Electric Utilities and Electrical Systems Review

Comprehensive flashcard deck covering lecture content on electric utility structures, residential electrical systems, power circuits, components, energy types, and usage.

What is an electric utility?

A company in the electric power industry (often a public utility) that engages in electricity generation and distribution of electricity for sale generally in a regulated market.

What types of entities are included in electric utilities?

Investor owned, publicly owned, cooperatives, and nationalized entities.

What are electricity markets?

Entities that buy and sell electricity, but usually do not own or operate generation.

Which French company was the world's largest producer of electricity in $2009$?

EDF

What is an electric power system or electric utility system?

A group of generation, transmission, distribution, communication, and other facilities that are physically connected.

What was the primary impact of the Energy Policy Act of $1992$ in the United States?

It removed previous barriers to wholesale competition in the electric utility industry.

Which $24$ states or jurisdictions in the United States allow deregulated electric utilities?

Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, Virginia, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, and Washington D.C.

What are four examples of electrical energy?

$1$. Batteries that power electronic devices, $2$. Electrical charges moving through a wire plugged into the wall socket to power electrical appliances, $3$. Static electricity, and $4$. Capacitors that store electric energy in an electric field.

What components make up a basic electrical system?

A power source, connected by a conductor to a load device, and controlled by a switch, allowing the flow of electrons to power a load.

What are the four main parts of an electrical system?

$1$. The source of electrical energy, $2$. The transmission, $3$. The control, and $4$. The load.

What is considered the heart of a home's electrical system?

The electrical service panel, commonly known as the breaker or fuse box.

What is the function of the main breaker in a residential electrical panel?

It is a large switch that controls the power supply in the entire house.

What type of electrical system is found in an automobile and what equipment does it power?

A $12\,\text{volt}$ electrical system; a fully charged battery operates furnace, water heater, most lighting, range hood, monitor panel, roof vent fans, and other equipment.

What are the two types of electrical current and their characteristics?

Alternating current (used for residential and commercial buildings, flexible to change in volts for transmission) and Direct current (flows steadily in only one direction).

What eight electrical components are represented by the acronym WSRCLIDT?

Wires, switches, resistors, capacitors, light bulbs, inductors, diodes, and transistors.

What is an electric control system?

A set of automated devices that control the transformation, transportation, and distribution of electrical energy in equipment, regulating the flow of electric current needed for its proper operation.

How does electricity travel through the two conductors in a residential circuit?

Electricity travels from the service panel to home appliances through the hot conductor, and returns the current to the main service panel through the neutral conductor.

What is the relationship between the direction of electric charge flow and electric current flow?

When electric charge is flowing in one direction, the current flows in the opposite direction.

From which terminal to which terminal does electric current flow start in a battery?

From the negative terminal to the positive terminal of a battery.

What are the three sources used to produce electricity?

$1$. Fossil fuels (coal, natural gas, and petroleum), $2$. Nuclear energy, and $3$. Renewable energy.

What are the four systems found in a house?

$1$. Electrical, $2$. Heating, $3$. Air, and $4$. Plumbing.

What is a circuit breaker?

An electrical safety device and switch that automatically interrupts the current of an overloaded electric circuit, ground faults, or short circuits.

What is the distinction between a series circuit and a parallel circuit?

A series circuit has only one path for the current, whereas a parallel circuit has multiple pathways or branches.

What is the most common residential electric service in North America?

Single Phase Three Wire.

How are the voltage lines configured in a Single Phase Three Wire residential service?

Line $1$ to neutral and Line $2$ to neutral are used to power $120\,\text{volt}$ lighting, while Line $1$ to Line $2$ is used to power $240\,\text{volt}$ phase loads such as water heaters, electric ranges, or air conditioners.

What three wires are used to carry electricity from one place to another?

$1$. Live wire, $2$. Neutral wire, and $3$. Earth wire.

What is the purpose and typical color of hot wires in a breaker box?

They carry power from the power source to the load and are often black or red.

What is the primary purpose of a battery and how does it store energy?

Its purpose is to accept, store, and release electricity on demand, using chemistry in the form of chemical potential to store energy.

What are examples of electrical system facilities and networks?

Substations, powerlines, drainage channel or irrigation system, water or sewer line system, and generation plants.

What is a $220\,\text{volt}$ electric service used for?

It is utilized for larger electrical appliances.

What is the function of a common wire in an electrical circuit?

It serves as the return path for electrical current in a circuit.

What are the seven main types of energy?

$1$. Mechanical, $2$. Electrical, $3$. Chemical, $4$. Radiant (light), $5$. Thermal (heat), $6$. Sound, and $7$. Nuclear.

What are the five most important uses of electrical energy?

$1$. Computers and office equipment (combined), $2$. Refrigeration, $3$. Space cooling, $4$. Lighting, and $5$. Ventilation.