Agricultural Electricity

What is Electricity? Easier to describe what it does than what it is! The flow/movement of electrons through a material.

Direct Current (DC) Flow of electrons in only one direction. Produced by: DC Generators Batteries Solar (PV) Cells Wind Turbines

Alternating Current (AC) Flow of electrons in one direction and then the other. Produced by AC generators. Supplied by Modern Power Suppliers.

How do they flow? Conductors Materials that allow electrons to readily move from one atom to another. Most metals are good conductors. (silver, copper, gold, aluminum) What about water? Distilled water?

Copper vs. Aluminum Copper Aluminum -Used Primarily on -Used primarily on the customer side the utility side of of the meter. the meter. -A better conductor -Not as good a than aluminum. conductor as copper. -More expensive. -Less expensive. -Lighter.

Insulators Materials that do not allow their electrons to readily move from atom to atom. Rubber, plastic, glass, porcelain, ceramics.

Voltage (Volts) The pressure/force pushing the electrons through the material. Similar to water pressure in a water piping system. Supplied by the generator. Symbol= E or V

Kilovolt (kV) 1000 volts Used to define the voltages of transmission lines and higher voltage distribution lines. Examples: 345 kV line=345,000 volts 12.5 kV line=12,500 volts

Current (Amps) The rate of flow of the electrons through the material. Similar to the flow rate (gallons/minute) in a water pipe. One Ampere=6,280,000,000,000,000,000 electrons per second Byproducts Heat Magnetic Fields Symbol=I or A

Resistance (Ohms) Measure of a materials impedance/resistance to the flow of electricity through it. Similar to the friction/head loss in a water piping system. Symbol= omega

Resistance Creates Voltage Drop Voltage drops on a circuit the farther you get from the source. Low voltage can cause: Dim lights Hot motors Reduced motor life

Real Power (Wattage..Watts) A measure of the power used by an appliance. “The rate or ability to do work” Symbol: W

Kilowatts 1000 Watts Most power suppliers use kilowatts to quantify how much power commercial/industrial customers use for billing purposes. Symbol=kW

Megawatts 1,000,000 watts Commonly used by electrial people to measure the power a generator is capable of producing or the power requirements of large customers or cities. Symbol=MW

Ohm’s Law The basic physical law describing how electricity acts. Volts=Amps X Ohms Helps us figure out “How big should the wires be?”

Why can’t I run my coffee pot, toaster, blender & microwave without the breaker tripping? How many amps does a circuit with a 1000 watt coffee maker, a 500 watt toaster, a 200 watt blender and a 700 watt microwave draw when all operate?

Use Watt’s Law =2400 Watts Watts=Volts X Amps 2400 Watts divided by 120 volts=20 amps

Practice On a 120 volt system how many amps will a 800 watt microwave, 1000 watt coffee maker, a 500 watt toaster and a 200 watt radio. Watts= volts x amps

Long-Nose Pliers

Diagonal-Cutting Pliers

Crimper

Multipurpose Tool

Wire Strippers

Cable Ripper

Lineman’s pliers

Automatic wire strippers

MultiMeter

Amp Meter