I'm working on the second part right now and I'm dreading trying to explain the importance of keeping generators maintaining voltage and frequency to the grid by describing an alternator and going "more spin = more frequency" and "more coiled wire = more voltage".
This without a lick of engineering education that isn't wikipedia, personal experience, or trawling energy substacks. :D
Frequency is a hard one to get across - partly because no one has ever really experience what damage a de-regulated frequency would do. There is also the related aspect of inertia - especially around the huge pieces of rotating steel in thermal plants - these fly-wheels provide a large element of mechanical stability to the electrical frequency - something that is very hard (impossible?) to achieve using for examples batteries as FFR (fast frequency response). Good luck!
"Oh no, my clock runs slightly too fast/too slow" is about the extent of frequency change damage the average person might experience vs. voltage (plug a 110v appliance into 220 current and it pops).
The closest example I could probably come up with is that the flywheel and its inertia is the only thing that lets your car keep moving instead of stalling immediately when you let off the gas - which is still pretty distant from normal experience!
They'll need a link to this (after it's done).
https://open.substack.com/pub/argomend/p/the-laymans-guide-to-electricity?r=28g8km&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
@Argo - indeed, the more voices helping with this important part of the story the better!
I'm working on the second part right now and I'm dreading trying to explain the importance of keeping generators maintaining voltage and frequency to the grid by describing an alternator and going "more spin = more frequency" and "more coiled wire = more voltage".
This without a lick of engineering education that isn't wikipedia, personal experience, or trawling energy substacks. :D
Frequency is a hard one to get across - partly because no one has ever really experience what damage a de-regulated frequency would do. There is also the related aspect of inertia - especially around the huge pieces of rotating steel in thermal plants - these fly-wheels provide a large element of mechanical stability to the electrical frequency - something that is very hard (impossible?) to achieve using for examples batteries as FFR (fast frequency response). Good luck!
"Oh no, my clock runs slightly too fast/too slow" is about the extent of frequency change damage the average person might experience vs. voltage (plug a 110v appliance into 220 current and it pops).
The closest example I could probably come up with is that the flywheel and its inertia is the only thing that lets your car keep moving instead of stalling immediately when you let off the gas - which is still pretty distant from normal experience!
Maybe I'll do "preheat the oven" instead...