Our life would be unthinkable without the use of electrical
energy.
- A few examples will show the importance of electrical energy.
Thus, electrical lighting is indispensable for working during the dark hours of
the day. With increasing industrialisation, a growing proportion of electrical
energy is used for the lighting of shops, offices, dwellings and for outdoor
lighting.
- Man is relieved from heavy physical labour by the use of electrical
devices. The drive of machines, hoisting gear and lifts is enabled in a simple
form by the electric motor which in railway transport also has the advantage over
internal combustion engines. There are many buildings where an air-conditioning
system including heating, cooling and ventilation is installed for the operation
of which electrical energy is required. At higher ambient temperatures,
foodstuffs can only be kept for a prolonged period of time in refrigerators or
cold-storage rooms which usually are also operated with electrical energy.
Without electrical energy, there would be no broadcasting and
television systems, no telephone communication or telegraphy. In order to
arrange automatic sequences of operation in production, devices of control an
regulation engineering are required which, today, are driven almost exclusively
by electrical energy. A survey of the two large fields of
electrical engineering, power electrical engineering and information electrical
engineering.
The consumption of electrical energy by the various branches of
economy is quite different. The chemical industry and metallurgy have a
particularly high consumption. For the production of the electrical conductor
materials electrolytic copper and aluminium, very large amounts of electrical
energy are required.
