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POWERPLANT

Electricity is generated at power plants and increased in voltage via transformers for efficient long-distance transmission on power lines. The voltage is reduced by additional transformers at local substations and again for residential use. Transformers change the voltage of alternating current without altering power by using coils to induce changing magnetic fields that generate different voltage levels in separate coils. This allows high-voltage transmission and safe low-voltage use in homes and devices.

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41 views

POWERPLANT

Electricity is generated at power plants and increased in voltage via transformers for efficient long-distance transmission on power lines. The voltage is reduced by additional transformers at local substations and again for residential use. Transformers change the voltage of alternating current without altering power by using coils to induce changing magnetic fields that generate different voltage levels in separate coils. This allows high-voltage transmission and safe low-voltage use in homes and devices.

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© © All Rights Reserved
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ENGINEERING UTILITIES 1

How is power distributed from the power plant to the consumer?

Electricity is generated at power plants and then transported through a complex system of
electricity substations, transformers, and power lines known as the grid, which connects
electricity producers and consumers.

Huge generators produce electricity at a generating station (which can be wind, coal,
natural gas, or water). The current is transported through transformers to increase the voltage so
that it can be transmitted over great distances, and the electrical charge travels across the country
on high-voltage transmission lines. This electrical charge will travel to a substation, where the
voltage will be lowered, allowing it to be transported on smaller power lines, which will then
flow to neighborhoods through distribution lines.

Smaller transformers decrease the voltage to a safe level for usage in homes. These
smaller transformers can be fixed on poles or sit on the ground (they are the enormous green
boxes that are known as pad mount transformers). It connects to homes and runs through a meter
that keeps track of how much electricity is utilized. The power is then sent to the service panel,
where breakers or fuses safeguard the wiring within your home from overheating. (Never touch a
service panel; only parents or professionals should handle it.) Electricity runs through wires
behind the walls to outlets and switches around the house.

What is a transformer and its function?

A transformer is an electrical device that changes the voltage of a circuit into current
without changing the overall electrical power. This means it converts low-voltage power with a
large current into high-voltage electricity with a small current, or vice versa. One thing to keep in
mind concerning transformers is that they only function with Alternating Current rather than
Direct Current.

Transformers can be used to either increase or reduce voltage, which is referred to as


stepping up or stepping down. Transformers have two wire coils wrapped around a metal core,
each with hundreds or thousands of turns. The incoming electricity is handled by one coil, while
the exiting electricity is handled by the other. The entering coil's alternating current creates an
alternating magnetic field in the core, which generates alternating current in the departing coil.

In the process of transporting electricity across large distances, such as from a power
plant to your home, energy is lost. When the voltage is really high, less energy is lost. In most
cases, high voltage is used in long-distance transmission wires by electric companies. This high
voltage, however, is too unsafe to use at home. Transformers are used by electrical utilities in
houses to modify the voltage of energy as it travels from the power plant to your home.

The voltage of energy arriving from a power plant is first "stepped up" to the correct level
for long-distance transmission using a transformer. Because high-voltage current might arc,
spark plugs are powered by step-up transformers called ignition coils. Power plants use dynamos
to generate enormous currents but not much voltage. Because electricity flows more effectively
at high voltage, it is stepped up to high voltage for transmission through wires.

The voltage is then scaled down before entering your home, utilizing transformers once
more. The 440-volt electricity in power lines is converted to the 120-volt electricity you use in
your home via a "step-down" transformer. The current is then either used at that level for devices
like light bulbs or converted to DC for devices like laptop computers using an AC/DC adaptor.

Transformers have been crucial for the transmission, distribution, and consumption of
Alternating Current electrical energy in all applications of electricity since the invention of the
first constant-potential transformers in 1885. Power Temp Systems specializes in developing
cutting-edge technology that distributes and consumes power efficiently and safely for any
project.

Source:
https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/electricity/delivery-to-consumers.php
https://www.alliantenergykids.com/AllAboutEnergy/HowElectricityIsMade
https://powertemp.com/what-is-the-purpose-of-a-transformer/#:~:text=A%20transformer%20is%20an%20electrical,large
%20current%2C%20or%20vice%20versa

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