Basic Electrical Power Fundamentals

People depend on electricity constantly and when the power goes out in a storm or there s a tripped breaker or another problem in an electrical circuit understanding the basic components of an electrical system can help you get things running again.

Basic electrical power fundamentals.

But what is electricity really. It s also important to know who is responsible for what portion of your electrical service. Many problems encountered in service work are electrical problems or related to electrical problems. Figure 1 1 shows the basic building blocks of an electric power system.

Electric charge refers to a fundamental property of matter that even physicists don t totally understand. Knowledge of the fundamentals of electricity and application is increasingly necessary not only for those of us who work in the electric power industry but also for the general public. The system starts with generation by which electrical energy is produced in the power plant and then transformed in the power station to high voltage electrical energy that is more suitable for efficient long distance transporta tion. 2 fundamentals of electricity we will start with an overview to introduce you to the main points about these devices and the parts that make them.

There are two types of electrical current in common use today. Alternating current ac and direct current dc. Suffice it to say that two of the tiny particles that make up atoms protons and electrons are the bearers of electric charge. In this four module program on electrical fundamentals we introduce for study the general physics or basic natural laws that govern the use of electricity.

Section title page number introduction to electricity 3 characteristics 3 current 4 voltage 5 resistance 6 review 1 9 ohm s law 10. Namely electric charge electric current and electric circuit. The purpose of this info tec is to help you understand the fundamentals of electrical systems. Ac current is produced by all electric utilities.

Let s start with three very basic concepts of electricity. Understanding basic electrical theory. Then we will step through each of these topics in detail.