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ELECTRICITY

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WHAT IS ELECTRICITY?
Electricity is the flow of electrical power or
charge.
 It is a secondary energy source which means
that we get it from the conversion of other
sources of energy- like coal, natural gas, oil,
nuclear power and other natural sources, which
are called primary sources.

 Before electricity generation began slightly over

100 years ago, houses were lit with kerosene
lamps, food was cooled in iceboxes, and rooms
were warmed by wood-burning or coal-burning
stoves.

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WHAT IS ELECTRICITY?
The flow of an electric charge in a circuit, this
electric charge is carried by electrons in a wire.
 Copper wire consists of free electrons, the
electric current pushes these free electrons(also
known as conduction electrons) so that they
flow through the metal.

 The electron in the copper wire are essentially

moving, but in no particular direction, the force
of the voltage applied is what moves the
electrons in a particular direction.
 Electrons move from one atom to the other, once
the circuit is complete it produces light, or heat
etc.
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THE SCIENCE OF ELECTRICITY

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THE SCIENCE OF ELECTRICITY
Electricity travels in closed loops, or circuits (from
the word circle).

 It must have a complete path before the electrons

can move. If a circuit is open, the electrons
cannot flow.
 When we flip on a light switch, we close a circuit.
The electricity flows from the electric wire through
the light bulb and back into the wire.
 The wire gets very hot. It makes the gas in the bulb
glow. When the bulb burns out, the tiny wire gets to
broke.
 When we flip the switch off, we open the circuit
and there is no electricity flows to the bulb.

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Transmission line
carries electricity
Power plant long distance Distribution line
generates electricity carries electricity to
house

Transformer steps Neighbourhood Transformer on pole steps

up voltage for transformer steps down voltage before
transmission down voltage entering house

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 A power station is a power
plant, generally a machine
which extracts energy from
fuel. 
 Some plants burn fossil fuels
such as coal, oil or
gas. Nuclear power plants
produce energy by splitting
atoms.
 The heat produced is used to
convert water into steam at
high pressure.
 The steam turns a device called
a turbine connected to an
electricity generator.
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1. Fuel- which is the energy, it can be
NUCLEAR POWER PLANT extracted from fossil fuels or nuclear
power.
2. Furnace- Fuel is burnt in a large
furnace to release energy
3. Boiler- Heat from the furnace travels
in tubes filled with cold water, the
heat boils the water and turns it into
steam.
4. Turbine- The steam flows at high
pressure around a wheel with blades.
This system converts the steam into
kinetic energy(motion energy)
5. Cooling Tower- The large like jugs at
power plants receives the boiling hot
water from the turbine cooling it then
condensing it, then pumped back to
reuse.

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6. Generator- The turbine is linked to the
generator, which uses the kinetic energy
from the turbine to make electricity.
7. Electricity cables- electricity travels
through cables into a nearby transformer.
8. Step up transformer- Electricity loses
some of its energy as it travels down the
wire, so the electricity generated in the
plant is stepped up.
9. Pylons- High level metal towers which
carry electricity at high voltages to where
its needed.
10. Step down transformer- Transformer
which converts the electricity into a lower
voltage to service your home.
11. Homes- Electricity flows into our
homes at a voltage of between 250 to 120v
12. Appliances- Electricity travels into our
appliances.
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CONTROLLING ELECTRICITY

• George Westinghouse had

developed a device called a
TRANSFORMER to send
electricity over long distance. 
• This electricity could be
controlled in the form of
stepping it up or down.
• This made it possible to supply
electricity to homes and
businesses located far from the
electric generating plant.
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TRANSMISSION TOWER

 Electric power transmission is one

process in the transmitting of
electricity to consumers.
 Typically, power transmission is
between the power plant and a
substation near a populated area.
 Due to the large amount of power
involved, transmission normally takes
place at high voltage (110 kV or
above).
 Electricity is usually transmitted over
long distance through overhead
power transmission lines (such as
those in the photo on the right)
Transmission towers in the New Zealand countryside
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MAIN ELECTRICAL INSTALLATIONS

 POWER HOUSE- A substation with high degree

protection

 POWER SUPPLY DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM-

Main distribution boards, sub distribution boards,
switches. The connectivity of all these and with
accurate sizes of conductors.

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HIGH-VOLTAGE INSULATORS
An insulator is a material or object which contains no movable
electrical charges.
Silicon dioxide, teflon, rubber and plastics can serve as practical
and safe insulators for low to moderate voltages (hundreds, or
even thousands, of volts).
High-voltage insulators used for high-voltage power transmission
are made from glass, porcelain, or composite polymer materials.

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HIGH-VOLTAGE INSULATORS

Detail of the insulators (the vertical string of discs) on a 275 kV suspension pylon
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near
No part Thornbury, South
of this document may Gloucestershire,
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from Limkokwing University of Creative Technology, Botswana
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ELECTRICAL SUB-STATION

A substation is a subsidiary station

of an electrical generation,
transmission and distribution system
where voltage is transformed from
high to low or the reverse using
transformer.

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 CONSUMER BOARD (CB)

Application
The polycarbonate Consumer Board (CB) series has been enhanced with new modern features to
suit wider range of application for new installations or to replace the traditional fuse board (FB).
The CB can be easily applied indoors in residential and commercial buildings.

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 DISTRIBUTION BOARD (DB)

Application
The metal-enclosure Distribution Board (DB) is designed to suit either a single or a three-phase
electrical system. A distribution board consists of a circuit breaker. The DB can be used as load
centers in residential as well as commercial premises.
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 COMMERCIAL ELECTRIC METER

An electric
meter or energy
meter is a device
that measures
the amount of
electrical
supplied to a
residence or
business

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 MAINS POWER PLUG AND SOCKET

British Standard BS
1363 specifies the
type of mains power
plug and socket
most commonly
used in the United
kingdom, Ireland
and many former
British colonies.

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 THE THREE-PINS MAINS PLUG

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 WIRING COLOURS STANDARDS

The standard wiring colours in the UK are (as of 2006) the same as elsewhere in
Europe and Australia and follow international standard IEC 60446. This colour
scheme had already been introduced for appliance flexes in the UK in the early
1970s, however the IEE recommended for fixed wiring until 2006 a different
scheme. As a result, the international standard blue/brown scheme is as of 2006
found in all but the oldest appliance flexes. In fixed wiring, the blue/brown
scheme is only found in very new (post-2004) installations, and electricians are
likely to encounter the old IEE black/red scheme in existing installations for
many more decades.

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SOLAR POWER PLANT

Solar power plants use the solar power to heat a

fluid to high temperatures and use it to produce
electric power.

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Solar Two, a concentrating solar power plant
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WIND POWER PLANT

Wind power is generated in the form of electricity by converting the rotation of

turbine blades into electrical current by means of an electrical generator.

The most common type of wind turbine is three-bladed.

Most turbines have blades that rotate perpendicular to the wind.

The most productive locations are on or near the shore of a lake, sea or ocean and open
areas where constant wind exists.

Some of the over 4000 wind turbines at Altamont Pass, in California

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TIDAL POWER TURBINE

Tidal power is achieved by capturing the energy contained

in moving water mass due to tides.

Two types of tidal energy can be extracted:

• kinetic energy of currents between ebbing and surging
tides
• Potential energy from the difference in height (or
head) between high and low tides.

The first method - generating energy from tidal currents - is

considered much more feasible today than building ocean-based
dams or barrages.

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