06-88-590-68

Electrical and Computer Engineering

University of Windsor
Dr. Ali Tahmasebi

1748: Benjamin Franklin used his newly

invented electric motor to roast a turkey for
his riverbank party
NOW: Electricity is the energy of choice for
life.

Advantages of electric power:

Easy to transport A few metal wires can transmit

the energy needs of an entire city
In contrast to other forms of energy (heat) it can be
converted back and forth to other forms with high
efficiency
A one-volt battery has potential energy corresponding to
a thermal source at 50000 C
A very good steam-based power plant has conversion
efficiency of about 40%. Electric motors of 98% efficiency
or better have been manufactured

Advantages of electric power (contd):

Some problems of electrical energy:

Virtually any energy need or power rate, from tiny

communication microcircuits to gigawatt lasers can
be met electrically
Energy storage in electrical form is very difficult
A 1-liter capacitor can store about 1000 J
A liter of gasoline has the energy density of 32.4 MJ

It takes a lot of different forms The form best

suited for large scale transmission is not best for
digital logic circuits

Electricity is used primarily as a means for

energy transportation

Use other sources of energy to create it, and it is

usually converted into another form of energy when
used

About 40% of US (and Canadian) energy is

transported in electric form

Every power system has three major

components
generation: source of power, ideally with a specified
voltage and frequency
load: consumes power; ideally with a constant
resistive value
transmission system: transmits power; ideally as a
perfect conductor

No ideal voltage sources exist

Loads are seldom constant

Transmission system has resistance,

inductance, capacitance and flow limitations
Simple system has no redundancy so power
system will not work if any component fails

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Power: Instantaneous consumption of energy

Power Units
Watts = voltage x current for dc (W)
kW
1 x 103 Watt
MW
1 x 106 Watt
GW
1 x 109 Watt
Installed Canadian generation capacity is 133
MW (about 3.7 kW per person)
Installed U.S. generation capacity is about
1060 GW ( about 3.3 kW per person)

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Energy: Integration of power over time; energy is

what people really want from a power system
Energy Units
Joule =
1 Watt-second (J)
kWh
Kilowatthour (3.6 x 106 J)
Btu
1055 J; 1 MBtu=0.292 MWh
Canadian electric energy consumption is about
17,000 kWh per person, which means on average
we each use 1.7 kW of power continuously
U.S. electric energy consumption is about 4100
billion kWh (about 13,000 kWh per person)

Electric utility: can range from quite small, such

as an island, to one covering half the continent

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there are four major interconnected ac power

systems in North American, each operating at 60 Hz
ac; 50 Hz is used in some other countries.

Airplanes and Spaceships: reduction in weight is

primary consideration; frequency is 400 Hz.
Ships and submarines
Automobiles: dc with 12 volts standard
Battery operated portable systems

Fuel Type

Canada
Installed Capacity (%)

U.S.
Installed Capacity (%)

Petroleum

0.5

Natural Gas

6.2

24

Coal

13

45

Nuclear

15

19

Hydro

64

6.5

Wind

0.6

2.3

Other