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Energy and the Environment From Heat to Electricity: How We Make Electricity in the US Jake Blanchard Professor Dept. of Engineering.

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Presentation on theme: "Energy and the Environment From Heat to Electricity: How We Make Electricity in the US Jake Blanchard Professor Dept. of Engineering."— Presentation transcript:

1 http://www.energy.wisc.edu Energy and the Environment From Heat to Electricity: How We Make Electricity in the US Jake Blanchard Professor Dept. of Engineering Physics blanchard@engr.wisc.edu

2 http://www.energy.wisc.edu Outline n How much energy do we use? n What is the difference between energy and power? n How do we make electricity? n How much does it cost? Energy and the Environment

3 http://www.energy.wisc.edu Energy and the Environment Energy Usage History (Sci.Am. 1970) Sources: EIA, International Energy Outlook 2000 US Bureau of the Census, International Database Michael Phelps eats 12,000 kcals/d 1 apple ~ 100 kcals

4 http://www.energy.wisc.edu Energy Usage History Energy and the Environment Energy in world history By Vaclav Smil 164 (1000 kcal/d)

5 http://www.energy.wisc.edu Energy Units/Measures n 1 Joule – metric unit of energy u Approximately the energy needed to lift an apple 1 meter n Kilocalorie=4,184 Joules u So eating an apple provides 100 kcals or 418,000 Joules n 1 Btu = 0.25 kcals=1,055 J u So eating an apple provides about 400 Btu n 1 kW-hr=1 kW consumed for 1 hour = 3.6 MJ = 3413 Btu Energy and the Environment

6 http://www.energy.wisc.edu Some Useful Facts n 1quad equals 1 quadrillion Btu (10 15 Btu) n The US uses about 100 quads per year n A 1 GWe coal plant produces about 0.03 quads each year Energy and the Environment

7 http://www.energy.wisc.edu An Example n To heat a typical home for a year: u 100 Million Btu u 6,000 pounds of coal u 8,300 pounds of dry wood u 86,000 cubic feet of natural gas u 1 gram of uranium u 800 gallons gasoline n Depends on climate, construction, size of home Energy and the Environment

8 http://www.energy.wisc.edu Power vs. Energy n Power is a measure of the rate at which we consume energy n It takes about 100 Btu to heat 1 pound of water by 100 degrees F u To do this in 1 hour takes a power of 100 Btu/hr or 0.03 kW=30 W u To do this in 6 minutes, takes 1,000 Btu/hr or 0.3 kW n So more power provides the same amount of energy, but in a shorter time Energy and the Environment

9 http://www.energy.wisc.edu Power Units n 1 Watt=1J/s n 1 kW=1000 Watts n 1 Btu/hr=0.29 Watts n 1 horsepower=2,544 Btu/hr=746 Watts Energy and the Environment

10 http://www.energy.wisc.edu Examples n A typical refrigerator uses 700 W n A typical air conditioner uses about 1100 W Energy and the Environment

11 http://www.energy.wisc.edu Creating Electricity – What is it? n Electricity is just electrons flowing in a wire n We need to take a fuel, burn it, and use it to push electrons out to customers Energy and the Environment

12 http://www.energy.wisc.edu Converting Heat to Electricity n The key is the generator n Turn a coil in a magnetic field n This produces electricity Energy and the Environment

13 http://www.energy.wisc.edu Some Useful Terms n The number of electrons pushed through the circuit is the current – measured in amps n The “pressure” that pushes these electrons through the circuit is the voltage – measured in volts Energy and the Environment

14 http://www.energy.wisc.edu AC vs. DC n AC=alternating current n DC=direct current n In DC, the current always flows in one direction n In AC, the current flows back and forth n It changes direction 60 times per second (60 Hz) Energy and the Environment

15 http://www.energy.wisc.edu Why AC? n We use AC because it is easy to change the voltage of an AC signal and we lose less power if we transmit electricity at high voltage n So we u Create electricity at low voltage u Step it up for transmission (1 Million Volts) u Step it down for distribution (1,000 Volts) u Step it down before it gets to our home (120 V) Energy and the Environment

16 http://www.energy.wisc.edu How does a generator make AC? Energy and the Environment

17 http://www.energy.wisc.edu How do we change the voltage? Energy and the Environment

18 http://www.energy.wisc.edu What turns the generator? n Start with high temperature, high pressure steam n Blow it over turbine n Steam turns turbine and turbine turns generator Energy and the Environment

19 http://www.energy.wisc.edu The turbine/generator system Energy and the Environment

20 http://www.energy.wisc.edu The Entire System Energy and the Environment

21 http://www.energy.wisc.edu Gas Turbines are Similar Energy and the Environment

22 http://www.energy.wisc.edu Efficiency n We cannot convert all of the energy in a fuel to electricity n We lose quite a bit of energy n A typical steam plant converts energy to electricity at about 33% - We lose 2/3 of our energy n That is, the conversion efficiency is about 33% n A typical car (internal combustion) has an efficiency of about 20% Energy and the Environment

23 http://www.energy.wisc.edu Efficiency Energy and the Environment

24 http://www.energy.wisc.edu Energy and the Environment Electricity Usage in U.S. for 2010 (Quads)

25 http://www.energy.wisc.edu Energy and the Environment Electrical Energy Conversion Theoretical Efficiency of Energy Conversion Devices Convert Potential Energy (hydro)~ 100% (75-90%) Electrochemical cell (fuel cell)~ 100% (20-40%) Heat Engine (rankine cycle)~ 66% (30-50%) Solar Cells (photovoltaic)~ 20% (10-20%) Thermionic~ 10% (<<10%) Thermoelectric~ 10% (<<10%)

26 http://www.energy.wisc.edu Our Options n Coal, natural gas, oil u burn these fossil fuels u Boil water and send to turbine n Nuclear u Split uranium to make heat Energy and the Environment n Hydro, Wind u Flowing water or wind turns the turbine n Solar u Use silicon to directly convert heat to electricity u Use heat to heat home or water u Use heat to boil water

27 http://www.energy.wisc.edu Energy and the Environment

28 http://www.energy.wisc.edu Energy and the Environment What is the current situation in US? U.S. Energy Usage Coal 23%

29 http://www.energy.wisc.edu Energy and the Environment

30 http://www.energy.wisc.edu Energy and the Environment Source: Wisconsin Energy Statistics 2009 (Consumption) 1 Btu = 1.055 kJ Wisconsin: Renewables Share WI 2010 Renewables: 7.2% Hydro

31 http://www.energy.wisc.edu Energy and the Environment Cost of Electricity

32 http://www.energy.wisc.edu Energy and the Environment

33 http://www.energy.wisc.edu Summary n Energy and Power are different, but related n Different fuels have different energy contents n The conversion process is inefficient n Most current electricity is produced using steam or gas turbines Energy and the Environment


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