July 2014

Electrical engineering is the historical name for what is now called electrical, electronics, and computer engineering. Originating in the 19th century with the development of electric power and the advent of telephone and wireless communications, electrical engineering continues to have lasting impact not only on technology and the engineering profession, but on all of society. […]

Electrical energy consumption is the electrical energy use by all the various loads on the power system. Consumption also includes the energy used to transport and deliver the energy. For example, the losses due to heating conductors in power lines, transformers, and so on is considered consumption. Electricity is consumed and measured in several different

Source and linear circuit elements are ideal circuit elements. One central notion of circuit theory is combining the ideal elements to describe how physical elements operate in the real world. For example, the 1 k resistor you can hold in your hand is not exactly an ideal 1 k resistor. First of all, physical devices

Discrete-time signals are functions defined on the integers; they are sequences. One of the fundamental results of signal theory will detail conditions under which an analog signal can be converted into a discrete-time one and retrieved without error. This result is important because discrete-time signals can be manipulated by systems instantiated as computer programs. Subsequent

The basic idea of communication engineering is to use a signal’s parameters to represent either real numbers or other signals. The technical term is to modulate the carrier signal’s parameters to transmit information from one place to another. To explore the notion of modulation, we can send a real number (today’s temperature, for example) by

A major application of electric energy is in its conversion to mechanical energy. Electromagnetic, or “EM” devices designed for this purpose are commonly called “motors.” Actually the machine is the central component of an integrated system consisting of the source, controller, motor, and load. For specialized applications, the system may be, and frequently is, designed

COLD LOAD PICKUP Following periods of extended service interruption, the advantages provided by load diversity are often lost. The term cold load pickup refers to the energization of the loads associated with a circuit or substation following an extended interruption during which much of the diversity normally encountered in power systems is lost. For example,

Multi-function or extended function refers to a meter that can measure reactive or apparent power (e.g., kvar or kVA) in addition to real power (kW). By virtue of their designs, many electronic meters inherently measure the quantities and relationships that define reactive and apparent power. It is a relatively simple step for designers to add

Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition (SCADA) is the foundation for the distribution automation system. The ability to remotely monitor and control electric power system facilities found its first application within the power generation and transmission sectors of the electric utility industry. The ability to significantly influence the utility bottom line through the effective dispatch of

The implementation of “distribution automation” within the continental U.S. is as diverse and numerous as the utilities themselves. Particular strategies of implementation utilized by various utilities have depended heavily on environmental variables such as size of the utility, urbanization, and available communication paths. The current level of interest in distribution automation is the result of: