Summary of Distribution Systems - General (b)

There are some advantages of DC system , Due to the absence of Skin effect DC resistance of a conductor
is lower than the AC resistance . So, power losses in DC system will be less than in AC system. DC link is
asynchronous and does not have stability issues. Due to absence of Electromagnetic field in DC system,
Corona loss and Radio interference effects are much less. There is no need for Reactive power
Compensation to improve power factor. When the two DC sources being connected in parallel, there is
no need of length of line but the voltage should same.

It has some disadvantages, As DC converters are expensive but their cost cancels the effect of advantages
due to better electrical properties of DC system . When there is conversion from AC to DC , there is always
some harmonics present . So, to decrease harmonics we have to increase the switching frequency but due
to this the switching losses increases. So , filters will be used and some extra costs on filters are required.
As DC has constant level So, DC surge does not cross zero level and DC circuit breakers has less life than
AC circuit breakers.

In Overhead system , the lines are mounted on different types of poles with the distribution transformers.
While the underground system uses conduits , cables and manholes below the earth. Choice of both
depends on different factors, Public Safety i.e. because all wiring are under the ground so underground
system will be safer than Overhead system. Initial cost of an underground system will be much higher
than overhead system due to trenching, conduits and manholes etc. Overhead system is much more
flexible than the underground system. As there is rare chances of faults in underground system due to
better insulation. But if the fault occurs then it will be very difficult to locate its position. The capacitive
effect in underground system and inductive reactance in overhead system is higher so, current carrying
capacity is higher in overhead system. Due to low environmental effects the underground system has
longer life than the overhead system. An overhead system causes electromagnetic interference with
telephone lines. So, due to greater cost of underground system overhead system is adopted for
distribution.

There are three connection Schemes, One is radial system in which separate feeders radiate from single
substation and feed the distributors at one end only. The power flow is unidirectional. Some drawbacks
are fluctuations in voltages , due to any fault in feeder and distributor the consumer’s supply can cut-off.
Second one is Ring Main System , in Ring Main system there are many feeders and distributors which form
a loop. System is very reliable as each distributor is fed via two feeders. If some fault occurs in one part of
feeder then there will be another path available to deliver power to the loads .Third one is Interconnected
System, it has more than one substations through which feeder can be energized . if the fault occurs in
one substation then other substation can be used. it reduces reserve power capacity and increases
efficiency of the system.

Some requirements of Distribution system are Proper Voltage i.e. Voltage variations should be as low as
possible at consumer’s terminal. Drawback of Low voltage at the terminal is that losses will increase and
motors can be burn and other appliances can damage. Allowable limit of voltage variation is (+6,-6)% of
rated value. Availability of power on demand i.e. Power must be available to the consumers in any amount
that they require at any time. There will be no variations in voltage. The operating staff must study the
load patterns to predict the future load demand. Reliability i.e. System reliability can be improved by
(inter-connected System , Reliable automatic control System and Providing additional reserve facilities).
Good voltage regulation is required to consumers. So, Design of feeder should be on the point of view of
current carrying capacity than voltage drop consideration. And Design of Distributor should be on the
point of view of voltage drop. Size and length of distributor can effect the voltage drop.