Domestic Fuel Consumption

Abstract

ONE of the most important domestic questions which faces the Government is the conservation of coal, and at the same time of health, by the cleansing of the skies and cities from soot. A nation of sun worshippers would not have fouled its dwellings as the worshippers of Mammon in our cities have done. The waste of coal hitherto has been colossal. Prof. W. A. Bone estimated that no less than 95 per cent. of the thermal energy of coal is wasted in power production, and Mr. A. H. Barker, in his Chadwick lectures on “Domestic Fuel Consumption,” now published in book form, estimates that of the fuel used for domestic service, of the yearly value of 50,000,000l., at least three-quarters is wasted, partly through ignorance and carelessness, and partly through defects in the design of the plant employed. A person who is wasting water and food can see these going to waste, but he, or she, cannot see heat running away, and so no effort is made for economy. Domestic Fuel Consumption. By A. H. Barker. (The Chadwick Library.) Pp. x + 159. (London: Constable and Co., Ltd., 1920.) 14s. net.