National Electricity Grid Flashcards
Power station
Generates, feed electric current into transmission lines
Transmission lines
Large power lines, supported by pylons
High currents are generated at power stations
- lines have some resistance
* if high currents are transferred, lines will overheat, wasted energy
To prevent wasted energy
Electric current sent through lines at high voltages and low currents
Homes
- voltages are too high
* low voltage, high current
Transformers
Used to change voltages at different points in grid
Step up transformer
- increases V, decreases C
* before entering lines
Step down transformer
- decreases V, increases C
* substation
Generation
Where electricity is generated
Transmission
Electricity enters transmission lines of national grid
Distribution
Electricity from substation to towns
Consumers
Electricity is transferred to useful energy outputs
All systems in grid
Connected, surges or overload, blackouts and disruptions throughout network
Power surges
- sudden increase in voltage, cause increase in current, can damage sensitive circuits
- lightning, faulty wiring, energy
- sudden demands or excesses of energy cause brief changes in voltage, can cause surge
- points in grid which can detect surges or overloads, power supply cut off
National Electricity Grid
Network of interacting parts which form one big system to provide electricity to all sectors of the economy
