82 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1933 



The electric current purchased for the Arts and Industries Building 

 during the year amounted to 124,790 kilowatt-hours and cost $2,849.66, 

 while the current purchased during the summer for the other buildings 

 was 264,310 kilowatt-hours and cost $4,645.08, which makes a total of 

 389,100 kilowatt-hours purchased at a cost of $7,494.74. The rate 

 per Idlowatt-hour was 1.93 cents, wliich is materially less than for 

 last year, owing primarily to the fact that the current for the Arts and 

 Industries Building was on a different schedule. The current 

 generated in the Museum plant was 621,384 kilowatt-hours, produced 

 at a cost of 1.63 cents a kilowatt-hour. 



When the new lead-covered cables were purchased last year for 

 enlarging the connection between the Museum lines and the Potomac 

 Electric Power Co. cables where they enter the Natural History 

 Building on the north side, the central line was not increased. To 

 make this connection safe, a new 500,000 circular mils cable was 

 bought and w411 be installed during the coming year. 



A good deal of electrical repair work has been done during the year, 

 including not only regular repair and upkeep, but also installation of 

 new wiring systems where the old wires have been found to be 

 overloaded or defective. 



Repair work too has been necessary on some of the elevators, 

 especially the automatic push-button elevator in the east end of the 

 Smithsonian Building, which for safety's sake should be replaced by 

 a manually operated car at the earliest possible time. 



New electric-light equipment to be installed includes 191 ceiling 

 fixtures purchased for the third floor of the Natural History Building. 



The lighting of the stamp collection, in the Arts and Industries 

 Building, which has been desired for a long time, has now been com- 

 pleted. This consists of white porcelain-lined inverted trough reflec- 

 tors supported from the tops of the cases in such a way as to deflect 

 the light down against each surface of the slides on which the stamps 

 are mounted. The method has proved very satisfactory and efficient. 



To provide convenient connections for the twelve 500-watt reflec- 

 tors purchased last year for added interior illumination of the dome 

 of the Natural History Building, 12 outlet boxes with twin receptacles 

 have been installed around the rotunda on the fourth floor, with direct 

 control in the engine room. 



The installation of small, low-voltage lamps for microscopic work 

 in the National Herbarium has gone forward. This method of 

 furnishing light for such work was begun last year, and has proved so 

 satisfactory that it has been called for by other workers. 



The new heating system at the north front of the Smithsonian 

 Building was completed and was in operation throughout the year. 

 Further improvement in heating efficiency was effected by replacing 

 with new low radiators, in various offices iu the Natural History 



