Natural light vis artificial light, a historical perspective

[thecoalman]

Originally Posted by arctichomesteader

It does hiss like a coleman lantern but after a while you don't even notice it...

I guess if it was constant, I spent a year living at my Grandmothers and she had this old fashioned table clock in the room I was using. Tick, tock,tick, tock, tick, tock.... arrrrrrrrrgh. Drove me nuts the first few nights but after a while it didn't.

[B'ichela]

Originally Posted by thecoalman

That coleman lamp is interesting but I'd imagine it makes a lot of noise? The lard lamps are familiar as I have modern version for camping. It comes in plastic container about the size of a soda can. When you take it out the glass completey encases everthing, you slide the glass up and the legs expand. Must hold about 4 or 5 .oz of fuel. The burn time is easily 24 hours maybe as long as 48. It provides a little light but the reason we used them was for inside the tent. That little bit of flame went a long way in keeping moisture at bay and providing a little heat. When it's 0 out it makes a difference.

As far as the CO it's created any time you burn things, CO poisoning usually results from a malfunctioning heating appliance (or whatever you have burning) because it will increase with incomplete burn of the fuel. It's odorless, colorless, and tasteless and since it's specific gravity is almost identical to that of air it will flow with the natural air currents inside a home. Usually by the time people realize something is wrong it's too late. You can be overcome quite quickly. People have made it out of their houses in a lot of cases only to die, it bonds to your hemoglobin preventing oxygen and your body starves for oxygen. Emergency personnel can do very little to help.

As far as the houses go I live in a neighborhood that was built before the turn of the last century and all the houses here have huge windows and plenty of them. There's probably a window about every ten feet and they start about knee high and go almost to the ceiling.

It wasn't just houses that tried to use natural light but industry as well. The coal breakers of Northeastern Pennsylvania are a prime example. Here's the "Huber" circa 1940ish




This FYI is the last one standing of that era out of hundreds. They are trying to make it museum.

Huber Breaker Preservation Society

We have factories in Winsted that are similar in design. Many of ours date back to the 1840s. BIG windows to let in as much natural light as possible. Some people blocked up some of the windows or resized them for smaler sizes, in some factories and storefronts. The Nader factory in Winsted on Main and Bridge Street has been kept original. It right now is partially unused. I have no idea what the Ralph Nader (Yes, That Ralph Nader) and his family are going to do with it. Last I heard they wanted to make it a tort law museum.

[harry chickpea]

Excellent reporting here by everyone. FWIW, coal gas was made similarly to wood gas, but had water added in to increase the hydrogen content. It was also commonly known as "water gas."

One aspect of the kerosene lamps that I find interesting is that the shape of the chimney is actually fairly sophisticated on some models.

[Kadisha]

Natural light is very important for your home. You can even utilize this natural light to give a bright look to your room. Paint the wall that receives direct sunlight with a bright color. It will be reflected and will bring in a nice feel. Artificial lighting can be any kind of Light . This light source can be controlled in every aspect; intensity, color, and the area of spreading. To get the desired effects in a room, the best idea is to use a combination of different types of artificial lighting.