ENERGY UNIVERSITY

COURSE 1: ELECTRICAL CONCEPTS

Energy: The ability to do work. In the US metric system the energy is
measured in BTU (The amount of energy for rise the temperature of one
pound of water from 60 to 61F at 1 atmosphere of pressure). 1000
BTU=MBTU and 1000000 BTU=MMBTU. In the standard international system
the energy is measured in Joules (j, kj, Mj). A joule is the amount of energy
required to lift an apple a meter high from the floor. 1BTU1.055 kj.
Power: Is how fast the work gets done. The rate at which energy is
consumed.
Types of energy: WAGES (Water, air, gas, electric, steam). The water is
measured by volume (Gallons in US and Liters in SI). Air refers to compress
air used in pneumatic processes, is measured in Standard cubic feet per
minute (SCFM; US) or Cubic meters per second (M3/s-1) and the pressure is
defined in PSI o kPa. Gas includes (natural gas, coal, oil, gasoline, ethanol,
oxygen, argon, CO2 and nitrogen), gas is often measured by volume in ft3
(US) an m3 (SI), crude oil is sold in barrels (42 US Gallons, 159 liters). The
gas can be sold by therms, 1therm=100.000BTUs=100 cubic feet. Energy
measured in Watts or kiloWatts, 1 Watt=1joule per second. 1kWh= 3412
BTU. Steam is measured by heat content in therms or kj.
Efficiency: Some energy is lost during its conversion.
Real Power (kW): Power needed to do work,
Reactive power (kVAr): Power to provide a magnetic field. A higher kVAr
means a lower power factor.
What causes low power factor? In an ideal system, if the current reaches
his peak at the same time than the voltage peak it means that they are in
phase and theres no reactive power presence. But, if the voltage reaches
his maximum amplitude before de current then is presence of lagging kVars.
On the other hand, if the current reaches his maximum amplitude before the
voltage, the kVars are set to be leading. These leading and lagging cases are
bases on an angle shift between the current and voltage due to inductive
and capacitive loads.
Power Factor: Two types. Displacement. Equal to the displacement angle
between the load current and supply voltage, equal to cos fi and can be
corrected by capacitors. Total (true). Equal to kW/kVA and includes the
effects of harmonics, capacitors can only correct displacement not total
power factor.
Load Factor: Is the division between actual consumption/consumption if
peak demand were constant. A high load factor means that the consumption
curve has unusual peaks in demand

Motors: Mechanical devices are rated in terms of maximum power outputs

and electrical devices are rated in terms of maximum power input. In the SI
the power is measured in kW and in the US is measured in HP

this only applies if the motor is working at full load

If not, load factor must be considered

Degree days: Absolute value difference of the daily mean temperature

from a base temperature value