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 CONSTRUCTION KNOWLEDGE >> ELECTRICAL >>

ELECTRICAL

1. How Can I Understand the Basics of Electricity?

2. What Are the Basic Electrical Formulas?
3. What Is the Difference between DC and AC?
4. How Is Single Phase AC Different from Three Phase AC?
5. What Is the Difference between KW and KVA?
6. What Is the Power Factor?
7. What Should I Know about Generators?
8. What Should I Know about Transformers?
9. What Should I Know about Metering, Switchgear and Panels?
10. What Do Fuses or Circuit Breakers Do?
11. What Are the Fundamentals of Electronics?
12. How Does Analog Differ from Digital?
13. How Do Fiber Optics work?
14. What Public Domain Documents are Available for Further Study?
15. Tricks of the Trade & Rules of Thumb for Electrical Basics:

How Can I Understand the Basics of Electricity?

Imagine yourself standing with a garden hose, ready to soak some unsuspecting
passerby. The hose has water pressure and the water will flow through the hose
onto the passerby when you open the nozzle. Prior to spraying, though, you stop
and think about the similarities between water flow in a hose and electrical current
flow in a wire.

You know that a pump, operating somewhere, creates the water pressure in the
hose, which is measured in pounds per square inch (psi). That water pressure
places the water in a "Ready to Flow" state. Similarly, an electric generator creates
an electromotive force (EMF), which is measured in volts. The electricity in the wire
is in a "Ready to Flow" state and has a certain voltage or EMF.

Now if you open the nozzle of that water hose, the unsuspecting passerby will get
drenched with a flow of water. That water flow gets described in gallons per minute
(gpm). The electrical rate of flow is defined as Current (I) and gets measured in
Amps. In order for a motor to turn or a light bulb illuminate, current must flow.

The third parallel between a water hose and an electrical wire concerns resistance.
If you have several hundred feet of hose coiled at your feet that the water must
pass through, not much water will emerge from the hose to spray that
unsuspecting passerby. The head loss in the hose due to friction will greatly reduce
the water flow and the water pressure. Similarly, resistance in an electrical circuit,
either from a long wire not properly sized or an electrical device can reduce both
EMF and current flow.

To recap, remember that the EMF (electromotive force measured in volts) is like the
water pressure (psi), while the current flow (amps) is like the water flow (gpm).

What are the Basic Electrical Formulas?

To understand electricity, the basic formulas shown below are essential.

If you'd rather look at some electric formulas developed from the US military.
Here's another set:
What is the Difference between DC and AC?

DC stands for Direct Current. A circuit powered by a battery is a DC circuit. Most

electronic devices run on DC. Continuing with the analogy of water in a hose, a DC
circuit has all the water flow in one direction. The reason why all electrical power
isn't DC, though, is because it can't be easily transmitted long distances or changed
into other voltages. So the early days of electrical power used DC, but required
large diameter wiring (expensive) and local power generators (impractical).

Therefore, a more efficient type of electrical power developed...Alternating Current.

When thinking about AC, the analogy of the water hose no longer works well. In
AC, the current flow reverses direction in a circuit, flowing first in one direction,
then in the other. This reversal of flow takes place 60 times in one second for
typical electrical AC power in America. Thus the AC power is called 60 cycle (or 60
Hertz). The normal AC power in much of the rest of the world is 50 cycle. The
number of cycles is chosen as a mostly arbitrary standard. The map shown in this
Wikipedia link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utility_frequency illustrates the
standard voltages and frequencies most countries in the world chose.

As an aside, lights and motors tend to be designed to work at either 50 cycles or 60

cycles. The wrong frequency in lights causes a flicker and in motors more serious
problems can occur. Understand that electrical appliances typically are designed for
60 cycle or 50 cycle power and will have problems with efficiency, or even safety, if
the correct frequency isn't used.

AC power became the standard throughout the world, mostly because transformers
allow AC power to change voltages. So Utility Companies can produce electricity
and send it over high voltage lines (say 11,000 volts), then simply transform the
power to 120 volts for normal use. This ability to send high voltage power over
transmission lines allows more power to be sent over smaller diameter cable, and
with less transmission loss, than DC power would allow.

How is Single Phase AC Different from Three Phase AC?

To begin with the simple, practical information, single phase AC power requires 3
wires: a hot, a neutral and a ground. Three phase requires 5 wires: 3 hots, a
neutral and a ground. In three phase, each of the hot wires can complete a circuit
with the neutral. Three phase power can carry more electrical capacity than single
phase. Starting a 10 hp motor (starting a motor can require 6 times more power
than running a motor) may cause a single phase line to blink or have a low voltage.
A three phase line could allow that 10 hp motor to start without problem. Generally,
three phase motors are more compact and efficient than similarly sized single
phased motors, so the use of three phase motors is widespread. Large motors get
used in so many applications: elevators, fans, blowers, compressors, pumps,
conveyor drives, etc., so many projects require three phase electrical power.

To understand three phase power, think about the 60 cycles of alternating current
electricity, discussed above. Each 1/60th of a second has a directional shift in the
current. The current flows in one direction, then back in the other direction. The 3
Phase Electrical Wave figure below illustrates the black line (phase #1) flowing in
one direction at 0, then flowing in the other direction at 180 and finally flowing back
in the original direction at 360. The red line (phase #2) and the blue line (phase
#3) start off the directional shifts at different times. This phase separation must be
considered to get the correct phase rotation when wiring induction motors. In other
words, one hook-up makes the motor run forward, the other hook-up makes it run
backwards.
So the three phase electrical system has 3 conductors carrying voltage waveforms
(shown above) that are offset in time by 120 degrees or 1/3 of a cycle.

When designing three phase electrical systems, one strives to balance the load
between phases. In a 5 wire, 120/208 volt system, two of the hots create a 208
volt circuit while a hot and a neutral create a 120 volt circuit. One tries to balance
the load (current), voltage and impedance on each of the phases. Of course a
perfect balancing never happens. But too much of an imbalance causes higher
operating temperature, shorter motor life and less efficiency.
What is the Difference between KW and KVA?

Electrical utility companies provide volt-amperes to customers, but bill them for
watts. Understanding this concept will help you better understand many of the
decisions made by project owners and electrical engineers. Since the Power Law
shown above lists Watts = Volts x Amps, you may think that the number of volt-
amperes should be the same as the number of watts. After all, that's what the
Power Law equation states. And it's true when the load is resistive, say an electrical
heating element that uses all the power that is delivered to it by changing the
electrical energy into heat energy. A motor or a fluorescent light, on the other
hand, are reactive loads in that part of the electrical power that goes to them gets
absorbed, then returned to the circuit without being used. The reactive portion of
the load dissipates no power.

Let's look at it a different way. When trying to understand generators that are
specified for a project, you will often see them listed with KVA numbers. So what
does that mean? If you know that you will have 100 amps of load at 208 volts,
you'd need an transformer with at least 20.8 KVA. If you installed that transformer
and measured the volts you'd see 208 volts and an amp meter would show 100
amps. But since part of that current goes back into the circuit without being used,
the real power (or the KiloWatts) would be less than 20.8 KW. The figure below
illustrates:
So with our generator example above, if the power factor is 0.8, then the real
power used will be 20.8 KVA x 0.8 power factor or 16.6 KW.

Since we're discussing generators, it's good to know that the industry standard
power factor assumed for rating generators is 0.8. But the reality of what the
generator will actually drive under load depends on the actual power factor. To
continue with the above example, if you use a 16.6 KW generator but lots of small
induction motors are being powered and the true power factor is 0.6, then the
apparent power required will be 16.6 KW / 0.6 = 27.7 KVA. The right conclusion to
draw, though, is to discuss and purchase generators using the KVA requirements,
not the KW.

What is the Power Factor?

The illustration above shows that the power factor is a number between 0 and 1.0
that is a ratio between the true power (KW) and the apparent power (KVA). Some
typical power factors are shown below:

Power
Various types of loads
factor

Electric resistive heating 1.0

Incandescent lighting 1.0

Incandescent lighting with a step down 0.95 to

transformer 0.98

0.5 to
Fluorescent lighting
0.95

Single phase induction motor up to 1 0.55 to

HP 0.75

Single phase induction motor 1 HP to 0.75 to

10 HP 0.85
 Three phase induction motor 1 HP to 0.75 to
10 HP 0.91

0.50 to
Electric welding transformers
0.70

0.80 to
Synchronous motors
1.0

As you can see, power factors can vary widely depending on the loads. So why does
that matter? Power companies don't like supplying the apparent power
requirements but only getting paid for the true power that's used. So an industrial
plant with a low power factor has to have lots more energy supplied to it than it
pays for, creating an inefficiency for the power companies. As you can imagine,
power companies tend to prize efficiency, so they typically bill that industrial client
with the low power factor a penalty to encourage them to improve. Under-
loaded induction motors often lower a power factor, so an industrial plant may
replace those motors with smaller capacity motors or going with synchronous
motors.

What Should I Know about Generators?

I know one thing I wish I'd known about diesel generators is that they need their oil
level checked daily if they are running 24/7. I had rented a 25 KVA diesel generator
for a factory we were building in the middle of nowhere. That old generator just ran
and ran...till it didn't. When the service guys came out and asked me when I'd last
checked the oil, I gave them that dumb blank stare. Then I responded with the
pitiful, "But you never told me I needed to check the oil." Paying to help repair the
engine on the generator helped me remember the lesson.
If you need to provide temporary electric on a jobsite, diesel, gasoline or propane
generators often solve the problem. Trying to determine the size generator you
need can also be a challenge. The following Honda
websitehttp://www.hondapowerequipment.com/genwat.asp shows the power
requirements for lots of devices. The big difference in current draw for motors
starting vs just running should be noted. I was also surprised how much energy
computers use.

A site to compare pricing and features for industrial

generators http://www.gopower.com/ shows the options available. The first
decision concerns the fuel used to power the generator; the normal options are
diesel, natural gas or propane. Deciding which items will be powered in a power
outage determines the size of the generator, typically in KVA. The location of the
proposed generator leads to the type of housing required.

As an interesting aside, I came across instructions to build the world's simplest

generator. You may want to kill some time playing around with this or help a kid
with a science project or some such thing. This simple device clearly shows the
definition of an electric generator as a device that changes mechanical energy into
electrical energy. On the other hand, a motor changes electrical energy into
mechanical energy.

Volume IV of the US DOE Handbook of Electrical Science illustrates components of a

generator in the figure below.
What Should I Know about Transformers?

A transformer transfers electrical energy from one circuit to another by magnetic

coupling. In other words, the number of coils on the primary side of a transformer
create a magnetic field when a current passes through it. Therefore, the secondary
side of the circuit, with a different number of coil windings, will have a different
voltage. The modern use of electricity requires that very high voltage, low current
flows travel the long distances between the electrical generation source and the
point of use. In almost any modern use of electricity, several voltage increases and
decreases will occur. Since transformers are extremely efficient, there are few
losses between their input power and output power.

The sketch below illustrates a simple transformer from Volume IV of the US DOE
Handbook of Electrical Science.

What Should I Know about Metering, Switchgear and Panels?

The electrical power portion of most buildings will include metering, switchgear and
distribution panels. A Construction Supervisor should have a basic understanding of
what these elements do. The metering allows the power company to keep track of
how much electricity gets used. The largest amount of electricity used at one time
(the Demand) and the power factor also are important on buildings that have more
inductive loads like motors.

Then a main breaker will be required in the switchgear, allowing the entire electrical
system to be turned off. From this main breaker, the current flows through circuit
breaker panels and sub-panels. Typically a one line diagram shows the general
concept of the electrical power system and includes metering, switchgear and
panels.

What Do Fuses or Circuit Breakers Do?

A fuse or circuit breaker protects the wiring in an electrical circuit from allowing too
much current to flow. A short circuit, for example, could be caused by two wires
mistakenly crossed (a nail driven through the wall and touching two wires) that
could cause a huge current flow and start a fire. Without fuses and circuit breakers,
electrical circuits would simply catch on fire too many times for electricity to be
considered a safe and practical energy to use. Since equipment will fail and wiring
problems will happen, fuses or circuit breakers need to be included in circuits for
safety.

Fuses work on the simple concept that when current flows through wire it generates
heat, the more current flow, the more heat. The thin wire in a fuse will only allow a
certain amount of current to run through it until it heats and disintegrates. The thin
wire in the fuse is now gone and no current can flow the circuit. When current was
flowing through the fuse and the rest of the circuit, it was a closed circuit, but when
the fuse blows, it becomes an open circuit. No current flows in an open circuit. So
fuses work well, but they only work one time. After the wire in a fuse burns out,
that fuse must be removed and thrown away and a new fuse must be installed.

The circuit breaker accomplishes the same function as a fuse, but uses a simple
switch to detect over-current situations. Therefore the circuit breaker can trip and
be reset many times. Follow the link for a slightly more detailed explanation
abouthow circuit breakers work.

What are the Fundamentals of Electronics?

How the heck should I know? I plan and build buildings for a living. I did find some
interesting US Navy training courses that provide a tremendous amount of useful
information. The intro to the course follows:

NAVY ELECTRICITY AND ELECTRONICS TRAINING SERIES

The Navy Electricity and Electronics Training Series (NEETS) was developed for use
by personnel in
many electrical- and electronic-related Navy ratings. Written by, and with the
advice of, senior
technicians in these ratings, this series provides beginners with fundamental
electrical and electronic
concepts through self-study. The presentation of this series is not oriented to any
specific rating structure,
but is divided into modules containing related information organized into traditional
paths of instruction.
The series is designed to give small amounts of information that can be easily
digested before advancing
further into the more complex material. For a student just becoming acquainted
with electricity or
electronics, it is highly recommended that the modules be studied in their
suggested sequence. While
there is a listing of NEETS by module title, the following brief descriptions give a
quick overview of how
the individual modules flow together.

Module 1, Introduction to Matter, Energy, and Direct Current introduces the course
with a short history
of electricity and electronics and proceeds into the characteristics of matter,
energy, and direct current
(dc). It also describes some of the general safety precautions and first-aid
procedures that should be
common knowledge for a person working in the field of electricity. Related safety
hints are located
throughout the rest of the series, as well.

Module 2, Introduction to Alternating Current and Transformers is an introduction to

alternating current
(ac) and transformers, including basic ac theory and fundamentals of
electromagnetism, inductance,
capacitance, impedance, and transformers.

Module 3, Introduction to Circuit Protection, Control, and

Measurement encompasses circuit breakers,
fuses, and current limiters used in circuit protection, as well as the theory and use
of meters as electrical
measuring devices.

Module 4, Introduction to Electrical Conductors, Wiring Techniques, and Schematic

Reading, presents
conductor usage, insulation used as wire covering, splicing, termination of wiring,
soldering, and reading
electrical wiring diagrams.
Module 5, Introduction to Generators and Motors is an introduction to generators
and motors, and
covers the uses of ac and dc generators and motors in the conversion of electrical
and mechanical
energies.

Module 6, Introduction to Electronic Emission Tubes, and Power Supplies ties the
first five modules
together in an introduction to vacuum tubes and vacuum-tube power supplies.

Module 7, Introduction to Solid-State Devices and Power Supplies is similar to

module 6, but it is in
reference to solid-state devices.

Module 8, Introduction to Amplifiers covers amplifiers.

Module 9, Introduction to Wave-Generation and Wave-Shaping Circuits discusses

wave generation and
wave-shaping circuits.

Module 10, Introduction to Wave Propagation, Transmission Lines, and

Antennas presents the
characteristics of wave propagation, transmission lines, and antennas.

Module 11, Microwave Principles explains microwave oscillators, amplifiers, and

waveguides.

Module 12, Modulation Principles discusses the principles of modulation.

Module 13, Introduction to Number Systems and Logic Circuits presents the
fundamental concepts of
number systems, Boolean algebra, and logic circuits, all of which pertain to digital
computers.
Module 14, Introduction to Microelectronics covers microelectronics technology and
miniature and
microminiature circuit repair.

Module 15, Principles of Synchros, Servos, and Gyros provides the basic principles,
operations,
functions, and applications of synchro, servo, and gyro mechanisms.

Module 16, Introduction to Test Equipment is an introduction to some of the more

commonly used test
equipments and their applications.

Module 17, Radio-Frequency Communications Principles presents the fundamentals

of a radiofrequency
communications system.

Module 18, Radar Principles covers the fundamentals of a radar system.

Module 19, The Technician's Handbook is a handy reference of commonly used

general information,
such as electrical and electronic formulas, color coding, and naval supply system
data.

Module 20, Master Glossary is the glossary of terms for the series.

Module 21, Test Methods and Practices describes basic test methods and practices.

Module 22, Introduction to Digital Computers is an introduction to digital

computers.

Module 23, Magnetic Recording is an introduction to the use and maintenance of

magnetic recorders and
the concepts of recording on magnetic tape and disks.
Module 24, Introduction to Fiber Optics is an introduction to fiber optics.

Embedded questions are inserted throughout each module, except for modules 19
and 20, which are
reference books. If you have any difficulty in answering any of the questions,
restudy the applicable
section.

Although an attempt has been made to use simple language, various technical
words and phrases have
necessarily been included. Specific terms are defined in Module 20, Master
Glossary.

How Does Analog Differ from Digital?

To understand analog signals, think about a microphone. The sound pressure from
your voice causes an element in the microphone to vibrate. Over time that element
moves with a different frequency (cycles per second) and amplitude (distance it
moves or wavelength). So an analog signal is a time continuous signal that has
wavelength and frequency. The stylus on a record player picks up the variations in
the groove that are analogous to the actual sounds. That's where the term "Analog"
comes from. The human hear also works in an analog manner, determining the in
real time the vibrations that carry frequency and wavelength of the sound.

Digital signals, on the other hand, are just a series of 0s and 1s. The pattern of
these 0s and 1s (called a binary system) convert an analog signal (which is the
physical properties of the sounds) into bits of information that can be stored,
transmitted and converted back into an analog signal. The accuracy of the
conversion (the quality of the sound) depends on the sampling rate (how often the
sound gets converted) and the sampling depth (how much information is included
in each conversion). Think of a low quality photo from a cheap cell phone camera,
the sampling rate and depth is low, so the quality of the photo is poor. Conversely,
a 5 Megapixel digital camera provides an extremely clear photo.

Another key difference between digital signals and analog signals is that digital
signals don't operate in real time like an analog signal. Your ear hears that sound
pressure and converts it to an analog signal in real time, as the sound happens.
Digital sound gets stored in bits of information and needs to be converted back to
analog real time (whether in an image or a sound) to make sense to our analog
selves.

A standard clock illustrates the principle in another way. As the second hand
sweeps the dial and the minute and hour hands slowly move, the clocks acts as an
analog device. It works continuously through time. So you can look at an analog
clock and know the time is 1 minute and 37 seconds after 2:00.

A digital clock typically will show only the hours and the minutes, changing from
one minute to the next. So does that make the digital clock less able to give
accurate time than an analog clock? Not necessarily. Think sampling rate and
sampling depth. The digital clock could be programmed to show time to the
thousandth or millionth of a second. The point to remember is that neither analog
nor digital signals are inherently better, just different.

The following rates for transmitting data are helpful:

30
kilobits
Copper phone line and dial up modem
per
second

DSO 64
kilobits
per
 second

144
kilobits
ISDN
per
second

1.5
megabits
DSL
per
second

1.5
megabits
T1 line (= 24 DSO lines)
per
second

2 to 5
megabits
Fiber cable, commercial applications
per
second

up to 30
megabits
Fiber cable, top end applications
per
second

43
megabits
T3 line (= 28 T1 lines)
per
second
How do Fiber Optics work?

With the understanding of digital signals from the section above, fiber optics
become fairly easy to visualize. Think about a very long flexible piece of 2" flexible
pipe, say a mile long. Imagine the inside of this pipe was completely mirrored,
reflecting any light that hits the pipe wall. If you stand at one end of this pipe and
shine a flashlight into the pipe, you could turn your light on and off and give Morse
code signals. Your buddy at the other end of the pipe could easily see and
understand the light signals coming through the pipe. That's how fiber optic cable
works.

A piece of fiber optic cable is made of incredibly pure glass, so light can be
transmitted miles without degradation. The thickness of the fiber optic strand is
similar to a human hair. The fiber optic glass strand gets coated plastic, which
allows all the light that goes in the one end to come out the other end.

So fiber optics become a great way to send digital signals. The on-off nature of
digital information allows the signal to be sent at the speed of light. The light laser
can turn on and off several billion times per second (try that with your flashlight!)
and use light colors as well to transmit billions of bits per second through an
individual fiber optic strand. At the other end of the strand, the light signal gets
converted back to a digital electric signal and finally back to an analog signal.

A fiber optic line currently can carry a signal about 60 miles before it needs to be
read and re-transmitted at full strength to the next transmission station.

What Public Domain Documents are Available for Further

Study?
The US Navy Construction Electrician Basic (NAVEDTRA 14026) and
the Construction Electrician Intermediate (NAVEDTRA 14027) both provide some
excellent training for understanding electricity on the construction site.

A complete guide to Electrical Science is provided in a 4-part manual and provides

an excellent knowledge about the theory of electrical work. Volume I presents the
basic theory of electricity and magnetism some basic DC circuits. It's titled DOE-
HDBK-1011/1-92 (JUNE 1992) and is 166 pages. Volume II covers more DC
complexity with capacitors, batteries and induction motors. It's 118 pages and titled
DOE-HDBK-1011/2-92 (JUNE 1992). A solid knowledge of DC power helps AC power
make more sense. Volume III addresses AC power, first in theory then in a more
practical manner. It's titled DOE-HDBK-1011/3-92 (JUNE 1992) is 126 pages.
Finally, Volume IV is titled DOE-HDBK-1011/4-92 (JUNE 1992) contains 142 pages
and covers AC motors, transformers and test equipment.

The US Dept of Defense provides Electrical Power Supply and Distribution

Manual which covers power distribution typically provided by Utility Companies.
This 125 page handbook is officially called UFC 3-550-03FA (March 2005).

Another resource, more useful in design than in construction, is the US Dept of

Defense Interior Electrical Systems Manual. It has 279 pages of information and is
officially named UFC 3-520-01 (June 10, 2002).

The US Dept of Defense provides Design: Interior and Exterior Lighting Controls
Manual which is an excellent introduction to lighting. This 125 page handbook is
officially called UFC 3-530-01 (August 2006). This excellent resource shows lighting
in many different types of projects and provides design and functional insight.

The US Navy Electricity and Electronics Training Series that is listed above
under What are the Fundamentals of Electronics?does a great job at covering all
basic aspects of electricity and electronics.
Tricks of the Trade & Rules of Thumb for Electrical Basics:
1. The EMF (electromotive force measured in volts) is like the water pressure
(psi), while the current flow (amps) is like the water flow (gpm).

2. The power law states that Watts = Amps x Volts, but always consider the
power factor.

3. The power factor is the real power (in kilowatts) divided by the apparent
power (in kilovolts x amps) and is always between 0 and 1.

4. Analog signals are continuous in time and have frequency and wavelength,
digital signals are bits that get stored.

5. Understand fiber optics by thinking about a long flexible pipe with a flashlight
shining into one end giving Morse code.

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