When you think about it, most things in life are actually defined as a reference against something else. Let’s think about electricity for a moment.π€
Voltage is the difference in the number of electrons between a power source and a ground. It’s not that grounds have no electrons, they have many electrons, but grounds have more or less electrons compared to the hot side.Β β‘ Relatively speaking, a ground has a voltage of zero volts compared to the hot. It has electrons, but they aren’t referenced against the hot side. If you look at the wiring at your house, and it’s wired properly, the neutral wire will go out to a ground rod driven into the ground. The neutral and ground wire in most houses is connected to a single stake. You can stick a wire in neutral side, touch it with your bare hands (as long as it’s wired correctly). In contrast, if you do this on the hot side, you will quickly die, as deadly number of electrons will flow either to or from your bodies, as you are most likely connected electrically to the ground, as you are standing on the ground or something connected to the ground. π
You can actually hang off a high-voltage power line, and won’t get a shock if you don’t touch the ground, which the high-voltage wires are referenced against. Birds sit on high voltage line, and don’t even feel a tingle. π¦ There is no reference to ground. Squirrels can run on high-voltage line but if they touch the power pole that is connected to ground, they will be instantly fried. If you have an isolation transformer that is referenced to a return wire rather then ground, it’s actually safe to touch a high voltage hot wire while standing on the ground, as no current will flow, as there is no reference to ground.
That is not limited though just to electricity. When you think about it most things really are just references to other things they are compared to.π‘
"New Englandβs behind the meter solar hit maximum generation at 2 GW this summer and contributed to lowering peak load and shifting peak demand to later in the day during this summerβs hβ¦"
This is going to be a growing problem with virtually all steam generating power plants in the future. While nuclear power is most dependent on a cool supply of water, most coal plants aren't much better.
Being an ideological partisan, I want to state for the record that I think Edison was right and Westinghouse was wrong - direct current is more efficient and more useful at any particular voltage than alternating current. Direct current motors are more powerful. Direct current doesn't lose energy through impedence, only resistance. It's true AC alternators are more efficient and longer laster than DC generators, and that more power can be transmitted at higher voltages and lower amperage than. But you can easily convert AC to DC using a bridge rectifier with diodes and that buck regulators and boost converters can easily step up or down DC voltage for transmission and use. It's true that diodes and high speed switching transistors didn't exist in Edison's time but I suspect most electrical systems would be largely DC powered today. Probably a lot more solar and local fossil generation would be the norm today, had the grid not been previously built.
Time really does slow down on the summer months.πΆ This morning my Kill a Watt meter reads 59.9 Hz which means that any clock that counts cycles is running slightly slower than normal, losing a few seconds as the day goes on. β²But I’m sure tonight as load decreases off the grid, they’ll make the night a few seconds shorter to accomplish the roughly correct number of cycles for the day.π
I discovered that I have a vampireΒ πΉ living in my kitchen with my Kill a Watt Meter. Hungry little beast!
My microwave averages 1.8 watts when plugged in but turned off. That’s 302 watt hours per week, completely wasted as I never bother to even set the clock.πΒ In contrast I use my microwave about 10 minutes a week. When it’s operating at full power it uses 1,300 watts or roughly 217 watt hours per week. That means my microwave uses more energy plugged in and turned off each week then it does cooking food. Hungry little vampire you might say.Β β‘
While I may save only $2.35 a year by unplugging my microwave, π‘every bit counts, and it will save roughly 16 lbs of coal from being burned and 10 lbs of coal ash and scrubber residue from being landfilled.
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