ᐅ Electricity Supply from the Utility to the House – How Does It Work?
Created on: 28 Mar 2014 19:25
C
cem80
Hello everyone,
I have recently started trying to understand the house I live in – more specifically, the electricity (wiring/current flow, etc.).
I bought two books on the topic (Electrical Installations in the Home and ABC of Electrical Installations).
There are three points I don’t fully understand.
1. Electric current works as follows:
Voltage builds up in the blue cable, and when the blue cable touches the black cable, the free protons start moving toward the electrical device (current consumer)...
Question:
So, does that mean the free protons are basically being consumed? Shouldn’t the cable eventually run out of movable protons?
Image related to the question:
2. I don’t quite understand how the electricity supply from the utility company connects to the internal house wiring.
The blue cable (L) is delivered from the utility company to the house, where the thick cable meets smaller cable connections inside the house (distribution panel handover).
Shouldn’t the large current in the thick (L) cable overload the thinner (L) cables it connects to and cause them to melt?
Image related to the question:
3. What happens if you use too thick a cable for a standard 230V (230V) line?
Is there power loss or maybe no power at all?
Is it safer?
Thank you for your help and best regards.
I have recently started trying to understand the house I live in – more specifically, the electricity (wiring/current flow, etc.).
I bought two books on the topic (Electrical Installations in the Home and ABC of Electrical Installations).
There are three points I don’t fully understand.
1. Electric current works as follows:
Voltage builds up in the blue cable, and when the blue cable touches the black cable, the free protons start moving toward the electrical device (current consumer)...
Question:
So, does that mean the free protons are basically being consumed? Shouldn’t the cable eventually run out of movable protons?
Image related to the question:
2. I don’t quite understand how the electricity supply from the utility company connects to the internal house wiring.
The blue cable (L) is delivered from the utility company to the house, where the thick cable meets smaller cable connections inside the house (distribution panel handover).
Shouldn’t the large current in the thick (L) cable overload the thinner (L) cables it connects to and cause them to melt?
Image related to the question:
3. What happens if you use too thick a cable for a standard 230V (230V) line?
Is there power loss or maybe no power at all?
Is it safer?
Thank you for your help and best regards.
T
toxicmolotof28 Mar 2014 22:22Are you referring to direct current or alternating current?
Are you talking about the technical direction of flow or the physical direction of flow?
In my opinion, the term "power consumption" is misleading because it is not about consuming electrons in the way water is consumed, but rather about power usage. (Measured, by coincidence, in kWh)
Are you talking about the technical direction of flow or the physical direction of flow?
In my opinion, the term "power consumption" is misleading because it is not about consuming electrons in the way water is consumed, but rather about power usage. (Measured, by coincidence, in kWh)
Electrons are moving. Voltage is a measure of the electric field that sets the electrons in motion. No electrons are consumed; they simply transfer energy. What matters for a cable is how many electrons pass through it per unit of time. If there are too many, they release too much energy inside the cable, causing it to overheat. A helpful analogy is the "water model for electrical circuits"; you might want to look it up.
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