The Electrical Grid

Edison was extremely threatened over the development of AC and set out to discredit Tesla personally. He created a scare campaign against alternating current, even electrocuting an elephant to prove that it was unsafe. Much of what Edison claimed was untrue.

Modern life is surrounded by devices powered by electricity. It has become so entrenched in people’s lives that it’s unfathomable that people lived millenia without it. Electricity pervades almost every aspect of life and dominates how we live within our homes.

The ability to light our homes has been one of the most significant changes to the behavior of humans in a very long time. Before this innovation, humans generally slept and rose with the sun and stayed indoors in the nighttime.

Televisions are often the centerpiece of home life. Thanks to electricity, these devices are found in almost every home in developed countries. People all over the world use television to receive information and news as well as entertainment.

The internet is often referred to as the entire sum of human knowledge in an accessible form. Never before have humans been able to find and share information and keep in contact with each other so easily. Like other life–changing developments, the internet runs on electricity.

Managing the delivery of electricity to homes requires a very large scale network of power stations, substations, and transmission cables. As electricity can only travel in a closed circuit, all of these need to work together to ensure electricity arrives to homes. 

Most cities have several fallbacks to ensure that supply isn’t interrupted even if part of the circuit is broken.

Electricity is generated at a power plant at a relatively low voltage. This generation occurs by the traditional burning of coal, capturing the power of running water or blowing wind, or the splitting of atoms (nuclear fission).

Special transformers located near the plant step up, or increase, the voltage. Power is transmitted at high voltages to increase efficiency. As electricity travels over long distances, energy losses occur due to resistance. 

Higher voltage results in lower current and lower losses. 

The electricity arrives at the substation at a very high voltage, and is then stepped down to a lower voltage. The types of equipment installed at a substation include transformers, switches, and voltage regulation devices.

The electricity is then sent along distribution lines to homes and businesses. Typically these lines are installed along the streets, overhead. Sometimes distribution cables are installed underground, although this method costs much more than overhead lines. 

The world is now electric. People depend on electricity in their everyday lives. However, burning fuel such as coal causes many issues with pollution, and supply is running low. 

Most countries in the world are now switching to renewable energy production such as wind, solar, and hydro to provide future electricity needs.

Cars now run on electricity, instead of burning gas for fuel. These cars can be charged using renewable sources. China has introduced revolutionary new changes to the automobile industry, insisting that all car manufacturers start producing electric cars from 2019. 

China is becoming a world leader in renewable energy production. The largest electricity consumer in the world, the entire country aims to have at least half of its electrical needs met through renewable sources by 2030. 

The diversifying of electricity generation sources and the targets set by countries like China means that many excellent business opportunities exist for people to work in the renewable energy field. 

This includes the development of devices that use electricity in a more efficient way.

Ultimately, moving away from coal–generated electricity will benefit people around the world. These plants produce a lot of pollution, reducing air quality to those living nearby, and are major contributors to climate change. A finite resource, coal will run out one day.