AC line Power Loss

High voltage is traded off for lower current in an AC line transmission. High current would require thicker cables, hence losses. How much can the voltage be increased to have a lower power loss? What is the ratio b/w current and voltage (p = I^2 * R).

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Jayrod

  • Jun 21st, 2010
 

"High current would require thicker cables, hence losses." - I disagree. The larger the cross-sectional area of a cable, the lesser the resistance (remember the formula for resistivity).

Thicker cables are usually employed in distribution (from the dist. transformer to the end user), only short distance, that's why we often ignore the losses.

Anyways, it depends on your preference on what voltage level to use just to minimize losses. You can do it theoretically.

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