ELECTRICAL SUBSTAION

A substation is a part of an electrical generation, transmission, and distribution system.

Substations transform voltage from high to low, or the reverse, or perform any of several
other important functions. Between the generating station and consumer, electric power may
flow through several substations at different voltage levels. A substation may
include transformers to change voltage levels between high transmission voltages and lower
distribution voltages, or at the interconnection of two different transmission voltages.

Major Components in Electrical Substations

The substation is an assembly of the following major electrical equipments:

 Electrical Power transformers

 Instrument transformers
 Conductors& Insulators
 Isolators
 Bus bars
 Lightning arresters
 Circuit breakers
 Relays
 Capacitor banks and miscellaneous equipment

Electrical Power Transformer

Electrical Power transformer

A static electrical machine used for transforming power from one circuit to another circuit
without changing frequency is termed as Power transformer. The transformers are generally
used to step down or step up the voltage levels of a system for transmission and generation
purpose. These transformers are classified into different types based on their design,
utilization purpose, installation methods, and so on.
Instrument Transformers:

The current and voltage transformers are together called as the Instrument transformers.

Current Transformer

Current transformer is used for the measurement of the alternating current by taking samples
of the higher currents of the system. These reduced samples are in accurate proportions with
the actual high currents of the system. These are used for installation and maintenance of
the current relays in substations for protection purpose which are normally have low-current
ratings for their operation.

Potential Transformer

Potential transformer is quite similar to the current transformer, but it is used for taking
samples of high voltages of a system for providing low-voltage to the relays of protection
system and also to the low-rating meters for voltage measurement. From this low-voltage
measurement, the actual system’s high voltage can be calculated without measuring high
voltages directly to avoid the cost of the measurement system.

Conductors

The material or object that obeys the electrical property conductance (mostly made of metals
such as aluminum and copper) and that allows the flow of electric charge is called conductor.
Conductors permit free movement of the flow of electrons through them. These are used for
the transmission of power or electrical energy from one place (generating station) to another
place (consumer point where power is consumed by the loads) through substations.
Conductors are of different types and mostly aluminum conductors are preferred in practical
power systems.

Insulators

The metal which does not allow free movement of electrons or electric charge is called as an
insulator. Hence, insulators resist electricity with their high resisting property. There are
different types of insulators such as suspension type, strain type, stray type, shackle, pin type
and so on. A few types of insulators are shown in the above figure. Insulators are used for
insulation purpose while erecting electric poles with conductors to avoid short circuit and for
other insulation requirements.

Isolators
Isolator is a manually operated mechanical switch that isolates the faulty section or the
section of a conductor or a part of a circuit of substation meant for repair from a healthy
section in order to avoid occurrence of more severe faults. Hence, it is also called as a
disconnector or disconnecting switch. There are different types of isolators used for different
applications such as single-break isolator, double-break isolator, bus isolator, line isolator,
etc.

Bus Bars

The conductor carrying current and having multiple numbers of incoming and outgoing line
connections can be called as bus bar, which is commonly used in substations. These are
classified into different types like single bus, double bus and ring bus.

Lightening Arresters

The substation equipments such as conductors, transformers, etc., are always erected
outdoor. Whenever light surges occur then, a high-voltage pass through these electrical
components causing damage to them (either temporary or permanent damage based on the
amount of voltage surge). Therefore, to avoid this difficulty, lightening arresters are placed to
pass the entire lightening surges to earth. There are other arresters which are used to ground
the switching surges called as surge arresters.

Circuit Breakers

For the protection of substation and its components from the over currents or over load due
to short circuit or any other fault the faulty section is disconnected from the healthy section
either manually or automatically. If once the fault is rectified, then again the original circuit
can be rebuilt by manually or automatically. Different types of circuit breakers are designed
based on different criteria and usage. But in general mostly used circuit breakers are Oil
circuit breaker, Air circuit breaker, SF6 circuit breaker, Vacuum Circuit Breaker, and so on.

Relays
Relays are used for disconnecting the circuits by manual or automatic operation. Relay
consists of the coil which is excited or energized and such that making the contacts of relay
closed activates the relay to break or make the circuit connection. There are different types of
relays such as over current relays, definite time over current relays, voltage relays, auxiliary
relays, reclosing relays, solid state relays, directional relays,inverse time over current
relays, microcontroller relays, etc. The above figure shows some basic relays and their
operation.

Capacitor banks
A Capacitor bank is a set of many identical capacitors connected in series or parallel within a
enclosure and is used for the power factor correction and basic protection of
substation.These capacitor banks are acts as a source of reactive power, and thus, the
phase difference between voltage and current can be reduced by the capacitor banks. They
will increase the ripple current capacity of the supply. It avoids undesirable characteristics in
the power system. It is the most economical method for maintaining power factor and of
correction of the power lag problems.

Emerging trends in technological development have created advancement in the substation

installation and maintenance. For example, SCADA, supervisory control and data acquisition
technique made it possible to control a substation automatically from a remote location. For
more data regarding miscellaneous components and technologies in substations, post your
queries in the comments section below.
 SOLAR ELECTRIC SYSTEM
Solar power is the conversion of energy from sunlight into electricity, either directly
using photovoltaics(PV), indirectly using concentrated solar power, or a combination.
Concentrated solar power systems use lenses or mirrors and tracking systems to focus a
large area of sunlight into a small beam. Photovoltaic cells convert light into an electric
current using the photovoltaic effect.

COMPONENTS OF A SOLAR ELECTRIC SYSTEM

Solar Panels
Solar panels are the most noticeable component of a residential solar electric system.
The solar panels are installed outside the home, typically on the roof and convert
sunlight into electricity.
The photovoltaic effect is the process of converting sunlight into electricity. This process
gives solar panels their alternate name, PV panels.
Solar panels are given output ratings in watts. This rating is the maximum produced by
the panel under ideal conditions. Output per panel is between 10 and 300 watts, with
100 watts be a common configuration.

Solar Array Mounting Racks

Solar panels are joined into arrays and commonly mounted in one of three ways: on
roofs; on poles in free standing arrays; or directly on the ground.
Roof mounted systems are the most common and may be required by zoning
ordinances. This approach is aesthetic and efficient. The main drawback of roof
mounting is maintenance. For high roofs, clearing snow or repairing the systems can be
an issue. Panels do not usually require much maintenance, however.
Free standing, pole mounted arrays can be set at height that makes maintenance easy.
The advantage of easy maintenance must be weighed against the additional space
required for the arrays.
Ground systems are low and simple, but cannot be used in areas with regular
accumulations of snow. Space is also a consideration with these array mounts.
Regardless of where you mount the arrays, mounts are either fixed or tracking. Fixed
mounts are preset for height and angle and do not move. Since the angle of the sun
changes throughout the year, the height and angle of fixed mount arrays are a
compromise that trades optimum angle for a less expensive, less complex installation.
Tracking arrays move with the sun. Tracking array move east to west with the sun and
adjust their angle to maintain the optimum as the sun moves.

Array DC Disconnect
The Array DC disconnect is used to disconnect the solar arrays from the home for
maintenance. It is called a DC disconnect because the solar arrays produce DC (direct
current) power.
Inverter
Solar panels and batteries produce DC (direct current) power. Standard home
appliances use AC (alternating current). An inverter converts the DC power produced by
the solar panels and batteries to the AC power required by appliances.

Battery Pack
Solar power systems produce electricity during the daytime, when the sun is shining.
Your home demands electricity at night and on cloudy days – when the sun isn’t
shining. To offset this mismatch, batteries can be added to the system.

Power Meter, Utility Meter, Kilowatt Meter

For systems that maintain a tie to the utility grid, the power meter measures the amount
of power used from the grid. In systems designed to sell power the utility, the power
meter also measures the amount of power the solar system sends to the grid.

Backup Generator
For systems that are not tied to the utility grid, a backup generator is used to provide
power during periods of low system output due to poor weather or high household
demand. Homeowners concerned with the environmental impact of generators can
install a generator that runs on alternative fuel such as biodiesel, rather than gasoline.

Breaker Panel, AC Panel, Circuit Breaker Panel

The breaker panel is where the power source is joined to the electrical circuits in your
home. A circuit is a continuous route of connected wire that joins together outlets and
lights in the electric system.
For each circuit there is a circuit breaker. Circuit breakers prevent the appliances on a
circuit from drawing too much electricity and causing a fire hazard. When the appliances
on a circuit demand too much electricity, the circuit breaker will switch off or trip,
interrupting the flow of electricity.

Charge Controller
The charge controller – also known as charge regulator – maintains the proper charging
voltage for system batteries.
Batteries can be overcharged, if fed continuous voltage. The charge controller regulates
the voltage, preventing overcharging and allowing charging when required.
 ELECTRICITY GENERATION PROCESS
Solar Panels
The main part of a solar electric system is the solar panel. There are various types of
solar panel available in the market. Solar panels are also known as photovoltaic
solar panels. Solar panel or solar module is basically an array of series and parallel
connected solar cells. The potential difference developed across a solar cell is about
0.5 volt and hence desired number of such cells to be connected in series to achieve 14
to 18 volts to charge a standard battery of 12 volts. Solar panels are connected together
to create a solar array. Multiple panels are connected together both in parallel and
series to achieve higher current and higher voltage respectively.

Batteries
In grid-tie solar generation system, the solar modules are directly connected to inverter
not with load. The power collected from solar panel not in constant rate rather it varies
with intensity of sunlight. This is the reason why solar modules or panels do not feed
any electrical equipment directly instead they feed an inverter whose output is
synchronized with external grid supply. Inverter takes care of the voltage level and
frequency of the output power from the solar system it always maintains it with that of
grid power level. As we get power from both solar panels and external grid power
supply system, the voltage level and quality of power remain constant. As the stand-
alone or grid fallback system is not connected with grid any variation of power level in
the system can directly affects the performance of the electrical equipment fed from it.

So there must be some means to maintain the voltage level and power supply rate of
the system. A battery bank connected parallel to this system takes care of that. Here the
battery is charged by solar electricity and this battery then feeds a load directly or
through an inverter. In this way variation of power quality due to variation of sunlight
intensity can be avoided in solar power system instead an uninterrupted uniform power
supply is maintained. Normally Deep cycle lead acid batteries are used for this purpose.
These batteries are typically designed to make capable of several charging and
discharging during service. The battery sets available in the market are generally of
either 6 volt or 12 volts. Hence number of such batteries can be connected in both
series as well as parallel to get higher voltage and current rating of the battery system.

Controller
This is not desirable to overcharge and under discharge a lead acid battery. Both
overcharging and under discharging can badly damage the battery system. To avoid
these both situations a controller is required to attach with the system to maintain flow of
current to and fro the batteries.

Inverter
It is obvious that the electricity produced in a solar panel is DC. Electricity we get from
the grid supply is AC. So for running common equipment from grid as well as solar
system, it is required to install an inverter to convert DC of solar system to AC of same
level as grid supply. In off grid system the inverter is directly connected across the
battery terminals so that DC coming from the batteries is first converted to AC then fed
to the equipment. In grid tie system the solar panel is directly connected to inverter and
this inverter then feeds the grid with same voltage and frequency power.
In modern grid tie system, each solar module is connected to grid through individual
micro-inverter to achieve high voltage alternating current from each individual solar

panel.

Components of Stand Alone Solar System

A
basic block diagram of a stand-alone solar electric system is show above. Here the
electric power produced in the solar panel is first supplied to the solar controller which in
turn charges the battery bank or supplies directly to the low voltage DC equipments
such as laptops and LED lighting system. Normally the battery is fed from solar
controller but it can also feed the solar controller when there is insufficient supply of
power from solar panel. In this way the supply is continued uniformly to the low voltage
equipments which are directly connected to the solar controller. In this scheme the
battery bank terminals are also connected across an inverter. The inverter converts the
stored DC power of the battery bank to high voltage AC for running larger electrical
equipments such as washing machines, larger televisions and kitchen appliances etc.
Components of Grid Tie Solar System
Grid tie solar systems are of two types one with single macro central inverter and other
with multiple micro inverters. In the former type of solar system, the solar panels as well
as grid supply are connected to a common central inverter called grid tie inverter as
shown below.

The inverter here converts the DC of the solar panel to grid level AC and then feeds to
the grid as well as the consumer’s distribution panel depending upon the instantaneous
demand of the systems. Here grid-tie inverter also monitors the power being supplied
from the grid. If it finds any power cut in the grid, it actuates switching system of the
solar system to disconnect it from the grid to ensure no solar electricity can be fed back
to the grid during power cut. There is on energy meter connected in the main grid
supply line to record the energy export to the grid and energy import from the grid. As
we already told there is another type of grid-tie system where multiple micro-inverters
are used. Here one micro inverter is connected for each individual solar module. The
basic block diagram of this system is very similar to previous one except the micro
inverters are connected together to produce desired high AC voltage.
In
previous case the low direct voltage of solar panels is first converted to alternating
voltage then it is transformed to high alternating voltage by transformation action in the
inverter itself but in this case the individual alternating output voltage of micro inverters
are added together to produce high alternating voltage.