HISTORY
Electricity generation is the process of generating electric power from sources of energy. The fundamental principles of electricity generation were discovered during the 1820s and early 1830s by the British scientist Michael Faraday. His basic method is still used today: electricity is generated by the movement of a loop of wire, or disc of copper between the poles of a magnet.
For electric utilities, it is the first process in the delivery of electricity to consumers. The other processes, electricity transmission, distribution, and electrical power storage and recovery using pumped-storage methods are normally carried out by the electric power industry.
Electricity is most often generated at a power station by electromechanical generators, primarily driven by engines fueled by chemical combustion or nuclear fission but also by other means such as the kinetic energy of flowing water and wind. Other energy sources include solar photovoltaic and geothermal power.
Central power stations became economically practical with the development of alternating current power transmission, using power transformers to transmit power at high voltage and with low loss. Electricity has been generated at central stations since 1881. The first power plants were run on water power or coal, and today we rely mainly on coal, nuclear, natural gas, hydroelectric, wind generators, and petroleum, with a small amount from solar energy, tidal power, and geothermal sources.
The use of power-lines and power-poles has been significantly important in the distribution of electricity.
INTRODUCTION
When
you start out with electronics, you'll hear a lot about power supplies - they're in every
electronics project and they are the backbone of everything! A good power
supply will make your project hum along nicely. A bad power supply will make
life frustrating: stuff will work sometimes but not others, inconsistent
results, motors not working, sensor data always off. Understanding power supplies
is the key to make
things work.
Electric
power systems are comprised of components that produce electrical energy and
transmit this energy to consumers. A modern electric power system has mainly
six main components:
1)
Power plants which generate electric power
2)
Transformers which raise or lower the voltages as needed
3)
Transmission lines to carry power
4)
Substations at which the voltage is stepped down for carrying power over the
distribution lines
5)
Distribution lines
6)
Distribution transformers which lower the voltage to the level needed for the
consumer equipment. The production and transmission of electricity is
relatively efficient and inexpensive, although unlike other forms of energy,
electricity is not easily stored, and thus, must be produced based on the
demand.
ELECTRIC
POWER SUPPLY SYSTEM IN THE WORLD
Electrical systems differ around the world - both in voltage
and less critically, frequency. The physical interface (plugs and sockets) are
also different and often incompatible. However, travellers with electrical
appliances can take a few steps to ensure that they can be safely used at their
destination.
Total energy consumed at all power plants for the generation
of electricity was 4,398,768 ktoe (kilo ton of oil equivalent) which was
36% of the total for primary energy sources (TPES) of 2008.
Electricity output (gross) was 1,735,579 ktoe (20,185 TWh), efficiency was 39%, and the balance of 61% was generated heat. A small part (145,141 ktoe, which was 3% of the input total) of the heat was utilized at co-generation heat and power plants. The in-house consumption of electricity and power transmission losses were 289,681 ktoe.
Electricity output (gross) was 1,735,579 ktoe (20,185 TWh), efficiency was 39%, and the balance of 61% was generated heat. A small part (145,141 ktoe, which was 3% of the input total) of the heat was utilized at co-generation heat and power plants. The in-house consumption of electricity and power transmission losses were 289,681 ktoe.
Source of Electricity (World total
year 2008)
|
|||||||
Coal
|
Oil
|
Natural
Gas |
Nuclear
|
Hydro
|
other
|
Total
|
|
Average
electric power (TWh/year)
|
8,263
|
1,111
|
4,301
|
2,731
|
3,288
|
568
|
20,261
|
Average electric
power (GW)
|
942.6
|
126.7
|
490.7
|
311.6
|
375.1
|
64.8
|
2311.4
|
Proportion
|
41%
|
5%
|
21%
|
13%
|
16%
|
3%
|
100%
|
Electric power delivery throughout the United States was
designated by the National Academy of Engineering as the leading engineering
development of the 20th century. Since electricity was first delivered to
private citizens in the late 19th century, the value of reliable electric power
to our economy has been obvious. Our world has been transformed by
countless technologies enabled by the widespread delivery of secure,
high-quality electric power. However, the transmission and distribution
infrastructure in the United States is aging, and the need for modernization
has become urgent.
2020, a Different Kind of Power System
By 2020 USA anticipate that wind, water, and solar energy
(WWS) will be dependably integrated with efficient, conventional-fuel power
plants that are cleaner than ever (Jacobson and Delucchi, 2009). In
addition, the transmission grid will be greatly expanded, and new monitoring
and control systems will help keep it reliable.
In individual homes, dishwashers and clothes washers, more
efficient than ever, will turn on to take advantage of low-cost power that the
utility has signaled is available; hybrid electric cars will also be recharged
in off-peak hours. Electric outages will be very rare because intelligent
systems will identify deteriorating power-delivery apparatus and dispatch crews
for repair before outages occur. When a major fault
or accident does happen, the electricity system will automatically reconfigure
itself and restore power with a barely noticeable blink of the lights.
Widespread deployment of these advanced technologies is
within their grasp. But to make these systems economical, dependable,
maintainable, and operationally independent of excessive human oversight will
require additional research and much good engineering. A plentiful, educated,
and experienced workforce is the key to USA’s electric-power future.
County
|
Fossil Fuel
|
Nuclear
|
rank
|
Renewable
|
|||||||||||
Coal
|
Oil
|
Gas
|
sub
total |
rank
|
Hydro
|
Geo
Thermal |
Solar
PV* |
Solar
Thermal |
Wind
|
Tide
|
sub
total |
rank
|
|||
2,133
|
58
|
911
|
3,101
|
1
|
838
|
1
|
282
|
17
|
1.6
|
0.88
|
56
|
-
|
357
|
4
|
Composition of
Electricity in USA by Resources (TWh per year 2008)
Hydropower provides about 96 percent of the renewable energy
in the United States. Other renewable resources include geothermal, wave power,
tidal power, wind power, and solar power. In Washington State hydroelectric
power plants provided approximately 80 percent of the electrical power during
2002. In contrast, in Ohio during the same year, almost 87 percent of the
electrical power came from coal-fired power plants due to the area’s ample
supply of coal.
POWER SUPPLY
A power supply is a device that supplies electric power to an
electrical load. The term is most commonly applied to electric power converters
that convert one form of electrical energy to another, though it may also refer
to devices that convert another form of energy (mechanical, chemical, solar) to
electrical energy. A regulated power supply is one that controls the output
voltage or current to a specific value; the controlled value is held nearly
constant despite variations in either load current or the voltage supplied by
the power supply's energy source.
Every power supply must obtain the energy it supplies to its
load, as well as any energy it consumes while performing that task, from an
energy source. Depending on its design, a power supply may obtain energy from:
• Electrical
energy transmission systems. Common examples of this include power supplies
that convert AC line voltage to DC voltage.
• Energy
storage devices such as batteries and fuel cells.
• Electromechanical
systems such as generators and alternators.
• Solar power.
This is a massive power supply that's in a PC, usually you don’t
see this unless you open up the PC and look inside for the big metal box.
POWER
SUPPLY TYPES
Power supplies for electronic devices can be
broadly divided into line-frequency (or "conventional") and switching
power supplies. The line-frequency supply is usually a relatively simple
design, but it becomes increasingly bulky and heavy for high-current equipment
due to the need for large mains-frequency transformers and heat-sinked
electronic regulation circuitry. Conventional line-frequency power supplies are
sometimes called "linear," but that is not accurate because the
conversion from AC voltage to DC is fundamentally non-linear when the
rectifiers feed into capacitive reservoirs. Linear voltage regulators produce
regulated output voltage by means of an active voltage divider that consumes
energy, thus making efficiency low. A switched-mode supply of the same rating
as a line-frequency supply will be smaller, is usually more efficient, but
would be more complex.
·
Battery: A battery is a
device that converts stored chemical energy to electrical energy. Batteries are
commonly used as energy sources in many household and industrial applications. There
are two types of batteries: primary batteries (disposable batteries), which are
designed to be used once and discarded, and secondary batteries (rechargeable
batteries), which are designed to be recharged and used multiple times.
Batteries come in many sizes, from miniature cells used in hearing aids and wristwatches
to room-size battery banks that serve as backup power supplies in telephone
exchanges and computer data center.
·
DC Power Supply: An AC powered unregulated power supply usually uses a
transformer to convert the voltage from the wall outlet (mains) to a different,
nowadays usually lower, voltage. If it is used to produce DC, a rectifier is
used to convert alternating voltage to a pulsating direct voltage, followed by
a filter, comprising one or more capacitors, resistors, and sometimes
inductors, to filter out (smooth) most of the pulsation. A small remaining
unwanted alternating voltage component at mains or twice mains power frequency
(depending upon whether half- or full-wave rectification is used)—ripple—is
unavoidably superimposed on the direct output voltage.
For purposes such as charging batteries the ripple is not a
problem, and the simplest unregulated mains-powered DC power supply circuit
consists of a transformer driving a single diode in series with a resistor.
Before the introduction of solid-state electronics, equipment used
valves (vacuum tubes) which required high voltages; power supplies used step-up
transformers, rectifiers, and filters to generate one or more direct voltages
of some hundreds of volts, and a low alternating voltage for filaments. Only
the most advanced equipment used expensive and bulky regulated power supplies.
·
AC Power Supply: An AC power supply typically takes the voltage
from a wall outlet (mains supply) and lowers it to the desired voltage. Some
filtering may take place as well.
·
Linear Regulated Power Supply: The voltage
produced by an unregulated power supply will vary depending on the load and on variations
in the AC supply voltage. For critical electronics applications a linear
regulator may be used to set the voltage to a precise value, stabilized against
fluctuations in input voltage and load. The regulator also greatly reduces the
ripple and noise in the output direct current. Linear regulators often provide
current limiting, protecting the power supply and attached circuit from
overcurrent.
·
AC/DC Supply: In the past, mains electricity was supplied as DC
in some regions, AC in others. Transformers cannot be used for DC, but a
simple, cheap unregulated power supply could run directly from either AC or DC
mains without using a transformer. The power supply consisted of a rectifier
and a filter capacitor. When operating from DC, the rectifier was essentially a
conductor, having no effect; it was included to allow operation from AC or DC
without modification.
POWER SUPPLY APPLICATIONS
·
Computer Power Supply: A modern computer
power supply is a switch-mode power supply that converts AC power from the
mains supply, to several DC voltages. Switch-mode supplies replaced linear
supplies due to cost, weight, and size improvement.
·
Welding Power Supply: Arc welding uses electricity to melt the
surfaces of the metals in order to join them together through coalescence. The
electricity is provided by a welding power supply, and can either be AC or DC.
Arc welding typically requires high currents typically between 100 and 350
amps. Some types of welding can use as few as 10 amps, while some applications
of spot welding employ currents as high as 60,000 amps for an extremely short
time. Older welding power supplies consisted of transformers or engines driving
generators. More recent supplies use semiconductors and microprocessors
reducing their size and weight.
Here is the power supply that
is used in many apple products
ELECTRIC
POWER SYSTEM
An electric power system is a network of electrical
components used to supply, transmit and use electric power. An example of an
electric power system is the network that supplies a region's homes and
industry with power - for sizable regions, this power system is known as the grid and can be broadly divided
into the generators that supply the
power, the transmission system that
carries the power from the generating centres to the load centres and the distribution system that feeds the
power to nearby homes and industries. Smaller power systems are also found in
industry, hospitals, commercial buildings and homes. The majority of these
systems rely upon three-phase AC power - the standard for large-scale power
transmission and distribution across the modern world. Specialized power
systems that do not always rely upon three-phase AC power are found in
aircraft, electric rail systems, ocean liners and automobiles.
ELECTRICAL GRID
An
electrical grid is an interconnected network for delivering electricity from
suppliers to consumers. It consists of generating stations that produce
electrical power, high-voltage transmission lines that carry power from distant
sources to demand centers, and distribution lines that connect individual
customers.
Power
stations may be located near a fuel source, at a dam site, or to take advantage
of renewable energy sources, and are often located away from heavily populated
areas. They are usually quite large to take advantage of the economies of
scale. The electric power which is generated is stepped up to a higher
voltage-at which it connects to the transmission network.
The
transmission network will move the power long distances, sometimes across
international boundaries, until it reaches its wholesale customer (usually the
company that owns the local distribution network).
On
arrival at a substation, the power will be stepped down from a transmission
level voltage to a distribution level voltage. As it exits the substation, it
enters the distribution wiring. Finally, upon arrival at the service location,
the power is stepped down again from the distribution voltage to the required
service voltage(s).
General layout of electricity
networks, voltages and depictions of electrical lines are typical for Germany
and other European systems.
POWER STATIONS
A power station
(also referred to as a generating station, power plant, powerhouse or
generating plant) is an industrial facility for the generation of electric
power. At the center of nearly all power stations is a generator, a rotating
machine that converts mechanical power into electrical power by creating
relative motion between a magnetic field and a conductor. The energy source
harnessed to turn the generator varies widely. It depends chiefly on which
fuels are easily available, cheap enough and on the types of technology that
the power company has access to. Most power stations in the world burn fossil
fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas to generate electricity, and some use
nuclear power, but there is an increasing use of cleaner renewable sources such
as solar, wind, wave and hydroelectric.
·
Thermal Power Stations: In thermal power stations, mechanical power is produced by a
heat engine that transforms thermal energy, often from combustion of a fuel,
into rotational energy. Most thermal power stations produce steam, and these
are sometimes called steam power stations. Not all thermal energy can be
transformed into mechanical power, according to the second law of
thermodynamics. Therefore, there is always heat lost to the environment. If
this loss is employed as useful heat, for industrial processes or district
heating, the power plant is referred to as a cogeneration power plant or CHP
(combined heat-and-power) plant. In countries where district heating is common,
there are dedicated heat plants called heat-only boiler stations. An important
class of power stations in the Middle East uses by-product heat for the
desalination of water.
ELECTRICAL SUBSTATIONS
A substation is a part of
an electrical generation, transmission, and distribution system. Substations
transform voltage from high to low, or the reverse, or perform any of several
other important functions. Between the generating station and consumer,
electric power may flow through several substations at different voltage
levels.
Substations may be owned
and operated by an electrical utility, or may be owned by a large industrial or
commercial customer. Generally substations are unattended, relying on SCADA
(supervisory control and data acquisition) for remote supervision and control.
A substation has a
metallic fence; it must be properly grounded to protect people from high
voltages that may occur during a fault in the network. Earth faults at a
substation can cause a ground potential rise. Currents flowing in the Earth's
surface during a fault can cause metal objects to have a significantly
different voltage than the ground under a person's feet
TYPES
·
Transmission Substation: A transmission
substation connects two or more transmission lines. The simplest case is where
all transmission lines have the same voltage. In such cases, the substation
contains high-voltage switches that allow lines to be connected or isolated for
fault clearance or maintenance. A transmission station may have transformers to
convert between two transmission voltages, voltage control/power factor
correction devices such as capacitors, reactors and equipment such as phase
shifting transformers to control power flow between two adjacent power systems.
·
Distribution Substation: Distribution substation transfers
power from the transmission system to the distribution system of an area. It is
uneconomical to directly connect electricity consumers to the main transmission
network, unless they use large amounts of power, so the distribution station
reduces voltage to a level suitable for local distribution.
A 50 Hz
electrical substation in Melbourne. This is showing three of the five 220 kV/66
kV transformers, each with a capacity of 150 MVA. This substation is
constructed using steel lattice structures to support strain bus wires and
apparatus
TRANSFORMER
Transformers works over the principle of magnetic induction.
There are two types of winding namely primary and secondary. When a current is
supplied to the primary winding a magnetic flux is generated in the coil and by
the law of magnetic induction and continuous change in magnetic flux, a voltage
is induced at the secondary coil which is used as the output.
The number of turns of the coil usually contributes by
increasing or decreasing the output voltage. This is known as:
* Step up transformer: where voltage is increased at the
output terminal.
* Step down transformer: that reduces the voltage at the
output terminal.
Transformers range in size from thumbnail-sized units hidden
inside microphones to units weighing hundreds of tons interconnecting the power
grid. A wide range of transformer designs are used in electronic and electric
power applications. Transformers are essential for the transmission,
distribution, and utilization of electrical energy.
AGING
INFRASTRUCTURE
Despite the novel institutional arrangements
and network designs of the electrical grid, its power delivery infrastructures
suffer aging across the developed world. Four contributing factors to the current
state of the electric grid and its consequences include:
1.
Aging
power equipment – older equipment have higher failure rates, leading
to customer interruption rates affecting the economy and society;
also, older assets and facilities lead to higher inspection maintenance costs
and further repair/restoration costs.
2.
Obsolete
system layout – older areas require serious additional substation
sites and rights-of-way that cannot be obtained in current area
and are forced to use existing, insufficient facilities.
3.
Outdated
engineering – traditional tools for power delivery planning and
engineering are ineffective in addressing current problems of aged equipment,
obsolete system layouts, and modern deregulated loading levels
4.
Old
cultural value – planning, engineering, operating of
system using concepts and procedures that worked in vertically integrated
industry impair the problem under a deregulated industry.
MODERN TRENDS
With
everything interconnected, and open competition occurring in a free market
economy, it starts to make sense to allow and even encourage distributed
generation (DG). Smaller generators, usually not owned by the utility, can be
brought on-line to help supply the need for power. The smaller generation
facility might be a home-owner with excess power from their solar panel or wind
turbine. It might be a small office with a diesel generator.
Furthermore,
numerous efforts are underway to develop a "smart grid". In the U.S,
the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and Title XIII of the Energy Independence and
Security Act of 2007 are providing funding to encourage smart grid development.
The hope is to enable utilities to better predict their needs excess power from
their solar panel or wind turbine. It might be a small office with a diesel
generator. Funds have also been allocated to develop more strong energy control
technologies. Various
planned and proposed systems to dramatically increase transmission capacity are
known as super, or mega grids.
FUTURE
TRENDS
Recently, U.K’s National Grid, the largest private electric utility in the world, bought New England’s electric system for $3.2 billion. Also, Scottish Power purchased Pacific Energy for $12.8 billion. Domestically, local electric and gas firms begin to merge operations as they see advantage of joint affiliation especially with the reduced cost of joint-metering. Technological advances will take place in the competitive wholesale electric markets such examples already being utilized include fuel cells used in space flight, aeroderivative gas turbines used in jet aircrafts, solar engineering and photovoltaic systems, off-shore wind farms.
Recently, U.K’s National Grid, the largest private electric utility in the world, bought New England’s electric system for $3.2 billion. Also, Scottish Power purchased Pacific Energy for $12.8 billion. Domestically, local electric and gas firms begin to merge operations as they see advantage of joint affiliation especially with the reduced cost of joint-metering. Technological advances will take place in the competitive wholesale electric markets such examples already being utilized include fuel cells used in space flight, aeroderivative gas turbines used in jet aircrafts, solar engineering and photovoltaic systems, off-shore wind farms.
EMERGING
SMART GRIDS
The electrical grid is expected to
evolve to a new grid model--smart grid, an enhancement of the 20th century
electrical grid. The traditional electrical grids are generally used to carry
power from a few central generators to a large number of users or customers. In
contrast, the new emerging smart grid uses two-way flows of electricity and
information to create an automated and distributed advanced energy delivery
network. Many research projects have been conducted to explore the concept of
smart grid. According to a newest survey on smart grid, the research is mainly
focused on three systems in smart grid- the infrastructure system, the
management system, and the protection system.
·
The
infrastructure system is the energy, information, and communication
infrastructure underlying of the smart grid that supports
1) advanced
electricity generation, delivery, and consumption;
2) advanced
information metering, monitoring, and management. In the transition from the
conventional power grid to smart grid, we will replace a physical
infrastructure with a digital one.
·
The management
system is the subsystem in smart grid that provides advanced management and
control services.
·
The protection
system is the subsystem in smart grid that provides advanced grid reliability
analysis, failure protection, and security and privacy protection services.
Great Blog.Thanks for sharing valuable information about Electric Power Generation and Distribution in Detail.
ReplyDeletePower Transformers in Germany | Transformer Manufacturer in Germany
Thanks for sharing nice information about Electric Power Generation and Distribution. Great one!
ReplyDeletePower Transformers in Germany | Transformer Manufacturer in Germany
Great information about power generation and distribution.Keep sharing.
ReplyDeleteInductor Coil Manufacturer in Germany | Medical Isolation Transformer in Germany
Superb Blog. awesome content. thankyou.
ReplyDeleteDistribution Transformers Manufacturers | Dry type Transformers Manufacturers
vary informative blog. the information is useful. keep sharing.
ReplyDeletePower Transformers in India | Transformer Manufacturer in India
Thanks for sharing such a useful information
ReplyDeleteIndustrial Electrical Heating Systems & Thermal Insulation Contracts in hyderabad
Mica Heaters Manufacturers, Suppliers and Exporters
PTFE Heater Manufacturers, PTFE Heater Suppliers in Hyderabad
Door Heater Manufacturers, Suppliers and Exporters in Hyderabad
Drain Heater Manufacturers in Hyderabad
Factory Terminated Heaters in Hyderabad
Cut To Length Heaters in Hyderabad
Superior quality of Self Regulating Heaters in Hyderabad
Thanks for sharing a nice blog. I want to buy industrial heaters from the best Industrial Heater Exporters in India
ReplyDeleteNice Blog
ReplyDeleteTransformer Manufacturers in India
Transformer Manufacturers in Mumbai
Transformer Manufacturers in Pune
gasoline generator suppliers
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for this information. if you want to buy control-transformer in India, Visit Transformer Manufacturers in pune, One of the best Transformer Manufacturers in India.
ReplyDeleteNice Blog!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing this informative blog. Trutech Products is the name for quality transformers. Our company’s name has become synonymous with world-class quality and that has made us one of the most trusted Transformer Manufacturers In india.
Transformer Manufacturers In Mumbai
Transformer Manufacturers In India
Thanks for Sharing such an informative post, Good work and great stuff. Access us to know more about Transformers
ReplyDeleteTransformer Manufactuerers In Pune
Transformer Manufactuerers In Mumbai
Transformer Manufactuerers In India
Thank you for sharing this useful information with us.
ReplyDeleteInductor Coil Manufacturer in India | Medical Isolation Transformer in India
Good information you shared. keep sharing.
ReplyDeleteInductor Coil Manufacturer in India | Medical Isolation Transformer in India
Servokon Systems is a one of the leading name in the field of Transformer Manufacturers in India. We are a manufacturers & suppliers of Transformer pan India. We are using a best quality of material and latest technology to manufacturing our products. A Transformer is an electrical device that is used for exchanging the current or voltage. This can start from the electric circuit and then to next by the method known as electromagnetic enlistment. If you want to buy a Transformer then contact us or visit our website.
ReplyDeleteGet Information about Switch Mode Power Supply Manufacturers
ReplyDeleteI really appreciate everything you shared on this blog regarding power distribution unit . PDUs also helps to empower IT professionals and data center facility managers all over the world to effectively and efficiently use and monitor available resources.
ReplyDeleteThis blog provides an insightful overview of electric power generation methods, breaking down complex topics into easy-to-understand segments. It’s a great resource for anyone interested in understanding the basics of how electricity is produced and distributed. Well done!
ReplyDeleteMini Substation in South Africa