Hounslow power station generated and supplied electricity to the district of

Hounslow Hounslow () is a large suburban district of West London, west-southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hounslow, and is identified in the London Plan as one of the 12 metropolitan centres in ...

, Heston and Isleworth in west

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

from 1904 to 1964. Originally steam powered, diesel engine generators were added in the 1950s.The station was owned and operated by Heston and Isleworth Borough Council until the nationalisation of the electricity industry in 1948. The power station was redeveloped as demand for electricity grew and old plant was replaced until its closure in 1964.

History

In 1900 Heston and Isleworth Urban District Council applied for a Provisional Order under the ''Electric Lighting Acts'' to generate and supply electricity to the district. This was granted by the Board of Trade and was confirmed by Parliament through the ''Electric Lighting Orders Confirmation (No. 12) Act 1900'' (63 & 64 Vict. c. clxx). The Council built a generating station in Bridge Street, Hounslow (51°28'10"N 0°20'53"W) known as Hounslow power station. It was first commissioned in November 1904. The station continued to generate electricity for the Council until the nationalisation of the British electricity industry in 1948. The Heston and Isleworth electricity undertaking was abolished, ownership of the power station was vested in the British Electricity Authority, and subsequently the

Central Electricity Authority The Central Electricity Authority (CEA) was a body that managed and operated the electricity supply industry in England and Wales between 1 April 1955 and 31 December 1957. The CEA replaced the earlier British Electricity Authority (BEA) as a r ...

and the

Central Electricity Generating Board The Central Electricity Generating Board (CEGB) was responsible for electricity generation, transmission and bulk sales in England and Wales from 1958 until privatisation of the electricity industry in the 1990s. It was established on 1 Janua ...

(CEGB). At the same time the electricity distribution and sales responsibilities of the Council’s electricity undertaking was transferred to the Southern Electricity Board (SEB). The station was decommissioned in 1964.

Equipment specification

By 1923 the generating plant comprised: * Boilers generating 42,500 lb/h (5.35 kg/s) of steam, this was supplied to: * Generators ** 2 × 125 kW

reciprocating engine A reciprocating engine, also often known as a piston engine, is typically a heat engine that uses one or more reciprocating pistons to convert high temperature and high pressure into a rotating motion. This article describes the common fea ...

generators ** 2 × 250 kW reciprocating engine generators ** 1 × 500 kW reciprocating engine generator These machines gave a total generating capacity of 1,250 kW of

direct current Direct current (DC) is one-directional flow of electric charge. An electrochemical cell is a prime example of DC power. Direct current may flow through a conductor such as a wire, but can also flow through semiconductors, insulators, or eve ...

. Electricity supplies to consumers were at 480 & 240 Volt DC. The plant in 1958 comprised: * Boilers: ** 3 ×

Babcock & Wilcox Babcock & Wilcox is an American renewable, environmental and thermal energy technologies and service provider that is active and has operations in many international markets across the globe with its headquarters in Akron, Ohio, USA. Historicall ...

12,500 lb/h (1.57 kg/s) boilers with chain grate stokers, operating at 200

psi Psi, PSI or Ψ may refer to: Alphabetic letters * Psi (Greek) (Ψ, ψ), the 23rd letter of the Greek alphabet * Psi (Cyrillic) (Ѱ, ѱ), letter of the early Cyrillic alphabet, adopted from Greek Arts and entertainment * "Psi" as an abbreviatio ...

and 550 °F (13.8 bar and 288 °C) and feeding steam to two generating sets: * Generating sets ** 1 × 1,000 kW Fraser & Chalmers–GEC DC generator set ** 1 × 1,350 kW Brush Ljungstrom AC

turbo-alternator An alternator is an electrical generator that converts mechanical energy to electrical energy in the form of alternating current. For reasons of cost and simplicity, most alternators use a rotating magnetic field with a stationary armature.Go ...

, ** 2 × 900 kW General Motors

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-ca ...

s coupled to Elliott alternators * The total installed generating capacity was 4.15 MW, with an output capacity of 3 MW. Condenser cooling water was drawn from a well, there was also a

spray pond A spray pond is a reservoir in which warmed water (e.g. from a Power station, power plant) is cooled before reuse by spraying the warm water with nozzles into the cooler air. Cooling takes place by exchange of heat with the ambient air, involving ...

Operations

Summary operating data for Hounslow power station: The use of electricity in the period 1921–23 was:

Operating data 1954–63

Operating data for Hounslow power station:CEGB ''Annual report and Accounts'', 1961, 1962 & 1963 The electricity output, in MWh, from the Hounslow power station is shown graphically.

Closure

The steam plant was decommissioned in 1963 and the rest of Hounslow power station was closed in 1964. The site is currently (2020) an electricity substation.

References