Electric Power Quality and Lighting (part 1)
Concerns about the effects of lighting products on power distribution systems have focused attention on power quality. Poor power quality can waste energy and the capacity of an electrical system; it can harm both the electrical distribution system and devices… Read more
May 26, 2012 | By Sufi Shah Hamid Jalali
Sizing of power cables for circuit breaker controlled feeders (part 3)
Continued from article Sizing of power cables for circuit breaker controlled feeders (part 2) This criterion is applied so that the cross sectional area of the cable is sufficient to keep the voltage drop (due to impedance of cable conductor)… Read more
May 17, 2012 | By Asif Eqbal
Power Measurement In AC Circuits
Power measurement in AC circuits can be quite a bit more complex than with DC circuits for the simple reason that phase shift complicates the matter beyond multiplying voltage by current figures obtained with meters. What is needed is an instrument… Read more
May 15, 2012 | By Edvard Csanyi
Analog Data Acquisition with Transducers
Transducers measure power system parameters by sampling instrument transformer secondaries. They provide a scaled, low-energy signal that represents a power system quantity that the SA interface controller can easily accept. Transducers also isolate and buffer the SA interface controller from… Read more
Apr 19, 2012 | By Edvard Csanyi
System protection and safety coordination definitions
The objective of system protection is to detect faults and to selectively isolate faulted parts of the system. It must also permit short clearance times to limit the fault power and the effect of arcing faults. High power density, high… Read more
Apr 16, 2012 | By Edvard Csanyi
Single-Phase Power vs Three-Phase Power
The principal elements of an electric power system are the generating stations, the transmission lines, the substations, and the distribution networks. The generators produce the electricity, the transmission lines move it to regions where it is consumed, and the substations… Read more
Apr 01, 2012 | By Edvard Csanyi
Power Semiconductor Device – MOSFET
Power MOSFETs are marketed by different manufacturers with differences in internal geometry and with different names such as MegaMOS, HEXFET, SIPMOS, and TMOS. They have unique features that make them potentially attractive for switching applications. They are essentially voltage-driven rather… Read more
Nov 27, 2011 | By Edvard Csanyi
Partial Discharge Testing On Power Cable Systems
Partial discharge measurement is an important method of assessing the quality of the insulation of power cable systems, particularly for extruded insulation materials. This article considers partial discharge from two points of view: the measurement of all partial discharges occurring… Read more
Nov 18, 2011 | By Edvard Csanyi
Power Semiconductor Device – Transistor
Power transistors are used in applications ranging from a few to several hundred kilowatts and switching frequencies up to about 10 kHz. Power transistors used in power conversion applications are generally npn type. The power transistor is turned on by… Read more
Oct 27, 2011 | By Edvard Csanyi
Power Semiconductor Devices – Thyristor and Triac
The thyristor, also called a silicon-controlled rectifier (SCR), is basically a four-layer three-junction pnpn device. It has three terminals: anode, cathode, and gate. The device is turned on by applying a short pulse across the gate and cathode. Once the… Read more
Oct 15, 2011 | By Edvard Csanyi
Difference between Power Transformer and Distribution Transformer
Power transformers are used in transmission network of higher voltages for step-up and step down application (400 kV, 200 kV, 110 kV, 66 kV, 33kV) and are generally rated above 200MVA. On the other hand, distribution transformers are used for… Read more
Aug 27, 2011 | By Jignesh Parmar
New download – Geothermal Electricity Basics
Geothermal electricity is electricity generated from geothermal energy. Technologies in use include dry steam power plants, flash steam power plants and binary cycle power plants. Geothermal electricity generation is currently used in 24 countries while geothermal heating is in use… Read more
Aug 14, 2011 | By Edvard Csanyi
DC to AC Transfer – Measurement
General transfer capability is essential to the measurement of voltage, current, power, and energy. The standard cell, the unit of voltage which it preserves, and the unit of current derived from it in combination with a standard of resistance are… Read more
Jul 30, 2011 | By Edvard Csanyi
How much for the geothermal energy? Impacts, hm?
Geothermal power requires no fuel, and is therefore immune to fuel cost fluctuations, but capital costs tend to be high. Drilling accounts for over half the costs, and exploration of deep resources entails significant risks. A typical well doublet in… Read more
Jun 22, 2011 | By Edvard Csanyi
Thumbs down to the nuclear energy
Although for decades the arguments against nuclear power have been –and still are- strong and valid, there is an increasing group of nuclear companies supported by scientists and politicians, who say we need nuclear power to fight climate change and… Read more
Jun 15, 2011 | By Edvard Csanyi
