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Electric Power Goes From Grid To Home
From the discovery of static electricity in Ancient Greece by Thales of Miletus to the creation of the worlds first electrostatic generator by Otto von Guericke thousands of years later, many scientists are intrigued by power. Just how is static electricity, energy or electricity produced? Notable scientists like Thomas Edison, George Westinghouse and Ben Franklin learned a great deal about electricity during the 18th and 19th centuries. It was through their work as well as that of others that formed the modern idea of electricity. We use electricity in our homes and offices, but exactly how does the electricity get from the power plant to your home?
Electricity is brought into our homes by way of a grid. A grid is nothing more that a network of both transmission lines and distribution lines that can be either above the ground or below the ground. The lines carry a tremendous amount of high voltage power as it travels from the power plant to your home. In different areas of the world power lines may be strung between wood poles, metal towers or through transformers that are mounted on poles. In the United States the State Regulatory commission controls the cost of transmitting the power to customers. Each house or building will have a meter that measures the kilowatts that were used. When the meter is read, the power company is able to translate the usage into an invoice or bill. The power lines that run from the power plant enters your home at the meter.
Many companies own and operate the power plants that are within their grid. Other power companies like Southern CalEdison produce some of their own electricity and buys additional power from surrounding states. Southern CalEdison purchases energy from the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station in Arizona. The power that is produced at Northern Arizona?s Glen Canyon Dam produces hydroelectricity no only for Arizona, but for California, New Mexico and Nevada as well. It is normal for companies to sell, buy or trade electricity among each other. This is especially true during peak times and catastrophe such as a blackout. A Rolling Blackout can take place when an areas power usage outweighs the power that is being distributed. Sometime a mandatory blackout will be executed in order to prevent a grid from becoming overburdened.
To ensure reliable delivery organizations have been formed over the years. Some of these include Independent System Operators (ISOs) and Regional Transmission Organizations (RTOs). The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission deemed these types of firms necessary for the preservation of the grid in the United States. This has been determined to be one of the best ways to keep a handle on the grid so that all consumers of power can have the electricity they need when they need it. It helps regulate the use of the power plants with its customers to assure proper delivery to your home.
There are many types of power plants that deliver electricity. Coal produces over 50% of the electricity in the U.S. followed by nuclear power at 20%, natural gas at 17%, hydroelectric 7%, and renewables at 3%. Each type of plant has its own group of advocates promoting their favorite materials for generation. Fossil Fuel plants operate with coal, natural gas and refined oil products. Each of these fuels are burned within the plant to facilitate the boilers and gears into producing electricity for the public. Nuclear energy will use radioactive material such as uranium or plutonium to heat the core of their generator which produces the electricity. Renewable energy is produce by use of power supplies that are virtually inexhaustible such as solar power, biomass, geothermal and wind power. There are more and more power plants worldwide trying to change over to this last option. The green energy (renewable) will outlast the fossil fuels by tens of thousands of years and there are many rebate programs available to the consumer when installing this type of power into your home for huge savings on your bills.
Climate and delivery system and costs will be the determining factors on the price to the consumer. The cost will also be determinate on what you are powering in your home. Air conditioning usually takes up 16% of your bill while the refrigerator is 14%, heating 9-10%, lighting 9% and appliances 3-5%.
The next time you are driving down a road, take a look to see if you are able to follow the path the electricity takes as it travels from the power plant, on to the transformers, through the lines that hang from the power poles, into the meter at your house. It is interesting to see for yourself exactly how the electricity gets from the power plant to your home.
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