LCHIEN
Washington: AP – 48 minutes ago
The CPSC and the FTC have jointly announced that effective today the standard volt will be reduced by half. So that an “old” volt was before is now half an “old” volt, or one “new” volt. The chairman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, Inez M. Tennenbaum, stated that this has been under study for some time now, and it is clear that 120VAC poses a lethal shock hazard, whereas a voltage of 60V or 120 new volts is widely considered a safe level. By reducing the supplied line voltage according to the new volt measure, all machine nameplate requirements can be met yet have no danger of electrocuting residential users. The larger 220V appliances will work at the equivalent of the old 120V and still be potentially lethal, but as Ms. Tennenbaum noted, portable 220V appliances are far rarer in the American home.
Jon Leibowitz, Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission, said that a broad agreement was reached with the major electric power companies to make this change. This will save the power companies from making huge new capital investments in new generating capacity that had been forecast for the coming decade. Damien LaVera, a spokesman for the Department of Energy, said that this, for all practical purposes, takes new Nuclear power plants off the table and will permit closing several more aging plants.
Ms. Tennenbaum noted that a large number of safety factors went into play besides electrocution. Home power tools, particularly were targeted as causing tens of thousands of amputation injuries per year. However with the new volt standard, all machines will operate with one-fourth the energy even though those with induction motors will turn the same apparent speed with no loads. The fact that the machines will hardly be able to do any useful work will cause a return to hand tools and further reduce finger and limb injuries without having to force reluctant power tool companies to incorporate safety features that frankly only benefit those buying new tools.
Christine Guhl, a spokeswoman for the Sierra Club conservation group, said that the reduction in emissions from power plants producing half the old voltage would be a significant step forward in the Greening of America. “We would see a healthy reduction in carbon emissions and a vast reduction in pollution as well.” Referring to the expected reduction of the use of power tools, she declared, “We will live in a world where trees will have no fear.”
When questioned about the practicality of essentially devaluing the volt, Mr. LaVera replied that studies show that very few people know the difference between a Volt and an Amp and a Watt and probably would not notice the difference.
The House Energy Committee chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) said it was a “classic case of fraud, abuse and waste. The volt is based upon the metric system and we all know the EU has excessive regulation. It’s high time the volt was deflated to make America more competitive.” And he added, cap and trade would be taken off the table as a drag on the economy.
Finally, Chevrolet, a division of General Motors, announced that the change would have no effect on the sales or marketing of their plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, coincidentally also called the Volt. ”We have no doubt that the 350+ MPG ratings of the Volt will remain the same as long as the user charges the vehicle four nights between uses or simply drives no more than 10 miles on a single overnight charge,” ," said Rob Peterson, a Chevrolet spokesman. He added this will further reduce the tendency for Volts to catch fire. “Federal safety regulators have given the Chevrolet Volt an all-clear...the electric cars are safe.” “Range Anxiety is not part of our vocabulary.”
Chris J. Brantley, managing director of Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE-USA) said “They caught us unawares, We’re flabbergasted, uh, we’re going to have to study this… You just can’t just change a fundamental unit of electricity.”
“Oh, yes we can.” says Ms. Tennenbaum. “We’re the government.”
Mr. Leibowitz also added that they were considering changing the mile to 2640 ft. “We can virtually double the gasoline mileage of American-made automobiles overnight, something the automakers have been trying but unable to do for 40 years,” he said.
The CPSC and the FTC have jointly announced that effective today the standard volt will be reduced by half. So that an “old” volt was before is now half an “old” volt, or one “new” volt. The chairman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, Inez M. Tennenbaum, stated that this has been under study for some time now, and it is clear that 120VAC poses a lethal shock hazard, whereas a voltage of 60V or 120 new volts is widely considered a safe level. By reducing the supplied line voltage according to the new volt measure, all machine nameplate requirements can be met yet have no danger of electrocuting residential users. The larger 220V appliances will work at the equivalent of the old 120V and still be potentially lethal, but as Ms. Tennenbaum noted, portable 220V appliances are far rarer in the American home.
Jon Leibowitz, Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission, said that a broad agreement was reached with the major electric power companies to make this change. This will save the power companies from making huge new capital investments in new generating capacity that had been forecast for the coming decade. Damien LaVera, a spokesman for the Department of Energy, said that this, for all practical purposes, takes new Nuclear power plants off the table and will permit closing several more aging plants.
Ms. Tennenbaum noted that a large number of safety factors went into play besides electrocution. Home power tools, particularly were targeted as causing tens of thousands of amputation injuries per year. However with the new volt standard, all machines will operate with one-fourth the energy even though those with induction motors will turn the same apparent speed with no loads. The fact that the machines will hardly be able to do any useful work will cause a return to hand tools and further reduce finger and limb injuries without having to force reluctant power tool companies to incorporate safety features that frankly only benefit those buying new tools.
Christine Guhl, a spokeswoman for the Sierra Club conservation group, said that the reduction in emissions from power plants producing half the old voltage would be a significant step forward in the Greening of America. “We would see a healthy reduction in carbon emissions and a vast reduction in pollution as well.” Referring to the expected reduction of the use of power tools, she declared, “We will live in a world where trees will have no fear.”
When questioned about the practicality of essentially devaluing the volt, Mr. LaVera replied that studies show that very few people know the difference between a Volt and an Amp and a Watt and probably would not notice the difference.
The House Energy Committee chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) said it was a “classic case of fraud, abuse and waste. The volt is based upon the metric system and we all know the EU has excessive regulation. It’s high time the volt was deflated to make America more competitive.” And he added, cap and trade would be taken off the table as a drag on the economy.
Finally, Chevrolet, a division of General Motors, announced that the change would have no effect on the sales or marketing of their plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, coincidentally also called the Volt. ”We have no doubt that the 350+ MPG ratings of the Volt will remain the same as long as the user charges the vehicle four nights between uses or simply drives no more than 10 miles on a single overnight charge,” ," said Rob Peterson, a Chevrolet spokesman. He added this will further reduce the tendency for Volts to catch fire. “Federal safety regulators have given the Chevrolet Volt an all-clear...the electric cars are safe.” “Range Anxiety is not part of our vocabulary.”
Chris J. Brantley, managing director of Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE-USA) said “They caught us unawares, We’re flabbergasted, uh, we’re going to have to study this… You just can’t just change a fundamental unit of electricity.”
“Oh, yes we can.” says Ms. Tennenbaum. “We’re the government.”
Mr. Leibowitz also added that they were considering changing the mile to 2640 ft. “We can virtually double the gasoline mileage of American-made automobiles overnight, something the automakers have been trying but unable to do for 40 years,” he said.
Loring in Katy, TX USA
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