Explain why it is advantageous to use alternating current when transmitting electrical energy ?
Alternating current,help please
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March 12th, 2010 at 9:28 am
The main advantage of using AC is that the voltage can be altered by a passive device, the transformer. This allows transmission at high voltages (meaning less resistive loss for the same power), yet providing convenient voltage levels at the destination. In addition, AC generators and AC motors are usually simpler and more efficient than DC. (No commutators are needed.)
A major disadvantage is that power is lost due to radiation, and it is possible to "steal" power by inductive pickup. It is also subject to inefficiency due to reactive power at the user end. A pure inductor load in theory draws no actual power (current ånd voltage are 90º out of phase), but current is supplied by the generators and resistive losses will still occur.
Recently, very long distance power distribution is being done by very high voltage DC, which does not have radiation loss, and reduced resistive loss.