Anton Rubinstein was asked by a friend of his: «Why do you play the piano every day? But you are
already an exceptional pianist and you don't have to do it every day». «If I don't practice it one day,
I'll notice it myself, if I don't practice it two days, my pupils will notice it. If I don't practice it three
Natural gas is one of the cheapest forms of energy available to the residential consumer. In fact,
natural gas has historically been much cheaper than electricity as a source of energy. According to
the Department of Energy (DOE) natural gas costs less than 30 percent of the cost of electricity, per
Not only is natural gas cheap for the residential consumer, it also has a number of varied
temperature control, self ignition and self cleaning, as well as being approximately one-half the
Natural gas is one of the most popular fuels for residential heating. This popularity is also
shown through the high proportion of new homes built with natural gas heating. Despite this
67
increase in the proportion of homes using natural gas the actual volume of natural gas consumed
has not increased to the same degree due to increased efficiency of natural gas appliances..
Modern top of the line gas furnaces can achieve efficiencies of over 90 percent (meaning that
only 10 percent of the energy contained in the natural gas is lost as waste heat).
In addition to heating homes, natural gas can also be used to help cool houses, through natural
gas powered air conditioning. Natural gas air conditioning is nothing new; in fact, it provided
most of the air conditioning requirements of the 1940's and 50's. However, due to new
advancements in technology and efficiency, natural gas air conditioning is experiencing
resurgence in popularity. Although natural gas air conditioner units are initially more expensive
than a comparable electric unit, they are considerably more efficient and require less
maintenance.
Natural gas appliances are also rising in popularity due to their efficiency and cost
effectiveness. Although many gas powered appliances are initially more expensive than their
electric counterparts, they are commonly much cheaper to operate, have a longer expect ed life,
and require relatively low maintenance. Some examples of other natural gas appliances include
space heaters, clothes dryers, pool and jacuzzi heaters, fireplaces, barbecues, garage heaters, and
outdoor lights. All of these appliances offer a safe, efficient, and economical alternative to
electricity or other fuel sources.
Although natural gas has many uses, and can supply energy to a vast number of residential
appliances, there are some energy requirements around the house which cannot be satisfied by
natural gas. A television, or blender, or microwave, for instance, will likely never be powered
directly by natural gas, but will instead require electricity. However, natural gas can still provide
energy for these appliances at the home, by what is known as 'distributed generation'.
Distributed generation refers to using natural gas to generate electricity right on the doorstep.
Natural gas fuel cells and microtur- bines both offer the residential consumer the capacity to
disconnect from their local electric distributor, and generate just enough electri city to meet their
needs. Although this technology is still in its infancy, it is very promising in being able to offer
independent, reliable, efficient, environmentally friendly electricity for residential needs.
The very first natural gas fuel cell was installed in a house in Latham, New York, in July 1998.
The system was plugged into the home's natural gas line as the fuel supply, and is now completely
independent of any outside electricity. Because a significant amount of electricity is wasted when it
is distributed through power lines from a central power plant to the home, on-site electric
generation could lead to significantly higher energy efficiency, which translates to cost savings
for the residential consumer. [9]
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