HOW AN ELECTRIC GENERATOR WORKS

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Electrical generators by definition are devices that convert mechanical Home

energy into electric energy. The mechanical energy in turn is produced from How a generator
chemical or nuclear energy in various types of fuel, or obtained from works

renewable sources such as wind or falling water.

Home generators
Watt, VA, PF
Portable
Steam turbines, internal-combustion engines, gas combustion turbines,
Natural Gas
electric motors, water and wind turbines are the common methods to supply
Diesel
the mechanical energy for such devices. Generators are made in a wide range
Gas
of sizes, from very small machines with a few watts of output power to very
Propane
large power plant devices providing gigawatts of power.
Wind Power
Hydrogen
The electric generator animation below demonstrates an example on how a Alternatives
generator works to produce energy. Two black arrows show the direction of
the coil rotation. The blue lines represent magnetic field directed from north
pole to south pole. The red arrows show the instantaneous direction of the
induced AC current.

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javascript-enabled browser. It may not work on some handheld devices.

ELECTRIC GENERATORS: HOW THEY WORK

Operation of power generators is based on the phenomenon of electromagnetic induction:

whenever a conductor moves relative to magnetic field, voltage is induced in
the conductor. Particularly, if a coil is spinning in a magnetic field, then the
two sides of the coil move in opposite directions, and the voltages induced in
each side add. Numerically the instantaneous value of the resulting voltage
(called electromotive force, emf) is equal to the minus of the rate of change
of magnetic flux Φ times the number of turns in the coil: V=−N•∆Φ/Δt. This
relationship has been found experimentally and is referred to as Faraday's
law. The minus sign here is due to Lenz law. It states that the direction of
the emf is such that the magnetic field from the induced current opposes the
 change in the flux which produces this emf. Lenz law is connected to the
conservation of energy.

For clarity in the above animation a single rectangular conductor loop is

shown instead of an armature with a set of windings on an iron core. Since
the rate of magnetic flux change through the coil that spins at a constant
rate changes sinusoidally with the rotation, the voltage generated at the coil
terminals is also sinusoidal (AC). If an external circuit is connected to the
coil's terminals, this voltage will create current through this circuit, resulting
in energy being delivered to the load. Note that the load current in turn
creates a magnetic field that opposes the change in the flux of the coil, so
the coil opposes the motion. The higher current, the larger force must be
applied to the armature to keep it from slowing down. Thus, the mechanical
energy that rotates the coil is converted into electrical energy. If you use a
commutator, such system is calleddynamo. It works the same way, except
the output voltage becomes pulsating (unipolar). In the animation the coil is
rotated by the hand crank. In practice, the mechanical energy is produced by
turbines or engines called prime movers. In a small AC generator a prime
mover is usually a rotary internal-combustion engine. In commercially
available devices an alternator is integrated with this engine into a single
appliance. The resulting device is referred to as engine-generator set or
genset, although casually it is often called just a generator. A genset is the
most common and probably the cheapest emergency backup power source
for home use. Cheap generatorssell for as low as $100 per kilowatt.

Note that the production of the voltage depends only on the relative motion
between the coil and the magnetic field. EMF is induced by the same physics
law whether the magnetic field moves past a stationary coil, or the coil
moves through a stationary magnetic field. In the animation, the magnetic
field is produced by a fixed magnet while the coil is revolving. Today's AC
gensets are usually brushless. They have spinning field and a stationary
power-producing armature. This armature comprises of a set of coils that
form a cylinder. Also, in practice, the magnetic field is usually induced by an
electromagnet rather than a permanent magnet.
The electromagnet consists of so called field coils mounted on an iron core. A current flow in the
field coils produces the magnetic field. This current may be obtained from an external source or
from the system's own armature. Regulation is achieved by sensing the output voltage, converting
it to a DC, and comparing its level to a reference voltage. An error is then used to control the field
in order to maintain a constant output. Most modern AC sources with field coils are self-excited:
the current for field coils is supplied by an additional exciting winding in the armature.

How does self excitation works? The exciter's output voltage is rectified by a diode bridge and
usually is fed into a voltage regulator. When output AC current is generated, a portion of it flows
into field coil to generate magnetic field. The initial magnetic field before the device started is
produced by residual magnetism in electromagnet's cores or is created by a electric current driven
from a battery during engine cranking.
The residual magnetism of the exciter's core may be lost or weakened by external magnetic fields
from any source, or by non-operation for a long time. Some genset models provide automatic field
flashing. Otherwise, if the electromagnet's core lost its residual magnetism, the rotor will spin, but
no AC output voltage will be produced. In this case, to start the device you may need to do so-
called generator field flashing. Here is a typical field flashing procedure: stop the engine,
disconnect exciter field leads from the voltage regulator (note the polarity of the leads), and turn
the circuit breaker off. Then briefly apply voltage from an external battery or another DC source in
series with a 10-20 Ohm 25W limiting resistor or a bulb to the field coil while observing polarity.
Allow the field to be flashed for some 10 seconds, then remove the external voltage source, and
finally reconnect the exciter coil. For a particular model consult your owner's operation manual for
the recommendations.

What is the difference between kW and kVa?

The primary difference between kW (kilowatt) and kVA (kilovolt-ampere) is the power factor. kW is the unit of real power and kVA is a unit of apparent power (or
real power plus re-active power). The power factor, unless it is defined and known, is therefore an approximate value (typically 0.8), and the kVA value will
always be higher than the value for kW.
In relation to industrial and commercial generators, kW is most commonly used when referring to generators in the United States, and a few other countries that
use 60 Hz, while the majority of the rest of the world typically uses kVa as the primary value when referencing generator sets.
To expand on it a bit more, the kW rating is essentially the resulting power output a generator can supply based on the horsepower of an engine. kW is figured
by the horsepower rating of the engine times .746. For example if you have a 500 horsepower engine it has a kW rating of 373. The kilovolt-amperes (kVa) are
the generator end capacity. Generator sets are usually shown with both ratings. To determine the kW and kVa ratio the formula below is used.