets were stamped "Edison Patent." What I imagine was that electric lighting could have started out in commercial or municipal use, and spread out into the general population as it got cheaper and more reliable. The same thing happened with cell phones and the Internet.
- Ekaros 4y agoAlso think of process of wiring a house. And because you are well enough to do it in first place having it done to look nicely. I don't think that is exactly cheap process, back then. It is still not. The amount of cabling even for basic lights is not that small.
- analog31 4y agoIndeed, and it's something that greatly benefits from being done before the house is finished. When I lived in Texas during a housing boom, we had an electrician on call for our factory. He told me that he would often stop at a construction site on his way home in the evening, and quickly make some extra money by completely wiring a house.