Preliminary Research Task:
Electrical Energy in the Home

1. Discuss how the main sources of domestic energy have changed over time.
Over thousands of years, the main sources of domestic energy have developed from simple approaches to more advanced methods. The first source of domestic energy that was accessible to humans was the production of fire through the fuels that was provided from wood. The heat energy that was obtained from the fires could be used to prepare sterile meals as well as present communities with a simple heating system that made long winters more bearable.
Energy provided by wind powered machines were later developed as an efficient method to ground grain and to pump water from different water sources into a nearby household. In 1887, Professor James Blyth, a Scottish pioneer, constructed the first windmill that was used for the production of electricity.
Hydropower was a form of domestic energy used, similarly to wind power, to ground flour and perform other similar tasks. The first hydroelectric power scheme was developed in 1878 by William Armstrong, which warranted the beginning of light energy produced through hydroelectricity.
Fossil fuels soon became another source of domestic energy that was used to power different modes of transport as well as electricity plants. This soon led to the mass production of electricity and as a result, the Industrial revolution.
To this day, domestic energy is still being provided by the main sources of energy that have been developed throughout history, although some form of production are used on a wider scale than others.

2. Assess some of the impacts of changes in, and increased access to, sources of energy for a community.
The development of different energy sources has presented society with an improved standard of living as well as a more accessible source of energy. However, these developments have also brought along some detrimental impacts towards the community.

Effects of the development of energy sources on the community
Beneficial
Detrimental
- Living standards of the general household has increased (i.e. introduction of fridges allow for better storage of food)
- Less time is needed to take care of the household so thus more women can enter the work force (i.e. washing machines reduce the time spent doing the laundry)
- Higher performance rate due to better work standards as well as longer work time and thus better pay (i.e. introduction of light allow for more jobs to be able to be undertaken for longer periods)
- Better health facilities due to improvement in technological advances and sources available (i.e. better health and PPE equipment supplied to hospitals).
- More pollution created (i.e. noise, waste)
- Migration of rural residents towards the city will create a larger demand for jobs in the cities while impending jobs are left in the rural areas (i.e. there is only a small amount of jobs available in the cities but with a large population to satisfy compared to the rural areas where there are more jobs but only a limited amount of people to fulfil them)
- More health risks (i.e. higher chance of a disease spreading)
- Environmental damage (i.e. more land is needed in suburban and city areas to cater for the large population as well as waste and energy production so land must be cleared).

3. Discuss some of the ways in which electricity can be provided in remote locations.
In remote locations, such as Pooncarie (a small town near Mungo National Park in western NSW), it is almost impossible to transmit electricity