Building Utilities 2

Electrical, Electronic and Mechanical

Systems

Ar. Marites G. Balmas, REB, REA

Direct Current
Direct Current – whenever the flow of electric current
takes place at a constant time ratio, practically unvarying
and in the same direction around the circuit. The terms
universally accepted are “DC voltage “or “DC current”.
Alternating Current
 An alternating current can be defined as a current that changes its magnitude
and polarity at regular intervals of time. It can also be defined as an electrical
current that repeatedly changes or reverses its direction opposite to that of
Direct Current or DC which always flows in a single direction
From the graph, we can see that the charged particles in AC tend to
start moving from zero. It increases to a maximum and then
decreases back to zero completing one positive cycle. The particles
then reverse their direction and reach the maximum in the opposite
direction after which AC again returns to the original value
completing a negative cycle. The same cycle is repeated again and
again.

Alternating currents are also accompanied usually by alternating

voltages. Besides, alternating current is also easily transformed
from a higher voltage level to a lower voltage level.
The rate at which the cycle repeats is frequency. Now
frequency is measured using the unit “Hertz “which means
cycles per second. Different parts of the world use different
frequencies for their AC systems and it can either be 50 or 60
Hertz (60 times a second in North America (60 Hz) and 50
times a second in Europe (50 Hz)). What this means is in one
second the cycle repeat itself at least 50 times. Believe it or
not, incandescent bulbs are actually flashing over 50 times
per second. Now it turns out, that this rate is so fast that our
slow human eyes see it as constant light.
DC voltages do not fluctuate while DC current flows in
one direction.
AC voltages change over time and the current flow can
alternate direction.
Application of Alternating Current
AC is the form of current that are mostly used in different appliances.
Some of the examples of alternating current include audio signal, radio
signal, etc. An alternating current has a wide advantage over DC as AC is
able to transmit power over large distances without great loss of energy.

AC is used mostly in homes and offices mainly because the generating and
transporting of AC across long distances is a lot easier. Meanwhile, AC
can be converted to and from high voltages easily using transformers. AC
is also capable of powering electric motors that further convert electrical
energy into mechanical energy. Due to this AC also finds its use in many
large appliances like refrigerators, dishwashers and many other appliances.
  Alternating Current Direct Current
 
Amount of energy that can be carried Safe to transfer over longer city Voltage of DC cannot travel very far
distances and can provide more power. until it begins to lose energy.

Cause of the direction of flow of Rotating magnet along the wire. Steady magnetism along the wire.
electrons
Frequency The frequency of alternating current is The frequency of direct current is zero.
50Hz or 60Hz depending upon the
country.

Direction It reverses its direction while flowing in It flows in one direction in the circuit.
a circuit.
Current It is the current of magnitude varying It is the current of constant magnitude.
with time
Flow of Electrons Electrons keep switching directions - Electrons move steadily in one direction
forward and backward. or 'forward'.

Obtained from A.C Generator and mains. Cell or Battery.

Passive Parameters Impedance. Resistance only
Power Factor Lies between 0 & 1. it is always 1.
Types Sinusoidal, Trapezoidal, Triangular, Pure and pulsating.
Square.
Why can’t AC be stored in batteries instead of DC?
 It is important to understand that batteries do not store the energy directly in
them. They store electrical energy in the form of chemical energy. The
positive terminal of an AC source is connected to the positive terminal of the
battery and the negative terminal of an AC source is connected to the
negative terminal of the battery. The current starts to flow. But, AC changes
its polarity and there is no actual supply of the energy. This is because the
positive half cycle cancel outs the negative half cycle. If this process
continues, it can damage the battery. Therefore, AC is not stored in batteries.
What are the advantages of AC over DC?
Following are the advantages of alternating current over direct current:

AC is less expensive and easy to generate than DC.

AC can be transmitted across long distances without much energy loss, unlike DC.
The power loss during transmission in AC is less when compared to DC.
Why is the use of AC voltage preferred over DC voltage?
There are two reasons why the use of AC voltage is preferred over DC voltage:

The loss of energy during the transmission in AC voltage is less when compared
with the DC voltage and this makes its installations easy when the transformers are
at distance.
AC voltage has the advantage of stepping up and stepping down as per the
requirement.
What is wattless current?
Wattlesscurrent is defined as the current in an AC circuit
when the average power consumption is zero.
Alternating Current VS Direct Current
Alternating Current
It is safer to transfer over longer distances and helps to Cannot be transferred over very long distances. It has a
maintain electric power.
AC can change its direction during electric flow.
The frequency of AC depends from country to
country. 
An alternator is used to generate AC.
Electrons keep changing their directions. It can be
either backward or forward.
Load on AC can be inductive, capacitive or resistive.
Direct Current
tendency to lose electric power.
It does not change its direction during flow and remains
constant.
The frequency of DC is zero.
DC current is generated by generators, photovoltaic cells
and batteries.
Electrons only move only in the forward direction.
Load on DC is always resistive.