Power Grids

Electrical power, in our

homes and in industry, is
really the life blood of our
existence
Used for heating, cooling,
cooking, refrigeration, light,
sound, computation,
entertainment

How is it provided to us?

Why do we have outages?
How secure is it?
How fragile is the system?

Power Plants
Electrical power starts
at the power plant
No matter what you use
as fuel, the heart of
the power plant is the
spinning electrical
generator
In most cases, the
spinning generator is a
turbine
The most common
turbine is a STEAM
TURBINE, such as are
used in coal-fired
generators

AC power
The power that modern power plants
produce is called three phase AC
power.
In order to understand this, we need
first to understand regular single phase
AC power this is actually what it in our
homes!

AC power
If we were to look at the VOLTAGE in a typical home
wall outlet, we would find that it is NOT a constant,
like you get from a battery. The voltage oscillates
between +170 Volts and 170 Volts.
The frequency of oscillation is 60Hz, or 60 times per
second.
Electrons, therefore, actually flow back and forth in
both directions through devices that are connected
to this voltage source.
Light bulbs actually flash on and off 60 times every
second. Our eyes are not sensitive to flashes that
are this fast

Advantages ofAC power

Large electrical generators generate AC
naturally making DC would involve an extra
step
The power grid relies on TRANSFORMERS to
work. Transformers require AC to function
It is easy to convert AC to DC, but hard and
expensive to go the other way better to
deliver AC, and then convert it if you need to.
Delivery of DC power over long distances is
impractical and expensive
Easy to convert large power line voltages to
much smaller voltages used in homes

Mathematics of AC Power
The voltage oscillates between
+170V and -170V, 60 times each
second
The average voltage, Vrms=120V

In THREE PHASE AC power, there are THREE WIRES, plus the ground wire.
Each of the three live wires are offset in time from one another. We say
that they have different phases.
Notice that at any given time, there is always one of the wires that has a
LARGE POSITIVE voltage advantages for large electrical motors, welding
machines, etc.

Transmission Substation

The generator of the power

plant produces large amount of
electrical current, at a voltage
of about a few thousand volts.
This may seem high, but in fact
it is way too low to minimize
transmission losses
At the transmission substation,
transformers convert the power
produced by the plant to a much
higher voltage as high as
750,000 Volts!!!
Power can then be transferred
via three phase power lines over
distances of many hundreds of
miles

The Distribution Grid

Once the power lines have
reached the city, the first
step in the distribution grid
is to connect to the high
voltage lines, and step-down
to a lower voltage for
distribution
Note that there are TWO
sets of outgoing three phase
lines.
One is at about 7200 Volts,
and is for local consumption
The second set is at a higher
voltage, and will be stepped
down to the usual 7200 Volts
later on, at a different
substation

The Distribution Grid

In the typical scene pictured

here, the three wires at the top
of the poles are the three wires
for the 3-phase power. The
fourth wire lower on the poles is
the ground wire

Remember that this substation

produces two different voltages
- The wires at the higher
voltage need to be stepped down

You will often see a large green

box (perhaps 6 feet/1.8 meters
on a side) near the entrance to a
subdivision. It is performing the
step-down function for the
subdivision.

Getting Power to the House

In your house, you only
need a single phase
This is accomplished
using taps
The first takes 3-phase
to 2-phase
The second takes 2phase to single phase

Getting Power to the House

In your house, you only
need a single phase
This is accomplished
using taps
The first takes 3-phase
to 2-phase
The second takes 2phase to single phase

Getting Power to the House

Were almost there!

Remember, the line voltage is
7200V!!!
At each house, there is another
transformer which takes
7200V->240V

Sometimes, the lines are

underground -> green transformer
boxes at each house.

Note that there are three wires

that run out of the transformer 1
ground wire, two live wires each
120V, but exactly 180 degrees out
of phase

This allows the use of 120V and

240V appliances

Inside the house

The wires from the street connect

into a panel in your house, which is like
a little mini-substation it is
responsible for the distribution to the
rest of the house.

On each line going out of this panel to

some room in the house, there is a
circuit breaker switch

This switch is normally closed, and

allows current to flow. But, if the
current gets too high, the switch will
HEAT UP. At a certain temperature,
the switch will open, and stop current
from flowing.

Because it is heat sensitive, no damage

occurs (like in a fuse), and you can
reset the breaker switch if it opens.

GFCI Outlets

Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter

Normally, the current flowing on the live

wire and the ground wire in a circuit are
EXACTLY the same

But, if something bad happens, there will

be a current surge on the live wire

GFCI outlets sense the DIFFERENCE in

current between the live and ground wire

Therefore, it can react MUCH faster

than a breaker switch, which requires the
total current to become very large before
it trips.

Sensitive to current differences of 4-5

milliamps, and will react in 1/30th of a
second!!!

Major Sources of Electrical

Power

Coal-Fired Generators (54%) -> burn coal, heat water, produce steam, run turbine

Natural Gas Generators (17%) -> burn natural gas, etc.

Advantages Much cleaner than coal, U.S. has lots, and its spread around over a larger region of
the country.
Disadvantages non-renewable resource, greenhouse gas emitter

Hydroelectric Power (7%) -> build a dam, water flows from a large height to power
turbine

Advantages U.S. has a lot of coal within its borders

Disadvantages Major greenhouse gas emitter, coal is a major air-polluter, non-renewable
resource, mining of coal is NASTY

Advantages RENEWABLE resource!!! At first glance, seems like a non-polluter

Disadvantages dams have a very finite lifetime, major wildlife impact upstream, and now,
studies indicate that decay of vegetation in the flood plain upstream of the dam may produce
even MORE greenhouse gases than coal-fired generators!!!

Nuclear Power (20%) -> Use the energy released in the nuclear fission process to heat
water, produce steam, run turbine

Advantages Major amount of energy for a small amount of ore, non-polluter!!!!

Disadvantages Have to deal with nuclear waste, public fear, possible nuclear accidents

Major Sources of Electrical

Power

www.nuclearfaq.ca

Capital costs of nuclear

power are high, but you
recover this if you USE it
for everything !!!!