Electrification

Electrification is the process of changing something to use electricity instead of another power source. This change has been very important in history and for making our lives better. When we talk about electrification, we often mean building systems to create and share electricity.

In the past, many places did not have electricity, and people used other ways to power their homes and factories. Electrification means putting in the systems needed to generate and distribute electricity to many places. This has helped economies grow and improved many areas of life.

Today, electrification also means using clean and smart energy systems. This includes building super grids and smart grids with new technologies like energy storage. These changes help us move toward using renewable energy sources and reduce harm to our planet.

Electrification can happen in different parts of our lives, such as in factories, homes, rural areas, and even on trains. It also includes using electric vehicles and heat pumps powered by solar energy. Changing industrial processes to use electricity, like using electric furnaces or electrolysis, is another type of electrification.

Benefits of electrification

Electrification was called "the greatest engineering achievement of the 20th Century" by the National Academy of Engineering, and it continues in both rich and poor countries.

Electric lighting is very helpful. It is much brighter than oil or gas lamps and does not create soot. Even though early electricity was expensive, it was still cheaper and more convenient than oil or gas lighting. Electric lighting was also safer, which saved companies money on insurance.

Before electricity, factories used steam engines or even people and animals to power their machines. These methods were expensive and needed lots of care. Small steam engines cost a lot and were bigger than what many small shops needed. Electric motors were much better because they were more efficient and needed less upkeep. This made work easier and helped factories grow and become more productive.

Current extent of electrification

The use of electricity to power homes and cities began in the late 1800s. However, in 2017, around 840 million people—most of them in Africa—still did not have access to electricity from power grids. This number had improved from 1.2 billion in 2010. Big increases in electricity access happened in the 1970s and 1980s, growing from 49% of the world’s population in 1970 to 76% in 1990. By the early 2010s, about 81–83% of people worldwide had electricity.

Electrification for sustainable energy

Further information: Sustainable energy

Clean energy, like renewable energy and nuclear power, is often made as electricity. To keep our world healthy, we need to change things like cars and home heating to use electricity instead of older fuels. In places like the U.S. and Canada, using special machines called heat pumps with solar photovoltaic devices can save money, especially in areas that use propane or natural gas for heat.

Using electricity for cars helps make travel better for the planet, since it’s easier to make clean electricity than clean liquid fuels. While electric cars are common, bigger vehicles like trucks might still use hydrogen for now. For things like ships and airplanes, we’re still working on good clean options.

Many people around the world can’t keep their homes cool or warm enough. Besides using air conditioners, which need electricity, we also need to design buildings better. Heat pumps are a great way to heat homes using electricity, and they could meet most of the world’s heating needs. Some cities in the U.S. are now saying new houses can’t use gas, and other countries are trying new ways to heat homes with electricity. There are also new technologies like special stoves for cooking that don’t need natural gas.

Energy resilience

Main article: Energy resilience

Electricity is a special kind of energy because it usually stays close to where it is made. It can come from many different places, including renewable sources, which helps it stay strong over time. But electricity needs to be used right when it is made, which can be tricky. We can solve this problem using grid energy storage and distributed generation.

Solar and wind power depend on the weather and time of day, which can change a lot. Most electricity systems were built for steady sources like coal power plants. As we use more solar and wind, we need to adjust our systems to make sure we always have enough electricity. In 2019, these sources made up 8.5% of the world's electricity, and that number is growing fast.

We can make the electricity system more flexible in several ways. Wind and solar often work well together because wind is stronger at night and in winter when solar power is low. Connecting faraway places with long-distance transmission lines helps balance out changes. We can also shift energy use to times when solar and wind produce the most, using energy demand management and smart grids. Storage lets us save extra energy for later use. Building more wind and solar can ensure we have enough power even when the weather is bad. Sometimes, we need to use other energy sources like hydropower, bioenergy, or natural gas to fill in the gaps.

Main article: Energy storage

Energy storage is very important for using renewable energy because the sun and wind don't always work the same way. One common way to store energy is with pumped-storage hydroelectricity, which needs tall differences in height and water. Batteries, especially lithium-ion batteries, are also used a lot. These batteries contain cobalt, which is mostly mined in Congo, a place with political problems. Using materials from many places can help keep the supply stable, and recycling can reduce environmental harm.

Batteries usually store electricity for short times, and researchers are working on ways to store it for much longer. Some places use pumped hydro storage and power-to-gas to store energy for months. As of 2018, storing heat energy was not as easy as just burning fossil fuels. It also costs a lot to set up. Seasonal thermal energy storage needs a lot of space and has been used in some cold places to heat homes.

History of electrification

See also: Electricity and Timeline of electrical and electronic engineering

The earliest uses of electricity were for electroplating and the telegraph.

Development of magnetos, dynamos and generators

Main article: Electric generator

In the years 1831–1832, Michael Faraday discovered how to create electricity using magnets. This idea, called Faraday's law, works when a wire moves through a magnetic field. Faraday built the first generator using a copper disc spinning between the poles of a magnet. Around 1832, Hippolyte Pixii made a better magneto using a wire-wound horseshoe magnet, which produced more electricity. Later, devices were made to change this electricity into a steady flow.

Around 1838–40, William Fothergill Cooke and Charles Wheatstone created a telegraph. In 1840, Wheatstone used a magneto he made to power the telegraph. They improved generators by using electromagnets instead of permanent magnets in 1845. The self-excited dynamo, which didn’t need batteries, was made by several people in 1866.

The first practical generator, the Gramme machine, was created by Z.T. Gramme in the 1870s. British engineer R.E.B. Crompton improved generators for better cooling and performance. By the end of the 19th century, generators were much more efficient and reliable.

Electric lighting

Arc lighting

Main article: Carbon arc lamp

Sir Humphry Davy invented the carbon arc lamp in 1802 by discovering that electricity could create light between two carbon rods. However, it wasn’t widely used until better ways to generate electricity were developed. Arc lamps produced very bright light and a lot of heat, making them a fire hazard for homes. In the 1850s, new designs made them safer and they were used to light places like the National Gallery in London.

The first successful arc lamp that didn’t need constant adjustment was developed by Russian engineer Pavel Yablochkov in 1878. It was shown at the Paris Exposition of 1878 and used to light streets in Paris. Other inventors made even better arc lamps after that.

Incandescent light bulbs

Various inventors created incandescent light bulbs, but the most successful early ones used a carbon filament sealed in a vacuum. Joseph Swan in Britain and Thomas Edison in the US made these bulbs in the late 1870s. Edison’s bulbs were more successful because they used a thinner filament, which used less electricity. Edison started selling these bulbs in 1880, and Swan followed in 1881. Soon, homes and public places were lit by electricity.

Central power stations and isolated systems

The first central power station to provide electricity to the public was in Godalming, Surrey, UK, in 1881. It used hydroelectric power to light streets and a few homes. By 1882, a larger station opened in London, lighting up offices and a church. The first large power station in America was Pearl Street Station in New York, starting in 1882. It supplied electricity to homes and businesses.

By the mid-1880s, many companies were building power stations. By 1925, half of all electricity came from these large stations.

Load factor and isolated systems

See also: Continuous production

Early power companies struggled with changing demand for electricity. Most didn’t provide daytime service. To make more money, they needed to use electricity more evenly throughout the day. This improved by the early 20th century, especially with the use of motors.

Before large power stations, many factories and buildings made their own electricity. This changed as electricity prices dropped. Today, many industries still make some of their own power.

Direct current electric motors

Main articles: Electric motor and DC motor

The first DC motor that could power machinery was made by William Sturgeon in 1832. Frank J. Sprague improved it in 1884, making it better for many uses like streetcars and factory machines. This changed how factories worked, replacing steam engines and water power with electric motors.

Alternating current

Main article: Alternating current

See also: Transformer, Electric power transmission, and War of currents

Although early power stations used direct current, alternating current became more popular because it could be sent over long distances with less loss. AC motors could also run at steady speeds.

The technology for AC power was developed in the 1880s. Sebastian de Ferranti in Britain worked on AC power with Lord Kelvin. John Hopkinson invented a system for distributing electricity in 1882.

The Italian inventor Galileo Ferraris created an AC motor in 1885. Other inventors like Nikola Tesla also helped develop AC motors. By the 1890s, AC power was widely used.

AC power stations

The first AC power station was built by Sebastian de Ferranti in London in 1891. It used high-voltage AC power, which was later reduced for use in homes. In the US, George Westinghouse helped build AC power systems. By 1902, most new power in the US used AC.

Steam turbines

Main article: Steam turbine

The efficiency of steam engines improved greatly with the invention of the steam turbine by Sir Charles Parsons in 1884. Steam turbines were larger, more efficient, and needed less maintenance than old steam engines. They could run at higher speeds, making them better for power stations.

Electrical grid

Main article: Electrical grid

As power stations grew, it became useful to connect them to share power. This became common in the early 1900s. In the UK, the National Grid was created in 1926, standardizing electricity across the country. In the US, laws in the 1930s helped create a national power system.

Household electrification

See also: Rural Electrification

Electrification of homes began in major cities in the early 1900s and spread quickly. In the US, rural areas got electricity in the 1930s. In China, widespread electrification began after 1949. By the late 1990s, most of China had electricity, and the last remote villages were connected in 2015.

Historical cost of electricity

Central power stations made electricity cheaper and more efficient. The cost of electricity dropped a lot in the early 1900s because of better technology like steam turbines. As prices fell, more people used electricity, and power stations grew larger.