Empire Rising: Spain

Considering the lighting needs of factories and large public areas, we specially made larger light bulbs, with brightness much higher than these small civilian light bulbs.” Seeing Carlo’s satisfied expression, Graham was visibly more at ease, continuing to introduce other types of light bulbs to Carlo.

Hearing that there were even larger light bulbs, Carlo became more curious and smiled, saying, “Larger light bulbs? How about the lifespan of such light bulbs?”

While instructing people to install larger light bulbs for experiments, Graham answered Carlo’s question, “Due to current technological limitations, the lifespan of these larger light bulbs is far less than that of the smaller ones.

After conducting over a hundred experiments, we finally determined that the lifespan of these large carbon filament light bulbs is only around 120 to 150 hours, and they cannot be used intensively.

But in terms of brightness, the large carbon filament light bulbs are more than three times brighter than the small carbon filament light bulbs, capable of illuminating a much wider environment.”

Perhaps due to the many experiments already conducted, the laboratory staff installed the large light bulbs quickly, and during the conversation, a large light bulb had already been installed.

To highlight the brightness of the large light bulb, this test will only use one large light bulb, compared with several small light bulbs and several kerosene lamps.

With the familiar click, the larger light bulb instantly lit up, emitting an even brighter glow.

Carlo looked around the entire experimental area and found that it was indeed much brighter than the previous few small light bulbs. If the previous small light bulbs could only illuminate a radius of three to four meters, now the large light bulb could illuminate a radius of at least five to six meters, nearly doubling the lighting area.

Although the lighting area only doubled, the brightness also increased significantly. For factories and some public areas, such large light bulbs are indeed a more suitable choice.

If small light bulbs were used as streetlights, unless the streetlight height was only two meters, the lighting effect would not be ideal at all.

But if replaced with these larger bulbs, the streetlight height can be raised to over three meters, expanding the range of the illuminated road surface and preventing incidents of light bulb theft.

After all, if the streetlight height is only two meters, many people can easily reach the light bulb in the streetlight by tiptoeing. Even if the cost of the light bulb is not high, the selling price will certainly have an increase.

To prevent this phenomenon, streetlights should be kept as high as possible. Not only does it illuminate a larger area of the road, but it also looks better and is more convenient for maintenance.

Since it has been confirmed to be brighter than those small bulbs, there is no need to compare it with kerosene lamps next.

The brightness of kerosene lamps is the weakest, only becoming the main lighting method in daily life because they are convenient to carry and kerosene is cheap.

But in fact, the lighting from a kerosene lamp is not even as bright as lighting a fire. The reason Carlo did not like working at night was his dislike for the dim lighting of kerosene lamps. With the availability of electric light bulbs, Carlo could extend his working hours by one or two hours.

“How about the cost of these light bulbs? If mass-produced, can the output meet the current demand in Spain?” Once it was confirmed that the current light bulbs were sufficient for commercial use, Carlo once again asked the questions he was more concerned about.

The commercial use of light bulbs has two key factors: one is the output of light bulbs, and the other is the price of light bulbs.

After all, this is something with a lifespan, and the lifespan must be adjusted flexibly according to the lighting time of the light bulb.

If the price is too high, I’m afraid most civilians won’t be able to afford it.

Of course, this also depends on the completion of the basic electricity network in Spain. Currently, forget about electrifying every village; Spain can’t even achieve electricity in every city.

In fact, the generators owned by the Electricity Laboratory can only supply electricity for a small amount of experimental equipment and cannot facilitate widespread electricity popularization.

This means that before the comprehensive commercial use of light bulbs and their promotion throughout Spain, one thing must be done: the massive construction of power plants to quickly increase Spain’s power generation capacity.

“Currently, the cost of small bulbs is not high, mainly consisting of two components: the glass lampshade and the carbonized card paper.

According to our estimates, if we can mass-produce these small bulbs, it would also effectively reduce the cost of light bulbs.

Currently, the cost of small bulbs manufactured in the laboratory is about 2.12 Pesseta, but if we can achieve mass production, the cost should be reduced to below 1.5 Pesseta.

As for whether the output can meet Spain’s needs, I believe that before the massive construction of our power plants, Spain will not have much demand for electric light bulbs.

Your Majesty, regarding the promotion and use of electricity, I believe it is necessary to establish a large demonstration area to show all Spaniards the advancement of electricity, and also serve as a model for our electricity promotion and use.” Graham answered Carlo’s questions one by one.

Carlo nodded, agreeing with what Graham said.

Electric light bulbs require electricity, and before electricity is connected, even if there are electric light bulbs, they will not be able to perform their function.

Connecting electricity is troublesome. Not only do power plants need to be constructed, but those power plants must also be connected to the areas where electricity is used. This involves issues of voltage and power loss, which cannot be explained in just a few words.

What is certain is that, even though electric light bulbs have now emerged, it is impossible for ordinary people to enjoy electric light bulbs.

Only some nobles and capitalists can use their financial resources to build small power stations and bring electricity to their residential areas, driving the use of electric light bulbs and other electrical equipment.

It might also promote the reform of some factories. Electricity is a very important energy source, and electric motors can replace some steam engines, becoming important power equipment for factories.

Including the use of electric light bulbs for factory lighting, it can improve factory efficiency. Previously, it was difficult for factories to operate on a two-shift system due to the major challenge of nighttime lighting.

But if electric bulbs are used extensively, factories can remain brightly lit at night, allowing another batch of workers to replace daytime workers for production, enabling a two-shift production model that significantly enhances production efficiency.

Doing so may exploit the workers of Spain, but it is an unavoidable occurrence. After all, in later generations, various forms of exploitation existed, with many workers working for more than ten hours a day.

Talking about an eight-hour workday, weekends off, and protecting workers’ rights in 1875 is opposing the era itself.