Electrification

Electrification originally referred to the build out of the electrical generating and distribution systems which occurred in the United States, England and other countries from the mid 1880's until around 1940 and is in progress in developing countries. This also included the change over from line shaft and belt drive using steam engines and water power to electric motors. Electrification was called "the greatest engineering achievement of the 20th Century" by the National Academy of Engineering.(Viewable on line)

An alternate definition refers to the modification of a system so that it operates using electricity such as the change of railroad locomotives from steam or diesel to electricity.

History of electrification

Note: Until this section is constructed a good history of electrification may be viewed at the active link on this reference.

Development of dynamos and generators

Electric lighting

Development of DC motors

Alternating current versus direct current

Development of AC motors

Electric motors in industry

Main article: Mass production#history

Electrification of factories began in the 1880’s after the introduction of a practical D.C. motor by Frank J. Sprague and accelerated later after AC motors were developed by Nikola Tesla (Westinghouse) and others. Electric motors were several times more efficient than small steam engines because central station generation were more efficient than small steam engines and because line shafts and belts had high friction losses.

Electrification enabled modern mass production, as with Thomas Edison’s iron ore processing plant (circa 1893) that could process 20,000 tons ore per day with two shifts of five men each. At that time it was still common to handle bulk materials with shovels, wheelbarrows and small narrow gauge rail cars, and for comparison, a canal digger in previous decades typically handled 18 tons per 12 hour day.

The biggest impact of early mass production was in manufacturing everyday items, such as at the Ball Brothers Glass Manufacturing Company, which electrified its mason jar plant in Muncie, Ohio, USA around 1900. The new automated process used glass blowing machines to replace 210 craftsman glass blowers and helpers. A small electric truck was used to handle 150 dozen bottles at a time where previously a hand truck would carry 6 dozen. Electric mixers replaced men with shovels handling sand and other ingredients that were fed into the glass furnace. An electric overhead crane replaced 36 day laborers for moving heavy loads across the factory.

According to Henry Ford:

”The provision of a whole new system of electric generation emancipated industry from the leather belt and line shaft, for it eventually became possible to provide each tool with its own electric motor. This may seem only a detail of minor importance. In fact, modern industry could not be carried out with the belt and line shaft for a number of reasons. The motor enabled machinery to be arranged in the order of the work, and that alone has probably doubled the efficiency of industry, for it has cut out a tremendous amount of useless handling and hauling. The belt and line shaft were also tremendously wasteful – so wasteful indeed that no factory could be really large, for even the longest line shaft was small according to modern requirements. Also high speed tools were impossible under the old conditions-neither the pulleys nor the belts could stand modern speeds. Without high speed tools and the finer steels which they brought about, there could be nothing of what we call modern industry.”

Household electrification

Rural electrification

Electric utilities

Electric street railways (trams)

One of the first uses of electricity was electric street railways, which bacame a major transportation infrastructure before being displaced by automobiles.

Benefits of electrification

A central electric power generating can provide power more efficiently and at lower cost than small generators. The capital and operating cost per unit of power is also cheaper with central stations.

Electric lighting uses far less energy than formerly used gas and oil, and is much safer.

Generation of electricity

Thermal power stations or steam plants

Fossil fuel power stations: Coal, natural gas, fuel oil

Combined cycle

Geothermal

Hydroelectricity

Wind turbines

Diesel-electric transmission

Transmission of electricity and the electric grid

The infrastructure required for electrification includes power plants, an electric power transmission grid, substations and shorter distribution lines to the specific structure of daily life views & power interact of these sub - co -ordination point of energy.

Countries

One of the largest electrification projects was the GOELRO plan, adopted in 1920 and fulfilled in 1931 in the USSR.

In the United States, widespread rural electrification began with the establishment of the Rural Electric Administration (REA) in 1935 and its associated local Rural Electric Cooperatives.

Electrification pioneers

Sidney McMath

Thomas Edison

Nikola Tesla

Samuel Insull

General Electric

Tennessee Valley Authority

Mobile electrification

Main articles: Electric vehicle, railway electrification system, and charging station

Electrification of transportation (electromobility) is the use of hybrid electric and all-electric vehicles instead of all-petroleum vehicles.

Electrification, in a railway context, describes the process of converting a railway system from steam- or diesel-powered propulsion, to electric traction, and covers the modification of the infrastructure and the provision of suitable rolling stock.

Electrification of transport (electromobility) figures prominently in the Green Car Initiative, included in the European Economic Recovery Plan presented November 2008. DG TREN is supporting a large European "electromobility" project on electric vehicles and related infrastructure with a total budget of around € 50million as part of the Green Car Initiative.

Energy resilience

Main article: Energy resilience

Electricity is:

the ‘stickiest’ form of energy: it stays in the continent where it is produced.

multi-sourced. If one source suffers a shortage, we can produce electricity from another, including renewable sources.

As a result, it gives the greatest degree of energy resilience and the energy system is going to electrification.

(source:wikipedia)