Power Loss in Utility Systems Cost the Consumer!
Power loss in electrical transmission can cost utilities companies millions of pounds every year. This cost is of course placed directly on the customers themselves.
The current level of power lost to resistance is at 7% in wires alone; reducing this loss could cut energy costs, diminish CO2 production and decrease the amount of power plants required across the countryside.
Power is lost primarily through technical problems, including power lost to resistance along the course of the line, inefficient machinery and faulty meters.
In the UK all power is transmitted across the county by using alternating current (AC). This sine wave- shaped energy is used because it is easiest to convert to different voltages and currents by using a transformer. Unfortunately, the disadvantages of using this type of power are plentiful.
AC current suffers from an effect called the skin effect, which means that the current density is forced around the rim of the conductor. This effect causes a higher level of resistance in the wire and also causes it to produce much higher levels of heat and electromagnetic radiation, both of which symptoms of energy loss.
Direct current (DC) can travel much further distances with lower resistance. The main argument against using DC power for most utility systems is the requirement of large rotary converters or motor-generator sets to be installed. These machines are initially more expensive and require higher levels of maintenance, so are unpopular with power companies as the initial outlay is off-putting.
One of the most important factors in reducing the cost and impact of electricity production is ensuring that all of the machinery involved is operating at maximum efficiency and with the smallest possible amount of downtime.
Having highly trained engineers equipped with thermal imaging cameras can be used to vastly speed up any detection of abnormal operation as well as detecting which machines are losing the most power. Normal measurement equipment although advanced can take a long time in order to test for problems. By comparison infra-red cameras are now widely available and can be used by a trained thermographer to monitor even the smallest changes in operating temperature, which could indicate a much larger potential problem.
Although thermal imaging cameras are initially expensive, the time they can save coupled with their ability to detect a number of different problems that cannot be detected by the human eye make them invaluable tools for efficiently running any power-based utility company.
Despite the many advantages of thermal cameras there are still many utilities companies that do not use them as part of their regular testing because of this many hours of time are being wasted across the country running machines that take too much power and give out too little.
Improving utility companies across the country for more efficient systems will save both customers money and lessen the production requirements. So each power plant will have a lesser effect on the environment and consume less fossil fuel.
The current level of power lost to resistance is at 7% in wires alone; reducing this loss could cut energy costs, diminish CO2 production and decrease the amount of power plants required across the countryside.
Power is lost primarily through technical problems, including power lost to resistance along the course of the line, inefficient machinery and faulty meters.
In the UK all power is transmitted across the county by using alternating current (AC). This sine wave- shaped energy is used because it is easiest to convert to different voltages and currents by using a transformer. Unfortunately, the disadvantages of using this type of power are plentiful.
AC current suffers from an effect called the skin effect, which means that the current density is forced around the rim of the conductor. This effect causes a higher level of resistance in the wire and also causes it to produce much higher levels of heat and electromagnetic radiation, both of which symptoms of energy loss.
Direct current (DC) can travel much further distances with lower resistance. The main argument against using DC power for most utility systems is the requirement of large rotary converters or motor-generator sets to be installed. These machines are initially more expensive and require higher levels of maintenance, so are unpopular with power companies as the initial outlay is off-putting.
One of the most important factors in reducing the cost and impact of electricity production is ensuring that all of the machinery involved is operating at maximum efficiency and with the smallest possible amount of downtime.
Having highly trained engineers equipped with thermal imaging cameras can be used to vastly speed up any detection of abnormal operation as well as detecting which machines are losing the most power. Normal measurement equipment although advanced can take a long time in order to test for problems. By comparison infra-red cameras are now widely available and can be used by a trained thermographer to monitor even the smallest changes in operating temperature, which could indicate a much larger potential problem.
Although thermal imaging cameras are initially expensive, the time they can save coupled with their ability to detect a number of different problems that cannot be detected by the human eye make them invaluable tools for efficiently running any power-based utility company.
Despite the many advantages of thermal cameras there are still many utilities companies that do not use them as part of their regular testing because of this many hours of time are being wasted across the country running machines that take too much power and give out too little.
Improving utility companies across the country for more efficient systems will save both customers money and lessen the production requirements. So each power plant will have a lesser effect on the environment and consume less fossil fuel.
