Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems that use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the latter half of the 19th century after the commercialization of the electric telegraph, the telephone, and electrical power generation, distribution, and use.
In electrical engineering, the power factor of an AC power system is defined as the ratio of the real power absorbed by the load to the apparent power flowing in the circuit. Real power is the average of the instantaneous product of voltage and current and represents the capacity of the electricity for performing work. Apparent power is the product of root mean square (RMS) current and voltage. Due to energy stored in the load and returned to the source, or due to a non-linear load that distorts the wave shape of the current drawn from the source, the apparent power may be greater than the real power, so more current flows in the circuit than would be required to transfer real power alone. A power factor magnitude of less than one indicates the voltage and current are not in phase, reducing the average product of the two. A negative power factor occurs when the device generates real power, which then flows back towards the source.
A Flexible Alternating Current Transmission System (FACTS) is a family of Power-Electronic based devices designed for use on an Alternating Current (AC) Transmission System to improve and control Power Flow and support Voltage. FACTs devices are alternatives to traditional electric grid solutions and improvements, where building additional Transmission Lines or Substation is not economically or logistically viable.
In Electrical Engineering, a static VAR compensator (SVC) is a set of electrical devices for providing fast-acting reactive power on high-voltage electricity transmission networks. SVCs are part of the flexible AC transmission system device family, regulating voltage, power factor, harmonics and stabilizing the system. A static VAR compensator has no significant moving parts. Prior to the invention of the SVC, power factor compensation was the preserve of large rotating machines such as synchronous condensers or switched capacitor banks.
In electrical engineering, the input impedance of an electrical network is the measure of the opposition to current (impedance), both static (resistance) and dynamic (reactance), into a load network or circuit that is external to the electrical source network. The input admittance is a measure of the load network's propensity to draw current. The source network is the portion of the network that transmits power, and the load network is the portion of the network that consumes power.
In electrical engineering, particularly power engineering, voltage regulation is a measure of change in the voltage magnitude between the sending and receiving end of a component, such as a transmission or distribution line. Voltage regulation describes the ability of a system to provide near constant voltage over a wide range of load conditions. The term may refer to a passive property that results in more or less voltage drop under various load conditions, or to the active intervention with devices for the specific purpose of adjusting voltage.
Electric power quality is the degree to which the voltage, frequency, and waveform of a power supply system conform to established specifications. Good power quality can be defined as a steady supply voltage that stays within the prescribed range, steady AC frequency close to the rated value, and smooth voltage curve waveform. In general, it is useful to consider power quality as the compatibility between what comes out of an electric outlet and the load that is plugged into it. The term is used to describe electric power that drives an electrical load and the load's ability to function properly. Without the proper power, an electrical device may malfunction, fail prematurely or not operate at all. There are many ways in which electric power can be of poor quality, and many more causes of such poor quality power.
In an electric circuit, instantaneous power is the time rate of flow of energy past a given point of the circuit. In alternating current circuits, energy storage elements such as inductors and capacitors may result in periodic reversals of the direction of energy flow. Its SI unit is the watt.
The volt-ampere is the unit of measurement for apparent power in an electrical circuit. It is the product of the root mean square voltage and the root mean square current. Volt-amperes are usually used for analyzing alternating current (AC) circuits. In direct current (DC) circuits, this product is equal to the real power, measured in watts. The volt-ampere is dimensionally equivalent to the watt: in SI units, 1 V⋅A = 1 W. VA rating is most used for generators and transformers, and other power handling equipment, where loads may be reactive.
This is an alphabetical list of articles pertaining specifically to electrical and electronics engineering. For a thematic list, please see List of electrical engineering topics. For a broad overview of engineering, see List of engineering topics. For biographies, see List of engineers.
Electric power is the rate of transfer of electrical energy within a circuit. Its SI unit is the watt, the general unit of power, defined as one joule per second. Standard prefixes apply to watts as with other SI units: thousands, millions and billions of watts are called kilowatts, megawatts and gigawatts respectively.
In electrical engineering, a synchronous condenser is a DC-excited synchronous motor, whose shaft is not connected to anything but spins freely. Its purpose is not to convert electric power to mechanical power or vice versa, but to adjust conditions on the electric power transmission grid. Its field is controlled by a voltage regulator to either generate or absorb reactive power as needed to adjust the grid's voltage, or to improve power factor. The condenser’s installation and operation are identical to large electric motors and generators.
Doubly fed electric machines, Doubly fed induction generator (DFIG), or slip-ring generators, are electric motors or electric generators, where both the field magnet windings and armature windings are separately connected to equipment outside the machine.
In Electrical Engineering, a static synchronous compensator (STATCOM) is a shunt-connected, reactive compensation device used on transmission networks. It uses power electronics to form a voltage-source converter that can act as either a source or sink of reactive AC power to an electricity network. It is a member of the FACTS family of devices.
An electric power system is a network of electrical components deployed to supply, transfer, and use electric power. An example of a power system is the electrical grid that provides power to homes and industries within an extended area. The electrical grid can be broadly divided into the generators that supply the power, the transmission system that carries the power from the generating centers to the load centers, and the distribution system that feeds the power to nearby homes and industries.
In utility and industrial electric power transmission and distribution systems, a numerical relay is a computer-based system with software-based protection algorithms for the detection of electrical faults. Such relays are also termed as microprocessor type protective relays. They are functional replacements for electro-mechanical protective relays and may include many protection functions in one unit, as well as providing metering, communication, and self-test functions.
A unified power flow controller (UPFC) is an electrical device for providing fast-acting reactive power compensation on high-voltage electricity transmission networks. It uses a pair of three-phase controllable bridges to produce current that is injected into a transmission line using a series transformer. The controller can control active and reactive power flows in a transmission line.
A voltage sag or voltage dip is a short-duration reduction in the voltage of an electric power distribution system. It can be caused by high current demand such as inrush current or fault current elsewhere on the system.
A static synchronous series compensator (SSSC) is a type of flexible AC transmission system which consists of a solid-state voltage source inverter coupled with a transformer that is connected in series with a transmission line. This device can inject an almost sinusoidal voltage in series with the line. This injected voltage could be considered as an inductive or capacitive reactance, which is connected in series with the transmission line. This feature can provide controllable voltage compensation. In addition, SSSC is able to reverse the power flow by injecting a sufficiently large series reactive compensating voltage.
Currents' Physical Components (CPC) Theory is an advanced power theory in electrical engineering that provides a comprehensive framework for analyzing and compensating electrical systems with non-sinusoidal voltages and currents. Developed by Professor Leszek S. Czarnecki in 1983, CPC theory addresses the limitations of traditional power theories in handling modern electrical systems characterized by harmonic distortion and unbalanced loads.
