Power line facts for kids

A power line running across facilities.

Power lines are wires that conduct electricity through to another place. Many have transformers. The voltage of the power at the end is usually 100V (Japan), 120V (North and Central America, parts of South America and Africa, and Saudi Arabia), or 220-240V (most of the rest of the world), but is much higher while going through the electric power transmission lines. The power at the end is then safe enough to be used when "stepped-down" by a transformer.

The original power is made at a power plant. As the power is sent through the power lines, sometimes it encounters spots that it cannot go through. Then it will need to raise its voltage with a step-up transformer. The act is called "stepping up". Where the electric power distribution reaches buildings, this voltage is too dangerous to be used, so it goes through a step-down transformer. This is called "stepping down". Then the electricity can be distributed to buildings.

Related pages

• Electricity
• Static electricity
• Power line communication

Images for kids

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  320 and 150 kV in Dnipro

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  Overhead powerline Dnieper crossing, Ukraine

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  A man working on powerlines in Nauru (2007)

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  430 and 250 kV at medium substation

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  Low-profile power lines near an airfield

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  Medium-voltage power lines with ceramic insulators in California

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  Modular suspension insulators are used for high-voltage lines. The objects attached to the conductors near the bottom of the insulator are Stockbridge dampers.

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  Sample cross-section of ACSR power line

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  Conventional ACSR (left) and modern carbon core (right) conductors

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  A bundle conductor

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  Spacer damper for four-conductor bundles

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  Bundle conductor attachment

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  Aluminum conductor crosslinked polyethylene insulation wire. It is used for 6600V power lines.

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  A Stockbridge damper

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  Medium-voltage compact overhead power line mounted on a concrete pole in Thailand. The appearance is similar to a bundle conductor, but this line consists of three conductors, which are attached to a single, cross-shaped porcellain insulator.

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  Aerial bundled cable in Old Coulsdon, Surrey

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  An aviation obstruction marker on a high-voltage overhead transmission line reminds pilots of the presence of an overhead line. Some markers are lit at night or have strobe lights.

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  The Ekibastuz–Kokshetau high-voltage line in Kazakhstan. It was the first commercially used power line which operated at 1150 kV, the highest transmission line voltage in the world.

See also

In Spanish: Línea eléctrica aérea para niños