This st is a foolow-up to Mike Martin's comment on electrical distribution in Europe.
This st is a foolow-up to Mike Martin's comment on electrical distribution in Europe.
As an example of house wiring in town areas, I went to StreeView and chose the house where I lived as a student. It shows just about everything, except the telephone wires which are always underground.
I will be glad when it is all underground, and in the home, wireless. :-) I am not holding my breath...
ReplyDeleteAs a student did you fling open the sash, step out on that balcony and shout "Good morning, World!" In all seriousness, the diagram is helpful in understanding the power distribution.
ReplyDeleteAnn Kennedy My room was behind the large window above the cornice. There was a girl of my age living only two houses away on the left. I often thought of going out the window at night and creeping into her room by the roofs, but I never did !
ReplyDeleteLaurent TRUILLET - Thanks, Laurent, this illustration is very helpful. It appears that your above ground cables are well supported so perhaps they're less vulnerable to ice and falling branches than what we have here.
ReplyDeleteIf America did this we would have far less power outages during a Blizzard like we are having now. The snow is 38 inches deep and the storm is not over yet. It is going to be the largest accum of snow ever in my state, Pennsylvania.
ReplyDeleteI have not the slightest idea why we have not had any outages yet, but... as I have said at other times if you don't hear from me for a bit I am off the grid.
Margaret Siemers
ReplyDeleteFirst let me point out that this cable arrangement is only for urban or near-urban areas. In the open countryside, we have the same problems as in the US. Last week, we have had heavy snow fall and quite a few areas have remained without electicity during one or two days.
Secondly, it's not only the snow and ice that is to blame for cable ruptures. It is the ignorance of the men who install the cables in the first place.
I shall spare you the whole theory, but let me just say that the "slack" of the cables when installed depends on the temperature and has to respond to the following formula :
f=PL2/8T
If the slack is below this formula, the cable will break automatically !
But don't let this technical demonstration spoil your day...
Laurent
Laurent TRUILLET Knowing about things never spoils my day. You can get as technical as you like, I don't understand it, but I am sure someone out there would. Besides it is nice to know about such things as formulas to string wire.
ReplyDeleteAnd as to the snow damage, trees and limbs falling in the city are the cause of many loosing power here every year. So I think it is a better idea than the way we do it.
As a retired British Telecom engineer I must point out that in the UK most telephone wires are only below ground up to the distribution poles and then, the last part of the service, is via overhead wires to the property.
ReplyDeleteI would agree though that housing developments during the last 25 years have their telephone service underground right up to each property.