北美的能源系统是如何连接的
开灯很容易，对吧? 伸手拨动开关. 就这么简单. But how does the electricity needed to turn that light on reach your home in the first place? 正如您可能已经猜到的那样，这并不那么简单.
本质上, it all happens thanks to a continent-wide network of energy “grids” that supply power to towns and cities from coast to coast. 但是电力是如何进入电网的呢? 让我们来看看.
电是怎样的? 生成的
有四种典型的发电方式. 每种方法都有其优点, and all are important components of the energy mix that ensure the stable delivery of energy we all depend on.
发电厂
北美的大部分电力是由发电厂产生的. These burn fuels, such as coal or natural gas to power a turbine to generate electricity. Nuclear reactors, another important type of power plant, use fission energy to power a turbine.
水电站大坝
水电站大坝 work by using gravity to channel water through a special turbine that spins to generate electricity.
风力涡轮机
Windmills use the power of wind to turn a turbine that generates electricity. 而这些在他们这一代是100%零排放的, 它们只在有风的时候发电. When the wind isn’t blowing, other, more reliable power sources are needed to generate energy.
太阳能电池板
太阳能电池板 capture energy from the sun and convert it into useable electricity. 与上述方法不同，不需要涡轮机. 太阳能电池板, 比如风力涡轮机, are weather-dependent and can only generate power under favourable climatic circumstances.
电是怎样的? 传播
Now, let’s look at how this important form of energy moves from where it’s produced, to your home. 一旦生成, it takes several significant pieces of infrastructure to move that power from its source, 你家里的电灯开关.
变形金刚
后一代, transformers convert the electricity to a higher voltage needed to move it through transmission lines.
输电线路
Those high-capacity power wires you see along highways move power across the continent. The poles that hold them up high overhead contain a grounding wire that provides a good return path for electrons, 并有助于引导闪电远离电线.
变电站
After travelling through high-capacity transmission lines, power reaches a substation. Here it is reduced to a lower voltage for travel through smaller wires. 下一个, 它到达一个进一步降低电压的变压器, 让它安全好用.
电表和电气面板
Once the power reaches your home, it passes through a power meter to measure household usage. 最后, it reaches the electrical panel and travels into the wires and to the outlets and switches we all use. 如你所见, 虽然轻轻一摁开关可能不费什么力气, 在幕后，很多工作都是为了确保当你这样做的时候, 你的灯亮了. Something to think about the next time you’re popping some corn for your favourite TV show, plugging in to your laptop to check your email or curling up to read a great book in the wee hours of the night.