In an
electrical
Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described ...
or
electronic circuit
An electronic circuit is composed of individual electronic components, such as resistors, transistors, capacitors, inductors and diodes, connected by conductive wires or traces through which electric current can flow. It is a type of electric ...
or
power system part of the energy in play is dissipated by unwanted effects, including energy lost by unwanted
heating of resistive components (electricity is also used for the
intention of heating, which is not a loss), the effect of
parasitic elements (
resistance,
capacitance
Capacitance is the capability of a material object or device to store electric charge. It is measured by the change in charge in response to a difference in electric potential, expressed as the ratio of those quantities. Commonly recognized are ...
, and
inductance
Inductance is the tendency of an electrical conductor to oppose a change in the electric current flowing through it. The flow of electric current creates a magnetic field around the conductor. The field strength depends on the magnitude of th ...
),
skin effect
Skin effect is the tendency of an alternating electric current (AC) to become distributed within a conductor such that the current density is largest near the surface of the conductor and decreases exponentially with greater depths in the co ...
,
losses in the windings and cores of transformers due to resistive heating and magnetic losses caused by
eddy current
Eddy currents (also called Foucault's currents) are loops of electrical current induced within conductors by a changing magnetic field in the conductor according to Faraday's law of induction or by the relative motion of a conductor in a magnet ...
s,
hysteresis
Hysteresis is the dependence of the state of a system on its history. For example, a magnet may have more than one possible magnetic moment in a given magnetic field, depending on how the field changed in the past. Plots of a single component of ...
,
unwanted
radiation
In physics, radiation is the emission or transmission of energy in the form of waves or particles through space or through a material medium. This includes:
* ''electromagnetic radiation'', such as radio waves, microwaves, infrared, visi ...
,
dielectric loss,
corona discharge
A corona discharge is an electrical discharge caused by the ionization of a fluid such as air surrounding a conductor carrying a high voltage. It represents a local region where the air (or other fluid) has undergone electrical breakdown ...
, and other effects. There are also losses during
electric power transmission
Electric power transmission is the bulk movement of electrical energy from a generating site, such as a power plant, to an electrical substation. The interconnected lines that facilitate this movement form a ''transmission network''. This is d ...
.
In addition to these losses of energy, there may be non-technical loss of revenue and profit, leading to electrical energy generated not being paid for, primarily due to theft. These losses include
meter
The metre (British spelling) or meter (American spelling; see spelling differences) (from the French unit , from the Greek noun , "measure"), symbol m, is the primary unit of length in the International System of Units (SI), though its pref ...
tampering and bypassing, arranged false meter readings, faulty meters, and un-metered supply. Non-technical losses are reported to account for up to 40% of the total electricity distributed in some countries.
Technical and human errors in meter readings, data processing and billing may occur,
and may lead to either over-charging
or under-charging.
Parasitic losses in electricity production
With regard to
electricity production
Electricity generation is the process of generating electric power from sources of primary energy. For utilities in the electric power industry, it is the stage prior to its delivery (transmission, distribution, etc.) to end users or its storag ...
, "parasitic loss" it is any of the loads or devices powered by the generator, not contributing to net electric yield. It is found by subtracting productive yield from gross yield:
:
where:
* GY is gross electric yield (the output of the generator);
* PY is productive yield (the electricity which is made available to external electric loads)
* PL is parasitic load.
See also
*
Electric power transmission
Electric power transmission is the bulk movement of electrical energy from a generating site, such as a power plant, to an electrical substation. The interconnected lines that facilitate this movement form a ''transmission network''. This is ...
*
Standby power
Standby power, also called vampire power, vampire draw, phantom load, ghost load or leaking electricity ("phantom load" and " leaking electricity" are defined technical terms with other meanings, adopted for this different purpose), refers to ...
*
Leakage (electronics)
In electronics, leakage is the gradual transfer of electrical energy across a boundary normally viewed as insulating, such as the spontaneous discharge of a charged capacitor, magnetic coupling of a transformer with other components, or flow of cu ...
References
Electric power
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