Electrical Installations

Module 6
Introduction
 The general scheme for electric power utilization starts from its
generation in power stations.
 Be it conventional power generating stations such as thermal,
hydro, and nuclear plants or renewable sources such a solar, wind,
tidal, geo-thermal etc. , the level and quality of electricity
generated is never utilized in its raw form.
 The generated levels of voltage, current, and frequency are more
than often modified before supplying to the consumers.
 From generation to utilization, electric power is made to flow
through various control and monitoring devices commonly known
as “switchgears”.
 Such switchgears are made to serve various purposes that include
simple switching ON/OFF functions, control, measurement, and
protection.
Components of LT switchgear
 Basic functions of LT switchgear
Fuse
 Fuse wire simplest current interrupting device used to break
a circuit by melting of the fuse element when the current
exceeds a given limiting value for a corresponding period of
time.
 Current flow will be interrupted thereby preventing the
circuit from further damage.
 Provides effective low cost solution for protection against
over-load or short-circuit.
 For costly equipment totally ceramic body enclosed fuses
called Cartridge Fuses are used.
 Switch Fuse Unit (SFU) is a combined unit comprising of
fuse and switch. It is used to serve dual purpose of protection
as well as isolation.
Miniature Circuit Breaker (MCB)
 Drawback of fuse: needs to be replaced by a new one once
they have operated.
 Once the fuse unit blows out due to over-current, it has to be
replaced by a new one of proper rating so that it is ready for
the next time.
 MCB functions as automatic switch which opens when it
senses excessive current and isolates the circuit.
 Once the circuit returns to the normal state, the MCB re-
closes automatically without necessitating manual
interference.
Miniature Circuit Breaker (MCB)
 MCB is an electromagnetic device that is enclosed in
moulded insulating material.
 IN addition to automatic closing and reclosing, and MCB can
be manually turned OFF and ON similar to normal switch.
Earth Leakage Circuit Breaker (ELCB)
 In case of insulation failure, there is leakage of current from
live parts towards body of the device.
 ELCBs work very effectively in such cases where it senses
such leakage current from the device and trips the power
supply OFF by opening the corresponding circuit breaker.

 ELCBs can be either voltage operated or current operated.

Moulded Case Circuit Breaker (MCCB)
 Protection schemes that require current handling capacities
more than that available with MCBs (up to 100 A), use
moulded case circuit breaker or MCCB.
 Many MCCBs offer additional feature of adjustable trip
current settings, that are not available with commonly
available MCBs.
 MCCBS have wide range of operating voltages, and can
operate both at 50 or 60 Hz, with current ratings varying
from 15 A to as high as 2500 A.
Moulded Case Circuit Breaker (MCCB)
 MCCBs have two different inherent mechanisms for
protection against (i) overload, and (ii) short circuit fault.
 A bimetallic strip that expands at higher temperature is used
for overload protection.
 At normal condition, the bimetallic strip allows current
through the MVVB.
 However, in case of overloading, as the current exceeds the
set trip value, the bimetallic trip will start to expand at
elevated temperature until the contact is broken.
Moulded Case Circuit Breaker (MCCB)
 A solenoid is used as the operating mechanism in case of
short circuit protection.
 In the case of a short circuit fault, the high fault current
induces a strong magnetic field in the solenoid located inside
the MCCB.
 This magnetic induction trips a movable arm in the breaker
and the circuit is instantly interrupted.
Types of Wires
 Conductors used for carrying electricity in the form of wires
and cables are usually made from copper or aluminum.
 While copper provides better electrical performance owing
to its higher conductivity, aluminum conductors are more
widely used because of its lower cost.
 Overhead line conductors used for carrying electric current
may be solid or stranded.
 Solid conductors using only one wire used for carrying low
current, while for carrying higher current, stranded
conductors are used.
 Stranded conductors are made by twisting a number of
insulated wires in parallel.
 Stranded conductor is more flexible than solid conductor.
Types of Wires
 The most commonly used conductor configuration for
overhead power delivery is the Aluminium Conductor Steel
Reinforced or ACSR.
 ACSR is made of stranded aluminium wires with one or
more than one steel conductor placed at the centre to
increase tensile strength of the strand.
Types of Cables
 As per Indian Electricity Rules (IE rules), overhead transmission
and distribution lines need to keep a minimum clearance from
ground, buildings and other structures to ensure electrical safety.
 Such right of way creates a problem in densely populated areas
such as cities and towns.
 In such case, the option is to carry electric power through cables
laid underground.
 A cable is basically an insulated conductor that can be either single
phase or 3-phase depending on the power to be handled.
 Mostly aluminum conductors are used with PVC (Poly Venyl
Chloride) or other chemical compounds being used as the
insulation.
Types of Cables
 Cables provide viable solution of electricity transfer in
densely populated areas, they do have some drawbacks as
well.
 Cables involve good amount of initial investment, have higher
temperature rise, and have restrictions for use with higher
voltages.
 The type of cables to be used at a particular location is guided
by mechanical and civil considerations in addition to the
operating voltage level.
 Operating voltage is important because it decides the type
and amount of insulation to be used.
Low tension (LT cables)
 LT cables are used for voltage levels up to 1000V.
 The various materials used for insulation in LT cables are:
 Oil impregnated paper
 Resin boded paper
 Varnished cambric with petroleum jelly coating for providing
increased flexibility
 Vulcanized bitumen
 Rubber insulated lead covered cables for house wiring,
service mains, etc.
High tension (HT cables)
 HT cables up to 11 kV mostly use paper insulation.
 3-core belted type cable with insulated conductors is used.
 A lead sheath is used to cover the insulated conducting core
that prevents moisture ingress.
 Steel armouring is often provided outside the cables to
prevent mechanical damage.
 For cables above 11 kV and up to 132 kV different insulating
materials that are commonly used are:
 Poly Vinyl Chloride (PVC)
 Paper insulation
 Cross linked polyethylene (XLPE)
 Vulcanized India rubber (VIR)
Construction of underground cables
 The major parts of underground cables can be listed as:
 1) Conductor
 2) Insulation
 3) Protection
 4) Screening
 5) Bedding
 6) Serbing
Conductor
 The function of conductor is to carry current.
 Pure copper or aluminium is used to make conductors.
 Conductors may be solid or stranded depending on its
current rating.
 The conductor is known as ‘core’ of the cable.
 For low and medium voltages, 2, 3, 4, or 2,3, 1 core cables
are used, whereas for HT cables, 1 or 3 core cables are used.
Insulation
 The function of insulation is to protect the conductors from
each other and from earth against short circuit due to voltage
stresses.
 Oil impregnated paper, polythene, polyethylene, PVC are
generally used for insulating materials in power cables.
Sheath or cover
 Underground cables are very much prone to water ingress.
 Water reduces the insulation resistance.
 In order to protect from water, underground cables are
sheathed by lead or aluminum in case of paper insulation, and
by PVC in case of polythene insulated cable.
Protection
 In order to protect the cable from mechanical damage,
underground cables are armoured.
 Paper insulated cables are armoured by steel wire or steel
tape.
 Plastic insulated cables are armoured by galvanized steel
wires or strips.
Screening
 The rough surfaces of stranded conductors develop electrical
stress in HT cables, which may lead to failure.
 So, outer surface of stranded conductors is made smooth by
lapping carbon semiconducting paper or very thin copper
tape.
 There may be more than one layer of screening in case of HT
cables.
 Bedding & Serbing
 Armouring may physically damage the conductor surface. So
a bed of jute mixed with bitumen is prepared over the
conductor surface over which armouring is applied.
 The function of serbing is to protect the armouring from
damage.
 Generally, tape of bitumen mixed jute is used for serbing.
 Serbing may also be done by PVC cover, which is better
process to protect cables from chemical contaminations.

1 – stranded conductors, 2 – oil impregnated paper insulation, 3 – water protecting cover, 4 – steel
wire or galvanized steel armour protection, 5 – screening, 6 – bitumen jute bedding, 7 - serbing
Calculations for Energy Consumption
 Energy is the total power consumed over a time interval, that is
energy = power * time.
 Generally the process of measurement of energy is same as that
for measurement of power except for the fact that the instrument
used should not merely measure power or rate of consumption of
energy, but must also take into account the time interval during
which the power is being supplied.
 The unit of energy can be expressed in terms of Joule or Watt-sec
orWatt-hour as per convenience.
 A larger unit that is most commonly used is kilowatt-hour (kWh),
which is defined as the energy consumed when power is delivered
at an average rate of 1 kilowatt for one hour.
 In commercial metering, this amount of 1 kilowatt-hour (kWh)
energy is specified as 1 unit of energy.
 Mathematically, energy consumed can be expressed as:

 Where, V is the supply voltage, I is the current, cos φ is the power

factor, and t is the time in hours.
 Energy meters used for measurement of energy have moving
systems that revolves continuously unlikely in indicating
instruments where it deflects only through a fraction of a
revolution.
 In energy meters, the speed of revolution is proportional to the
power consumed.
 Thus, total number of revolutions made by the meter moving
system over a given interval of time is proportional to the energy
consumed.
 In this context, a term called meter constant, defined as the
number of revolutions made per kWh, is used.
 Value of the meter constant is usually marked on the meter
enclosure.
Problem 1
 The meter constant of a 220V, 5 A energy meter is 2000
revolutions per kWh. The meter is tested at half load at rated
voltage and unity power factor. The meter is found to make
34 revolutions in 116 s. Determine the meter error at half
load.
 A 230V, 5 A energy meter on full load unity power factor test
makes 60 revolutions in 360 seconds. If the designed speed of
the disc is 520 revolutions per kWh, find the percentage
error.
 An energy meter is designed to have 80 revolutions of the
disc per unit of energy consumed. Calculate the number of
revolutions made by the disc when measuring the energy
consumed by a load carrying 30A at 230V and 0.6 power
factor. Find the percentage error if the meter actually makes
330 revolutions.
Power factor
 When voltage and current waves are sinusoidal, then power
factor angle is defined as the time phase angle (Φ) between
voltage and current waves. The product of effective or RMS
value of voltage and effective or RMS value of current is
called apparent or total power and is expressed in Volt-
Amperes (orVI)
 The product of effective or RMS value of voltage and
effective or RMS value of current and cosine of the power
factor angle is called real power or active power. It is
measured in watts (W).
Power factor
From the power triangle it can be seen that when voltage
and current are in the same phase, i.e. when Φ= 0, then
cosΦ= 1 , and sin Φ= 0. So the active power P will be
maximum, and the reactive power Q will have zero value.
Since active power P does all the useful work, it appears
advantageous to have unity power factor (cos Φ= 1); but the
reactive power Q maintains the voltage. So system voltage
will fall sharply if Q = 0. Achieving the maximum value of
power factor, which is = 1, is not always economically
viable. Thus, economic limit of power factor in practical
systems is somewhat maintained at a value less than 1 up to
which power factor has to be improved. Inductive effect
reduces power factor but capacitive effect increases power
factor.
Causes of low power factor
 All motors and transformers operate at low lagging power
factor due to their inductive nature
 During low load hours (e.g. night hours), the supply voltage
increases; this causes the magnetizing current of inductive
reactances connected to the system to increase. As a result,
the overall power factor reduces.
 Arc furnace and induction furnace in industries operate at a
very low lagging power factor.
 Power electronic devices and appliances employing power
electronic switches have inherently low power factor.
Advantages of power factor
improvement
 To overcome the bad effects of poor power factor, electric utilities
often take necessary steps for improving the operating power
factor by installing suitable ‘power factor correction’ devices.
 These power factor improvement devices effect in reducing the
supply current for a given active load (kW) being delivered.
 The sizes of generators, transformers, transmission line
conductors, circuit breaker contacts thus can be reduced resulting
in reduced capital investment.
 Due to reduction in capital investment, tariff rates i.e. electricity
cost (rate per kWh of energy consumed) will be cheaper.
 Reduced current at improved power factor will also ensure
reduced line losses and improved voltage regulation.
Methods of power factor improvement
 The various methods employed for power factor
improvement are:
 1) Use of static capacitors – they are connected in the
consumer (load) side to counteract the effect of inductive
loads.
 2) Use of synchronous condensers (over-excited synchronous
motors) – they draw leading power factor current .
 3) Use of phase advancers – used to supply excitation current
to induction motors.
 4) Use of phase-compensated motors (e.g. Schrage motors)
Earthing
 The soil of earth is a conducting system that is always at zero potential
irrespective of the amount of current flowing through it. Since its potential is
always zero irrespective of the current, the resistance of earth is considered to
be zero ohm. Thus, ‘earthing’ of an electrical system means that
connecting any suitable point of that system to earth. Such earthing
is done through ‘earth electrode’.
 ‘Earthing’ can thus be defined as connection to the general mass of earth by
means of an electrode. An equipment is said to be ‘earthed’ when it is
electrically connected to an earth electrode. The purpose of earthing is to
avoid the risk fire hazards which may arise due to the leakage
current flowing to earth though some accidental path which is not
designed to carry such current, and also to eliminate the danger of serious
injury from electrical shock to persons who may come in contact with the
metal frames or metal enclosures etc, which may become live due to insulation
failure. As per purpose, earthing can be divided into two categories, viz – (a)
system earthing and (b) equipment earthing.
System earthing
 Earth connection to a suitable point of current
carrying parts of a system is called system earthing.
System earthing ensures protection to the electrical
system.
 Due to this earthing, the rise of voltage between conductor
and earth is arrested so that the conductor insulation is not
electrically stressed. The neutral point earthing of
electrical generators, transformers etc. are called
system earthing.
Equipment earthing
 In certain equipments there are some metal parts, such as their enclosures,
that are not meant to carry current. Earthing of such non-current-carrying
metal parts is called ‘equipment earthing’.
 This earthing is necessary to prevent electrical shock hazard to human and other animals
that may touch such metal enclosures. In case of insulation failure, live parts of such
equipments when touching its metal enclosure, raises potential of the enclosure to a
value close to that of the supply. If a person touches the enclosure, he/she is susceptible
to electrical shock because of the large potential difference. Once the equipment is
earthed properly, i.e. its metal enclosure and other non-current carrying parts are
earthed, these points are forcefully kept close to zero potential so that contact potential
is not high enough. The most important component used for earthing is the earth
electrode. Earth electrode is the metallic part that is driven below earth to maintain
connection with conducting earth. Earth electrode may be plate type, pipe type, rod
type, or strip type depending on the current to be conducted. The material is either
copper or galvanized iron. A mixture of charcoal, salt, and sand is generally used
surrounding the electrode in the earthing pit that provides good earth conductivity. Time
to time water shall be poured into the earthing pit to maintain moist soil to keep soil
resistance low. In cases when a single earth electrode is nit sufficient to give satisfactory
result, the more number of electrodes can be connected in parallel to reduce the
effective earth resistance
Batteries
 A ‘primary cell’ consists of two dissimilar conducting electrodes,
one anode and the other cathode, immersed in a liquid called
electrolyte that acts chemically on the two electrodes. By using the
energy released from chemical reaction, electrons are shifted from
one electrode to another, thereby creating a potential difference
between two electrodes of the cell. The value of total potential difference
created between the electrodes, when the cell is not connected to an external
circuit, is known as its ‘Electromotive Force (EMF)’. The word ‘cell’ means
one unit of a combination of materials for converting chemical
energy into electrical energy. A ‘battery’ means a collection of such
units or cells. A battery is considered as a source of fixed DC
voltage.
 Though modern day electricity generation, transmission, and distribution are
done through AC system, use of DC plays some very important essential roles
in the entire power system. DC voltages are used for producing
magnetic poles in AC generators, supplying trip coils of circuit
breakers, emergency lighting, switch operations, remote position
control systems, indicating lamps, telephone exchanges, signaling
etc. Batteries act in such cases as the most reliable and stable source
of DC supply.
Types of cells and batteries
 Primary cell- Primary cells are those cells in which the cell reaction
occurs only in one direction and reaction cannot be reversed by the
external energy source. Thus in primary cells, the reaction occurs
only once and after a certain period of time the cell or battery gets
exhausted and cannot be used again. Such cells cannot be
recharged. Examples are Daniel cell, dry cell, and mercury cell.
 Secondary cell The cells which can be recharged by passing a direct
current through them are called secondary cells. After every use
they can be recharged and thus can be used again and again.
Secondary cells are also called ‘storage cells’ or ‘accumulators’ because they are
capable of storing electrical energy in the form of chemical energy. Secondary
batteries can be further categorized based on their chemistry. The four major
types of rechargeable batteries are:
 1) Lithium-ion(Li-ion)
 2) Nickel Cadmium(Ni-Cd)
 3) Nickel-Metal Hydride(Ni-MH)
 4) Lead-Acid
Types of cells and batteries
 1. Nickel‐Cadmium Batteries

 The nickel–cadmium battery (NiCd battery or NiCad battery) is a type of rechargeable battery that
uses nickel oxide hydroxide and metallic cadmium as electrodes. Ni-Cd batteries are able to hold
charge even when not in use. However, NI-Cd batteries have the shortcoming of “memory” effect
when a partially charged battery is recharged, lowering the future capacity of the battery. In
comparison with other types of rechargeable cells, Ni-Cd batteries offer good life cycle and
performance at low temperatures. Their most significant advantage is in their ability to deliver full
rated capacity at high discharge rates. They are used in portable devices, electronics and toys while
the bigger ones find application in aircraft starting batteries, Electric vehicles and standby power
supply.

 2. Nickel‐Metal Hydride Batteries Nickel metal hydride (Ni-MH) batteries use nickel oxide
hydroxide (NiOOH) as anode, while the negative electrodes are made of some hydrogen-absorbing
alloy. NiMH batteries find application in high drain devices because of their high capacity and
energy density. A NiMH battery can possess two to three times the capacity of a NiCd battery of the
same size, Unlike the NiCd chemistry, batteries based on the NiMH chemistry are not susceptible
to the “memory” effect that NiCads experience.
Types of cells and batteries
 3. Lithium‐ion Batteries

 Lithium ion batteries are one of the most popular types of rechargeable
batteries. They are found in different portable appliances including mobile
phones, smart devices and several other battery appliances used at home.
They also find applications in aerospace and military applications due to their lightweight
nature. Lithium-ion batteries are a type of rechargeable battery in which lithium ions
from the negative electrode migrate to the positive electrode during discharge and
migrate back to the negative electrode when the battery is being charged. Li-ion
batteries use an intercalated lithium compound as one electrode material, compared to
the metallic lithium used in non-rechargeable lithium batteries. Lithium ion batteries
generally possess high energy density, little or no memory effect and low selfdischarge
compared to other battery types. Li-ion batteries used in handheld electronic devices are
usually based on lithium cobalt oxide (LiCoO2) which provides high energy density and
low safety risks when damaged while Li-ion batteries based on Lithium iron phosphate
which offer a lower energy density are safer due to a reduced likelihood of unfortunate
events happening are widely used in powering electric tools and medical equipment.
Lithium ion batteries offer the best performance to weight ratio with the lithium sulphur
battery offering the highest ratio.
Types of cells and batteries
 4. Lead‐Acid Batteries

 Lead acid batteries are a low-cost reliable power workhorse used in heavy duty
applications. Leadacid storage batteries are most widely used these days
where PbO2 is used as anode, Pb as cathode, and dilute Sulphuric acid as
the electrolyte. Lead-acid storage batteries have proven to provide
satisfactory service life of around 25 years depending upon usage and
maintenance. They are usually very large and because of their weight, they’re always
used in non-portable applications such as solar-panel energy storage, vehicle ignition and
lights, backup power and load levelling in power generation/distribution. The lead-acid
is the oldest type of rechargeable battery and still very relevant and important into
today’s world. Lead acid batteries have very low energy to volume and energy to weight
ratios but it has a relatively large power to weight ratio and as a result can supply huge
surge currents when needed. These attributes alongside its low cost makes these batteries
attractive for use in several high current applications like powering automobile starter
motors and for storage in backup power supplies. Recently maintenance-free batteries
known as ‘Valve Regulated Lead-Acid (VRLA)’ or ‘Sealed Lead-Acid (SLA)’ batteries
have come in the market, but have not yet become popular due to low life expectancy
and problems of condition monitoring facilities.
Battery Characteristics
 Depending on the specific applications, batteries are made to
satisfy certain desired characteristics as summarized in below
Table
 The critical battery characteristics or specifications include
battery voltage, capacity, charging/discharging
cycles, efficiency, etc.
Battery Capacity
 "Battery capacity" is a measure of the charge stored by the battery,
and is determined by the mass of active material contained in the
battery.
 The battery capacity represents the maximum amount of energy that can be
extracted from the battery under certain specified conditions. The most
common measure of battery capacity is Ah, defined as the number of hours for
which a battery can provide a current equal to the discharge rate at the nominal
voltage of the battery.
 The Wh (energy) capacity can be approximated from the Ahr capacity by
multiplying the AH capacity by the nominal (or, if known, time average) battery
voltage. A more accurate approach takes into account the variation of voltage by
integrating the AH capacity x V(t) over the time of the charging cycle.
 For example, a 12 volt battery with a capacity of 500 Ah battery
allows energy storage of approximately 100 Ah x 12 V = 1,200 Wh or
1.2 KWh. However, the actual energy storage capabilities of the
battery can vary significantly from the "nominal" rated capacity, as
the battery capacity depends strongly on the age and past history of
the battery, the charging or discharging cycles of the battery and
the temperature.
Battery Voltage
 The voltage of a battery is a fundamental characteristic of a battery,
which is determined by the chemical reactions in the battery, the
concentrations of the battery components, and the polarization of the
battery.
 The voltage calculated from equilibrium conditions is typically known as
the nominal battery voltage. In practice, the nominal battery voltage
cannot be readily measured, but for practical battery systems the open
circuit voltage is a good approximation to the nominal battery voltage.
 Since the electric potential (voltage) from most chemical
reactions is on the order of 2V while the voltage required by
loads is typically larger, in most batteries, numerous
individual battery cells are connected in series. For example,
in lead acid batteries, each cell has a voltage of about 2V. Six
cells are connected to form a typical 12V lead acid battery.
Battery Lifetime and Maintenance
 Battery Lifetime

 The lifetime of a battery may be specified in several different ways depending

on the application and hence on which mechanisms are most significant. For
applications in which the battery is regularly charged and discharged (such as in
photovoltaic systems), the most appropriate measure of lifetime is the number
of charge/discharge cycles over which the battery maintains a given fraction of
its capacity.
 However, in systems which do not frequently experience charge/discharge
cycles (such as in uninterruptable power supplies), battery lifetime is more
appropriately specified in years.
 Improper use of the battery can greatly accelerate battery aging and further
decrease the number of cycles over which a battery can be used. Battery life is
defined either in years (if it remains fully charged or in terms of the number of
cycles under a given set of conditions (including temperature and DOD).
Battery Lifetime and Maintenance
 Maintenance Requirements

 The type of battery used will also have an important impact on the maintenance
requirements of the battery. Some types of battery reactions evolve gases and other
products which change the volume of the components in the battery. In cases in which
the volume of a battery changes, it is more difficult to seal the battery, and the battery
will need to have certain chemical components (usually simply water) added to
compensate for the evolution of gasses. A hermetically sealed battery does not exchange
any materials with its surrounding environment. Such a battery will have lower
maintenance requirements than a battery in which the various battery elements interact
with the surroundings. Nearly all small common primary batteries are hermetically
sealed and require no maintenance, but many secondary batteries, particularly lead acid
batteries, require a strict maintenance schedule.
 Battery Safety and Disposal Most battery systems, including those used in renewable
energy systems, contain corrosive or dangerous chemicals and the safety regulations for
each type of battery should be carefully checked. Additional safety concerns relate to
their ability to produce large current. Finally, for lead-acid battery systems, the evolution
of hydrogen is a potential issue. Batteries should not be thrown away as most batteries
contain toxic and/or corrosive material.