here's a question for you how many
people does it take to turn on a light
bulb the answer seems simple just walk
into a dark room flip a switch and
instantly you can see right well the
truth is there's a lot more to
generating and delivering electrical
power than you've probably imagined hi
I'm Lea Patrick Sullivan with energy now
and this energy 101 video explains the
system used to generate electricity and
it also explains what it really takes to
turn on a light bulb in order to
understand energy we first need to start
at the source
literally mother nature provides the
natural resource we use to generate
power from natural gas to coal ocean
tides to mountain winds the energy we
need to create electricity must first be
mined harnessed or collected from the
earth some of these resources are finite
including fossil fuels like coal and oil
but others are unlimited like solar or
wind power but a lump of coal or a
strong breeze alone won't create the
power that turns on your light for every
energy source a chemical or mechanical
process is required to turn it into
usable electricity every day researchers
work to find innovative ways to use our
limited resources process raw materials
harness renewables more efficiently and
find entirely new energy sources today
the majority of America's electricity
comes from thermal power plants fuels
like coal natural gas biomass and
uranium are used to heat water until it
produces steam which powers a turbine
and generates electricity that steam
turns propeller like blades around a
rotor inside the turbine this turning
rotor connects to a main shaft which
spins magnets with a coil inside a
generator it's the generator inside a
turbine that converts mechanical energy
into
electric energy and creates electricity
steam is an efficient method of
producing electricity because the water
can be recycled and reused as it changes
back and forth between liquid and
gaseous states transporting electricity
from the power plant to your home is an
entirely different process current
technology cannot cost-effectively store
large amounts of electricity so
significant challenges exist when it
comes to transferring that electricity
across long distances just enough
electricity has to be generated to meet
demand at all times and be transmitted
through power lines to reach your light
switch too much or too little power can
crash the transmission system and cause
a blackout that's why a complex mix of
logistics management and infrastructure
is needed to transmit electricity from
power generators to consumers enter the
electricity grid also known as simply
the grid
the North American electricity grid is
actually made of four large grid systems
the Western grid the Eastern grid the
Texas grid and a grid covering the
Canadian province of Quebec these
independent regional networks of power
plants and transmission lines carry
electric energy at high voltage within
their area to local utilities there are
very limited links between the four
grids which means electricity generated
from a wind turbine in West Texas cannot
reach an apartment building in New York
City for electricity to move through one
of the four grids its voltage must first
be increased by a device called a
transformer then the electricity can
travel long distances across
high-voltage transmission lines these
high voltage lines are generally strung
between giant metal towers they stretch
for miles from power plants to local
substations in each neighborhood you've
probably seen substations along the side
of the road and wonder what they do well
their job is stepping down electric
voltages from levels as high as seven
hundred and sixty five thousand volts
close
to the hundred and ten volts you use in
your home the electricity from the power
line on your street passes through
another transformer which steps down the
voltage once more and then it travels
along the line into your house from
there the electricity enters your
breaker box and it is then distributed
to light sockets and outlets all you
have to do is flip a switch so as you
can see from the raw materials to the
power lines on your street there's so
much more to the electricity ecosystem
than meets the eye
you