P1a: Generating and Producing Electricity SJT

P1a: Generating and Producing Electricity SJT

• 1.
  Generating and Transmitting Electricity S Thompson Mr S Thompson
• 2.
  A renewable energy source is one that will not run out . A non-renewable energy source is one that when it has been used it is gone forever .
• 3.
  Non-renewable energy sourcesAdvantages Disadvantages Cheap fuel costs Short start-up time for gas and oil Good for “basic demand” Fuel will run out Costs a lot of money to decommission a nuclear plant Pollution – CO 2 leads to global warming and SO 2 leads to acid rain Reliable Nuclear produces little pollution Coal, Oil, Gas and Nuclear
• 4.
  Fuels A “fuel ” is something that can be burned to release heat and light energy. The main examples are: Coal, oil and gas are called “fossil fuels”. In other words, they were made from fossils.
• 5.
  Using non-renewable fuelsin power stations 1) A fossil fuel is burned in the boiler 2) Water turns to steam and the steam drives a turbine 3) The turbine turns a generator 4) The generator produces electricity 5) The steam is cooled down in a cooling tower and reused
• 6.
  Start up timesDifferent power stations have different start up times: Gas Oil Coal Nuclear Quick Slow
• 7.
  Pollution When afuel is burned the two main waste products are carbon dioxide and sulphur dioxide . Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas and helps cause global warming . This is produced when any fossil fuels are burned .
• 8.
  Pollution Sulphur dioxide, when dissolved in rainwater , causes acid rain . This is mainly a problem for coal power stations. Nuclear power stations do not produce these pollutants because they don’t burn fossil fuels.
• 9.
  Other ways ofgenerating electricity Can we drive the turbine directly without burning any fossil fuels?
• 10.
  Renewable energy sourcessummary Advantages Disadvantages Zero fuel costs Hydroelectric is good for a “sudden” demand Don’t produce pollution Tidal barrages destroy the habitats of wading birds and hydroelectric schemes involve flooding farmland Unreliable (except for hydroelectric) Expensive to build Solar is good for remote locations (e.g. satellites) Wind,Wave,Tidal, Solar,Hydroelectric, Geothermal and Biomass
• 11.
  The National GridElectricity reaches our homes from power stations through the National Grid : If electricity companies transmitted electricity at 230 Volts through overhead power lines there would be too much power loss by the time electricity reaches our homes. This is because the current is high . Power station Step up transformer Step down transformer Homes
• 12.
  The National GridTo overcome this they use devices called transformers to “ step up ” the voltage onto the power lines. They then “ step-down ” the voltage at the end of the power lines before it reaches our homes. This way the voltage is high and the current and power loss are both low. Power station Step up transformer Step down transformer Homes
• 13.
  The Cost ofElectricity Electricity is measured in units called “ kilowatt hours ” ( kWh ). kWh = No. of kW (Power) X No. of hours (Time) Remember 1kW=1000W
• 14.
  The Cost ofElectricity Examples: A 3kW fire left on for 1 hour uses 3kWh of energy A 1kW toaster left on for 2 hours uses 2kWh A 0.5kW hoover left on for 4 hours uses 2kWh A 200W TV left on for 5 hours uses 1kWh A 2kW kettle left on for 15 minutes uses 0.5kWh
• 15.
  The Cost ofElectricity To work out how much a device costs we do the following: Cost of electricity = Power (kW) x time (h) x cost per kWh (p) For example, if electricity costs 8p then… A 2kW fire left on for 3 hours 2X3X8 = A 0.2kW TV left on for 5 hours 0.2X5X8= A 0.1kW light bulb left on for 10 hours = A 0.5kW hoover left on for 1 hour = 48p 8p 8p 4p