Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
com/doc/18643758/Electrical-Power-Systems-Ddas
Why doesn’t Transpower use underground cables instead of
overhead lines?
We do use underground cables in some special circumstances, but not often,
because:
What is voltage?
Voltage represents the difference in charge between two conductors - such as the
terminals of a generator, or between a transmission line and the earth. It can be
described as the ‘pressure’ of electricity - it is also called ‘potential
difference’.Conductors at high voltage need a lot of insulation to stop the electricity
flowing from one to another when the potential difference between them is great.
This is why transmission lines at many tens of thousands of volts need long strings
of glass or porcelain insulators, but your house wiring at 230 volts only needs a
simple plastic covering. (Note that the ‘volume’ of electricity flowing is called
current, measured in amperes.)
Back to top ^
Why are such high voltages used? Wouldn’t low voltage, such as
used in our homes, be safer?
Long-distance transmission of electricity is only feasible at very high voltages. Long
transmission lines have a relatively high linear resistance, which in turn regulates
the maximum amount of current flow for a given voltage - Ohm’s law. This
determines the amount of energy delivered - the product of voltage and current.
The resistance can be lowered by making the conductor thicker, but the practical
limit of this approach is reached very quickly. So to deliver a lot of power over
cables of a practical diameter, a high voltage has to be used.