Question 1120496
Long conductive wires, such as those that carry electricity from the power plant to you the customer, tend to get very hot due to the amount of current as well as the amount of conductive material through which the electrons have to travel. Given that Pin > Pout and that P = I V, explain why power companies “step up” the generated voltage (~ 13,000 V) to multiple times that value (~ 360,000 V).
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The line loss is often referred to a the IR loss (current * wire resistance) and it translates to mostly heat
If you can lower the current it will lower the IR Loss, obviously>
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The consumer consumption is measured in Kilowatts which is voltage times current consumed; Volts*current
You can transfer the same power using less current if you raise voltage, so the power companies step up the voltage with transformers and when it arrives close to the consumer's home they step it down to the standard 120/240 volts