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Direct Current (DC)
- Current in which charged particles in a circuit travel in only one direction. Electrons travel from the negative terminal, through the circuit, to the positive terminal
- eg. Batteries/cells use direct current to supply electrical energy
- related terms- alternating current, electrical power
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Alternating Current (AC)
- Current in which the flow of electric charge periodically changes direction. The electrons move back and forth. There is no net movement of charge.
- eg. Power lines use alternating current.
- Related terms-direct current, electrical power
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Transformer
- A device that is used to reduce or increase the voltage of an alternating current.
- eg. A transformer is used to decrease the voltage of electrical power before it enters your house
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Circuit Breaker
- An automatically operated electrical switch used to protect an electrical circuit from damage caused by overload or a short circuit. Its function is to detect fault conditions and interrupt current flow
- eg. circuit breakers are used in your home to keep us safe from the dangers of electricity
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Fuse
- A device that is used to keep us safe from the dangers of electricity. A strip of wire melts and breaks in an electrical circuit when the current exceeds a safe level
- eg. Fuses are used in your home so that the current of an electrical circuit doesn't exceed a safe amount
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Electrical Power
- The rate at which electric energy is transferred by an electric circuit. The unit of power is the watt.
- eg. Electric power is produced by electric generators
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Watt (W)
- A unit of power in an electric circuit, equivalent to one joule per second.
- eg. a hair dryer uses 1200 watts
- related terms-Kilowatt, electrical energy
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Electrical Energy
- The energy made available by the flow of electric charge through a conductor.
- eg. This wire has lots of electrical energy
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Kilowatt-hour (kWh)
- A unit of energy equal to 1000 watt-hours.
- related terms-Kilowatt, Watt
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EnterGuide label
- A label that shows details about the use of energy an appliance uses in one year of normal use
- eg. A fridge uses 460 kWh
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Smart meter
- A meter that records the total electrical energy used hour by hour, and sends this information to the utility company automatically.
- eg. the smart meter recorded how much energy you used yesterday
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Time of use pricing
- A system of pricing in which the cost of each kWh of energy used is different at different periods of the day. It is broken up into off-peak, mid-peak and on-peak pricing.
- eg. You try to use electricity at off-peak times in order to save money
- related terms-Base load, intermediate load, peak load
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Phantom load
- Electricity that is consumed by an electrical appliance/device even when it is turned off.
- eg. My phone's battery went down by 5% when it was turned off
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Efficiency
- The ratio of useful energy output to total energy input shown as a percentage.
- percent efficiency=
- useful energy output/total energy input x100
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Base load
- The lowest continuous demand for electrical power.
- eg.The base load for Ontario is 12 000 MW
- related terms-Intermediate load, Peak load
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Hydroelectric Power Generation
- Electricity generated by the movement of water.
- eg. Niagra falls generates hydroelectric power
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Intermediate load
- A demand for energy greater than the base load, but not as high as the peak load.
- eg. Ontarios intermediate load is met by burning coal and natural gas
- related terms-Base load, peak load
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Peak load
- The highest demand for electricity.
- eg. Ontario's peak load is met by using hydroelectric power and natural gas
- related terms- Intermediate load, Base load
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Renewable energy source
- An energy source that can be replaced fairly quickly or wont run out
- eg. Hydroelectric energy is a renewable energy source.
- related terms-non-renewable energy source
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Non-renewable energy source
- An energy source that can't be replaced very quickly or will run out
- eg. Nuclear power is a non-renewable energy source
- related terms- Renewable energy source
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Solar energy
- Radiant energy emitted by the sun
- eg. solar panels harness solar energy and convert it into electricity
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Photovaltic effect
- The creation of voltage or electric current in a material when it is exposed to light.
- related terms-solar energy
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Biomass energy
- The burning/processing of renewable organic materials to be used to create energy.
- eg. The wood was burned to create heat
- related terms-solar energy
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