Power Engineering

HISTORY

Power engineering was one of the earliest fields to be exploited in electrical engineering. Early problems solved by engineers include Efficient and Safe distribution of Electric Power .

POWER

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Power Engineering is a subfield of electrical engineering that deals with the Generation , Transmission and Distribution of Electricity as well as the design of a range of related devices. These include Transformer s, Electric Generator s, Electric Motor s and Power Electronics .

In many regions of the world, governments maintain an electrical network that connects a variety electric generators together with users of their power. This network is called a Power Grid . Users purchase electricity from the grid avoiding the costly exercise of having to generate their own. Power engineers may work on the design and maintenance of the power grid as well as the power systems that connect to it. Such systems are called on-grid power systems and may supply the grid with additional power, draw power from the grid or do both.

Power engineers may also work on systems that do not connect to the grid. These systems are called off-grid power systems and may be used in preference to on-grid systems for a variety of reasons. For example, in remote locations it may be cheaper for a mine to generate its own power rather than pay for connection to the grid and in most mobile applications connection to the grid is simply not practical.

Today, most grids adopt Three-phase Electric Power with an Alternating Current . This choice can be partly attributed to the ease with which this type of power can be generated, transformed and used. Often (especially in the USA ), the power is split before it reaches residential customers whose low-power appliances rely upon Single-phase Electric Power . However, many larger industries and organizations still prefer to receive the three-phase power directly because it can be used to drive highly efficient electric motors such as three-phase Induction Motor s.

Transformer s play an important role in Power Transmission because they allow power to be converted to and from higher Voltages . This is important because higher voltages suffer less Power Loss during transmission. For this reason, Electrical Substations exist throughout power grids to convert power to higher voltages before transmission and to lower voltages suitable for appliances after transmission.

COMPONENTS

Power engineering is usually broken into three parts:

Generation

Generation is converting other forms of power into electrical power. The sources of power include Fossil Fuel s such as Coal and Natural Gas , Hydropower , Nuclear Power , Solar Power , Wind Power and other forms.

Transmission

Transmission includes moving power over somewhat long distances, from a Power Station to near where it is used. Transmission involves high Voltage s, almost always higher than voltage at which the power is either generated or used. Transmission also includes connecting together power systems owned by various companies and perhaps in different states or countries.

Distribution

Distribution involves taking power from the transmission system to end users, converting it to voltages at which it is ultimately required.

AREAS OF STUDY

Devices/Elements: