Losses in power grids are considered to be the difference between the transmitted electricity from the producer to the consumed electricity consumed by the consumer. Losses occur on power lines, in power transformers, due to eddy currents when devices are consumed with reactive load, as well as due to poor insulation of conductors and theft of unaccounted electricity. In this article, we will try to tell you in detail about what are the losses of electricity in electrical networks, and also consider measures to reduce them.
Content:
- Distance from the power plant to the supplying organizations
- Home conditions
Distance from the power plant to the supplying organizations
Accounting and payment of all types of losses is regulated by the legislative act: “Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of December 27, 2004 N 861 (ed. of 02.22.2016) "On approval of the Rules for non-discriminatory access to services for the transmission of electrical energy and the provision of these services ..." cl. Vi. The procedure for determining losses in electrical networks and paying for these losses. If you want to figure out who should pay for part of the lost energy, we recommend that you study this act.
When electricity is transmitted over long distances from the producer to the supplier, part of it is lost to the consumer. energy for many reasons, one of which is the voltage consumed by ordinary consumers (it is 220 or 380 V). If you carry out the transportation of such a voltage from generators of power plants directly, then it is necessary lay electrical networks with a wire diameter that will provide all the necessary current with the specified parameters. The wires will be very thick. They will not be possible to hang them on power lines, due to their heavy weight, laying in the ground will also cost a lot.
Learn more about how electricity is transmitted from the substation to consumers, you can in our article!
To eliminate this factor, high-voltage power lines are used in distribution networks. A simple calculation formula is: P = I * U. Power is equal to the product of current and voltage.
Example:
| Power consumption, W | Voltage, V | Current, A |
| 100 000 | 220 | 454,55 |
| 100 000 | 10 000 | 10 |
By increasing the voltage during the transmission of electricity in electrical networks, it is possible to significantly reduce the current, which will make it possible to get by with wires with a much smaller diameter. The pitfall of this transformation is that there are losses in transformers that someone has to pay. Transmitting electricity with such a voltage, it is significantly lost from poor contact of the conductors, which increase their resistance over time. Losses increase with increasing air humidity - the leakage current on the insulators and on the corona increases. Losses in cable lines also increase with a decrease in the insulation parameters of wires.
Has transferred the energy from the supplier to the supplying organization. That, in turn, must bring the parameters into the desired indicators: convert the resulting products into voltage 6-10 kV, separate with cable lines point by point, and then convert again to voltage 0.4 kV. Transformation losses occur again during the operation of 6-10 kV and 0.4 kV transformers. Electricity is supplied to the household consumer in the required voltage - 380 V or 220V. Any transformer has its own efficiency and is designed for a certain load. If the power consumption is greater or less than the calculated power, the losses in the electrical networks increase regardless of the supplier's wishes.
The next pitfall is the discrepancy between the power of the transformer, which converts 6-10 kV to 220V. If consumers take energy more than the rated power of the transformer, it either fails or cannot provide the required output parameters. As a result of a decrease in the voltage of the network, electrical appliances operate in violation of the passport regime and, as a result, increase consumption.
Measures to reduce technical losses of electricity in power supply systems are detailed in the video:
Home conditions
The consumer received his 220/380 V at the meter. Now the electrical energy lost after the meter falls on the end consumer.
It consists of:
- Loss on heating wires when the calculated consumption parameters are exceeded.
- Poor contact in switching devices (switches, starters, switches, lamp holders, plugs, sockets).
- Capacitive nature of the load.
- Inductive nature of the load.
- Using outdated lighting systems, refrigerators and other old technology.
Consider measures to reduce electricity losses in houses and apartments.
A.1 - there is only one fight against this type of loss: the use of conductors corresponding to the load. In existing networks, it is necessary to monitor the correspondence of the parameters of the wires and the power consumption. If it is impossible to correct these parameters and bring them back to normal, one should put up with the fact that energy is lost on heating the wires, as a result of which the parameters of their insulation change and the likelihood of a fire in the room. About, how to correctly calculate the cable cross-section for power and current, we talked about in the corresponding article.
A.2 - poor contact: in circuit breakers - this is the use of modern designs with good non-oxidizing contacts. Any oxide increases resistance. In starters - the same way. Switches - the on-off system must use metal that can withstand moisture, high temperatures. Contact must be made with good pressure from one pole to the other.
P.3, P.4 - reactive load. All electrical appliances that do not belong to incandescent lamps, old-style electric stoves have a reactive component of electricity consumption. Any inductance, when voltage is applied to it, resists the passage of current through it due to the resulting magnetic induction. Over time, electromagnetic induction, which prevented the passage of the current, helps its passage and adds some of the energy to the network, which is harmful to general networks. There are so-called eddy currents that distort the true readings of electricity meters and make negative changes in the parameters of the supplied electricity. The same happens with a capacitive load. The resulting eddy currents spoil the parameters of the electricity supplied to the consumer. Fighting - the use of special reactive energy compensators, depending on the load parameters.
A.5. Use of outdated lighting systems (incandescent bulbs). Their efficiency has a maximum value of 3-5%, and maybe less. The remaining 95% is spent on heating the filament and, as a result, on heating the environment and on radiation that is not perceived by the human eye. Therefore, it has become impractical to improve this type of lighting. Other types of lighting have appeared - fluorescent lamps, LED lamp, which have become widely used in recent years. The efficiency of fluorescent lamps reaches 7%, and LEDs up to 20%. The use of the latter will save energy right now and during operation due to a long service life - up to 50,000 hours (incandescent lamp - 1,000 hours).
Separately, I would like to note that it is possible to reduce the loss of electrical energy in the house using voltage stabilizer installation. In addition, as we have already said, electricity is lost when it is stolen. If you notice that neighbors steal electricity, you need to immediately take appropriate action. Where to call for help, we told in the corresponding article, which we referred to!
The above methods of reducing the power consumption reduce the load on the electrical wiring in the house and, as a result, reduce the losses in the electrical network. As you already understood, the methods of struggle are most widely disclosed for household consumers, because not every owner of an apartment or house knows about possible losses. electricity, and the supplying organizations in their state keep specially trained workers on this topic who are able to deal with such problems.
So we examined the main causes of electricity losses in electrical networks and measures to reduce them. Now you know why energy is wasted on the way from the substation to the house and how to deal with this problem!
It will be interesting to read:
- What is a short-circuit separator
- How to choose LED bulbs for your home
- How to deal with low voltage in the network
It depends on how they don't work. After all, at least light bulbs are on on the TV and microwave that are connected to the network, that is, some current still flows through them. In this case, consumption will be scanty at all. Plugged kettle, drill, etc. will not affect the counter in any way, tk. there is an absolutely broken chain, well, at most, it will take something to charge-discharge the electrical capacity of the wires that stretch to these devices, but this is generally dust...
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