What is electrical power? How to calculate it?

Basic concepts of
electrical power
An important aspect of any electrical or electronic circuit is the power associated with it. It is found that
when a current flows through a resistor, electrical energy is converted into heat. This fact is used by
electrical heaters which consist of a resistor through which current flows. Light bulbs use the same
principle, heating the element up so that it glows white hot and produces light. At other times much
smaller resistors and very much smaller currents are used. Here the amount of heat generated may be
very small. However if some current flows then some heat is generated. In this instance the heat
generated represents the amount of electrical power being dissipated.

Unit of electric power

The unit of power is the watt which is often denoted by the symbol W. A typical light bulb may consume
60 watts of power. A domestic electric heater may consume a thousand watts or a kilowatt (kW). Even
higher power levels are measured in Megawatts (MW) or millions of watts.

At the other end of the scale powers below a watt are commonly used. A milli watt (mW) means a
thousandth of a watt, and a microwatt is a millionth of a watt.

How to calculate the electric power?

The amount of power dissipated in a circuit can be easily determined. It is simply the product of the
potential difference or voltage across the particular element, multiplied by the current flowing through
it. In other words an electrical fire running from a 250 volt supply, and consuming 4 amps of current will
dissipate 250 x 4 = 1000 watts or 1 kilowatt. In other words.

W=V x I

W = total amount of power, in watts

V = operating voltage or potential difference, in volts

In some instances the actual resistance of the circuit element may be known. By using Ohm’s Law ( V = I
x R) it is possible to calculate the power if either the voltage or current is known. For example the mains
voltage may be known to be 250 volts and the element resistance may be known to be 62.5 Ohms.

By performing some simple algebra it is possible to discover the very useful formulae:

W = V2/R

and

W = I2 x R

Using these formulae it is simple to work out the power dissipated in the 62.5 ohm resistor when a
voltage of 250 volts is placed across it.

Using Electrical Energy

Electricity is useful both in itself and as a means of transferring energy over long distances. It is essential
to various industrial processes, telecommunications and the Internet, computers, televisions and many
other devices in common use. It can also be converted into other forms of energy for use in a variety of
other applications.

When an electric current flows through a conductor, it generates a certain amount of heat. The amount
generated depends on how well the material conducts electricity. A good conductor, such as copper,
produces very little. For this reason, copper wires and cables are commonly used to transmit electricity:
when heat is produced, energy is lost, so a good conductor minimizes energy loss. Materials that
conduct electricity less well produce more heat, so they tend to be used in electric heaters, cookers and
ovens, for example.

Electrical energy can also be converted into light. Early arc lights depended on an electrical discharge
across a small gap to heat the air to the point where it glows — the same principle as lightning. Later,
the filament light bulb was introduced: this relies on the current causing a thin, coiled wire to glow
white-hot. Modern, energy-saving light bulbs pass a high voltage current through a thin gas, causing it to
emit ultraviolet light, which strikes a fluorescent coating to produce visible light.

When a conducting material, such as a copper wire, is moved in a magnetic field, a current is generated.
Conversely, a current flowing through a wire will, if it experiences a magnetic field, produce movement.
This is the principle behind an electric motor. These devices consist of an arrangement of magnets and
coils of copper wire such that when a current flows through the wire, a turning motion is produced.
Electric motors are widely used in industry and in the home, for example in washing machines and DVD
players.

Generating Electrical Energy

Most electricity is generated by devices that convert rotational motion into electrical energy, using the
same principle as an electric motor, but in reverse. The movement of coils of wire within a magnetic
field produces an electric current. Commonly, heat, often generated by the burning of fossil fuels, is
used to produce steam that powers a turbine to provide the rotational motion. In a nuclear power plant,
nuclearenergy provides the heat. Hydroelectric power uses the movement of water under gravity to
drive the turbine.

The electricity generated at power plants is generally in the form of alternating current (AC). This means
that the current is constantly reversing its direction, many times per second. For most purposes, AC
works well, and this is how electricity reaches the home. Some industrial processes, however, require
direct current (DC), which flows in one direction only. For example, the manufacture of certain
chemicals uses electrolysis: the splitting of compounds into elements or simpler compounds using
electricity. This requires direct current, so these industries will either require AC to DC conversion or will
have their own DC supply.

It is more efficient to transmit electricity through power lines at higher voltages. For this reason,
generating plants use devices called transformers to increase the voltage for transmission. This does not
increase theenergy or power: when the voltage is raised, the current is reduced and vice versa. Long
distance transmission of electricity takes place at many thousands of volts; however, it cannot be used
in homes at these voltages. Local transformers reduce the voltage to around 110 volts in the USA, and
220-240 volts in Europe, for domestic supplies.

Electricity for small, low power devices is often supplied by batteries. These use chemical energy to
generate a relatively small electric current. They always generate a direct current, and therefore have a
negative and a positive terminal. Electrons flow from the negative to the positive terminal when a circuit
is completed.

Measuring Electrical Energy

Energy is measured in joules, a term named after the physicist James Prescott Joule. One joule is roughly
the amount of energy required to lift a one pound (0.45 kilogram) weight a vertical distance of nine
inches (22.9 cm). It is, however, usually more convenient to think of electricity in terms of power, which
is energy divided by time, or the rate at which it flows. This gives the possibly more familiar unit of the
watt, named after the scientist James Watt. One watt is equivalent to one joule per second.

There are a number of other units that relate to electricity. The coulomb is the unit of electrical charge.
It can be regarded as a quantity of electrons — 1.6 x 1019 — since all electrons have the same, very
small, charge. The ampere, usually abbreviated to “amp”, is the unit of electric current, or the number
of electrons that flow in a given amount of time. One amp is equivalent to one coulomb per second.

The volt is the unit of electromotive force, or the amount of energy that is transferred per unit of
charge, or coulomb. One volt is equivalent to one joule ofenergy being transferred for each coulomb of
charge. Power, in watts, is equivalent to volts multiplied by amps, so a five amp current at 100 volts
would be equivalent to 500 watts.

Basic electrical concepts

Electricity is found in two common forms:

• AC (alternating current)

• DC (direct current).
Electrical equipments can run on either of the AC/DC forms of electrical energies. The selection of
energy source for equipment depends on its application requirements. Each energy source has its own
merits and demerits.

Industrial AC voltage levels are roughly defined as LV (low voltage) and HV (high voltage) with frequency
of 50–60 Hz. An electrical circuit has the following three basic components irrespective of its electrical
energy form:

• Voltage (volts)

• Ampere (amps)

• Resistance (ohms).

1. Voltage is defined as the electrical potential difference that causes electrons to flow.

2. Current is defined as the flow of electrons and is measured in amperes.

3. Resistance is defined as the opposition to the flow of electrons and is measured in ohms.
All three are bound together with Ohm’s law, which gives the following relation between the three:

 V=I×R

(a) Power

In DC circuits, power (watts) is simply a product of voltage and current.

 P =V × I

For AC circuits, the formula holds true for purely resistive circuits; however, for the following types of AC
circuits, power is not just a product of voltage and current.

Apparent power is the product of voltage and ampere, i.e., VA or kVA is known as apparent power.
Apparent power is total power supplied to a circuit inclusive of the true and reactive power.

Real power or true power is the power that can be converted into work and is measured in watts

Reactive power If the circuit is of an inductive or capacitive type, then the reactive component
consumes power and cannot be converted into work. This is known as reactive power and is denoted by
the unit VAR.

(b) Relationship between powers

 Apparent power (VA) = V × A

 True power (Watts) = VA × cosφ

(c) Power factor

Power factor is defined as the ratio of real power to apparent power. The maximum value it can carry is
either 1 or 100(%), which would be obtained in a purely resistive circuit.

 Power factor = True power / Apparent power

Types of circuits

There are only two types of electrical circuits – series and parallel.

A series circuit is defined as a circuit in which the elements in a series carry the same current, while
voltage drop across each may be different.
A parallel circuit is defined as a circuit in which the elements in parallel have the same voltage, but the
currents may be different.

Transformer
A transformer is a device that transforms voltage from one level to another. Transformer working is
based on mutual emf induction between two coils, which are magnetically coupled. When an AC voltage
is applied to one of the windings (called as the primary), it produces alternating magnetic flux in the core
made of magnetic material (usually some form of steel). The flux is produced by a small magnetizing
current which flows through the winding. The alternating magnetic flux induces an electromotive force
(EMF) in the secondary winding magnetically linked with the same core and appears as

a voltage across the terminals of this winding. Cold rolled grain oriented (CRGO) steel is used as the core
material to provide a low reluctance, low loss flux path. The steel is in the form of varnished laminations
to reduce eddy current flow and losses on account of this.

There is a very simple and straight relationship between the potential across the primary coil and the
potential induced in the secondary coil. The ratio of the primary potential to the secondary potential is
the ratio of the number

of turns in each and is represented as follows:

 N1/N2 = V1/V2
Current-induced

When the transformer is loaded, then the current is inversely proportional to the voltages and is
represented as follows:

 N1/N2 = V1/V2= I2/I1