Electronics · AC and power / Principles and inquiry
Power transmission losses experiment guide
Keep input power fixed and compare losses at different transmission voltages and wire sizes.
How does it work?
At fixed transmission input power, raising voltage reduces I²R losses.
Key relationship
I = Pin/Vsend · Rline = ρL/A · Ploss = I²Rline
Try this investigation
- Keep input power fixed and compare losses at different transmission voltages and wire sizes.
- Run and record each of the three baseline presets.
- Compare the changed variable and its result with the baseline records.
Interpreting your results
For the same input power and line, what does a 33.6 W loss become when voltage rises from 1000 V to 2000 V?
8.4 W
Assumptions and limitations
Distributed effects and AC reactive power are omitted. This differs from a constant received-power model. In the invalid transmission region, do not interpret line heating as an actual loss. Experiment on screen; do not reproduce this with real power supplies, outlets or high voltage.