when was electricity invented in homes
The past responses to this question range widely in their responses.
How long have homes been using electricity? When was it first made accessible?
Although speculations about electricity were first written in the 1600s, it wasn't until the late 1800s that electricity was actually brought into households. The War of Currents, which occurred in the 1890s, is regarded as the turning point in the American history of bringing electricity into our homes.
A brief history of electricity
Many books and websites attribute the 1750s discovery of electricity to Benjamin Franklin. Although the legend of Benjamin Franklin flying a kite to find electricity sounds great, William Gilbert and Robert William Boyle actually started describing the concept of electricity long before Franklin's experiments.
The first scientist to describe electricity was William Gilbert, who published "De Magnete" in 1600.
Long before Benjamin Franklin conducted his experiment, Robert William Boyle also started outlining the idea of electricity. "Experiments and Notes about the Mechanical Origine or Production of Electricity" was published by Boyle in 1675.
Bringing electricity to our homes started in the late 1800s
Thomas Edison, an American inventor, was influenced by the innovations made by other European innovators in the 1870s, including Pavel Yablochkov, a Russian electrical engineer who displayed his lighting system at the Paris Exposition in 1878.
The lightbulb was improved by Edison, who also made it usable. Edison not only created a useful lightbulb, but he also understood the value of a lightbulb in a world where most people lack access to power.
George Westinghouse, another American innovator, started researching numerous European inventors for concepts and inspiration for AC power solutions.
In 1881, a power transformer created by John Dixon Gibbs and Lucien Gaulard was demonstrated in London. The American rights to the AC current transformer patents from Gaulard and Gibbs were acquired by Westinghouse.
Soon after Westinghouse founded the Westinghouse Electric Company in 1886, the conflict between the two inventors—known as the War of Currents"—began.
Direct current (DC) was the preferred method of electricity delivery, according to Edison. Alternating current (AC) was improved by Westinghouse Electric and became the industry standard because it was more effective.
Despite the fact that Edison's quest to bring electricity into our homes provided the impetus for the current electrical utility industry, Westinghouse Electric ultimately prevailed in the business and technological conflict known as the War of Currents.
