Glossary

This section will help you in understanding the commonly used electrical terms and definitions:

Alternating Current - A flow of electricity that reaches maximum in one direction, decreases to zero, then reverses itself and reaches maximum in the opposite direction. The cycle is repeated continuously.

Alternator: An electric generator that produces alternating current.

Ambient Temperature - The temperature of the surrounding environment. As per industry standards, it is 25° C.

Ampere (A) - Unit of electrical current flow.

American Wire Gauge (AWG) - A standard measure that represents the diameter of wire. The larger the number, the smaller the diameter of the wire.

Basic Insulation Level (BIL) - A reference insulation level that measures the ability of the insulation to withstand very high voltage surges.

Breakdown Voltage - Voltage at which electrical system fails.

Battery - A group of two or more cells connected together to provide electrical current.

Circuit Breaker - A device that detects excessive power demands in a circuit and self interrupts when they occur. Acts as a preventive device.

Conductor - Any material that allows electricity to flow through it.

CU - Copper

Direct Current (dc) - Constant value current that flows in only one direction.

Dual Voltage Switch - A switch used to change the primary voltage of a transformer.

Device - A unit of an electrical system that is intended to carry but not utilize electric energy.

Energy Saving Devices - Devices designed to make use of energy sources more efficiently while providing heating, cooling, and light.

Fault - A short circuit in an electrical system.

Flicker - Impression of fluctuating brightness or color, occurring when the frequency of the observed variation lies between a few hertz and the fusion frequencies of the images.

Fluctuation - A surge dip in voltage amplitude often caused by load switching or fault clearing.

Fuse - A device that will heat up, melt and electrically open the circuit after a period of prolonged abnormal current flow.

Fuse Clearing Time - The total time taken by the fuse to melt and clear the circuit; melting time plus arching time.

Grounded - Connected to earth or to some other conducting body that serves in place of the earth.

Horsepower - The unit of power. It equals 746 watts.

Insulation - A material or object that has a high resistance to the flow of electric current; insulation over underground conductor is made of either EPR or XLPE material.

Inverter - An electrical device designed to convert direct current into alternating current.

Load Switching - Transferring the load from one source to another.

Low Voltage - A wiring system that provides power to some electronic devices operating on a voltage level much lower than the standard 110 volts such as doorbells and thermostats.

LB - Loadbreak

LVDA - Low Voltage Distribution Arrester

Neutral - The junction point of the legs in a Wye circuit.

Outlet - A point on the wiring system at which current is taken to supply utilization equipment.

Peak Demand - The maximum cumulative demand during a time period.

Power Outage - An interruption of power.

Resistor - Any device that limits the flow of current when voltage is applied.

Surge - Transient current or voltage associated with lightning or switching.

Switchgear - A general term that covers switching and interrupting devices and their combination with associated control, metering, protective and regulating devices.

Transfer Switch - An electronic device that will disconnect from one power source and connect to another power source under certain conditions.

Volt (V) - The unit of measure for voltage.

Voltage - The force which causes current to flow through an electrical conductor

Source: www.thelearningpit.com