Electrical power is the most essential raw material used by industry today. It is an unusual commodity because, since it always transformed, it is required to be a continuous flow, cannot be conveniently stored in quantity, and cannot be subject to quality assurance checks before it is used. It is, in fact, the epitome of the ‘Just in Time’ philosophy in which components are delivered to a production line at the point and time of use by a supplier.
As the fifth in a series of tutorials on the power system, Leonardo ENERGY introduces its minute lecture on voltage and frequency control, using the analogy of a metal/rubber plate to demonstrate the centralised nature of frequency control, whereas voltage control is more a local matter.
To counterbalance unexpected fluctuations in electricity production or consumption.What if users consume more electrical energy than scheduled? Or less? Since liberalisation, the Transmission System Operator has been responsible for keeping the balance between generation and consumption. This is done by the so-called 'spinning reserve'. The following minute lectures present you a short overview on the spinning reserve, how it is defined, and how it operates.
If you need to refresh the basic theory behind parallel & series resonance in electrical systems, this simple animation allows you to do it in minutes.
Steep voltage changes caused by IGBT frequency inverters may cause overvoltage problems in induction motors. Filters are introduced in order to limit the rate of change of the voltage du/dt. This animation shows the effect of such filters on the transient waveform.
Evaluating investment decisions in sustainable energy typically requires a comparison between initial capital cost with annual revenues. This is normally done through the Net Present Value method, a best practice in engineering-economic analysis.
This minute lecture proposes an alternative but equivalent method of annualising the initial capital investment and comparing it with annual revene streams, either from production of renewable energy, or from cost reductions through energy savings.
To achieve high reliability, the choice of the scheme for electrical distribution is of primary importance in electrical design. This requires a thorough knowledge of future loads and of the characteristics of supply. This animation shows the most common schemes for electricity distribution from a technical and economic point of view.
By Kurt Schipman / Published on Fri, 2006-11-10 00:15
An active filter has been installed in a ferry boat, and after one year of operation, 18,000 liter of fuel saving is observed. Other ferries are subsequently equipped as well with active filters, and similar results confirmed.
This new minute lecture introduces the concept of the 'big 6' environmental impact categories, i.e. 6 impacts that have a fundamental impact on the earth's eco-system, that are universally applicable and for which a scientific approach for quantification exists:
In a dozen screens, this minute lecture introduces the concept of total cost of ownership for distribution transformers, offering a practical method for calculation based on very limited input data. Since transformers consume their purchase price several times in lifetime energy losses, high efficiency transformers usually offer an attractive return on investment. And because of their long lifetime, savings earn money for several decades.
In this minute lecture, the main cost components of electricity are presented, demonstrating large variations in electricity cost accross countries, and accross market segments.
Energy is not only about quantity. Its quality is equally important.This minute lecture, inspired by an idea from Camatini & Kester, introduces the concept of exergy, the quality measure for an amount of energy. It uses the example of space heating with various methods: electric heating, fossil-fired boiler and heat pumps.
