Household Electricity and Appliances

Most households all over the world take electricity for granted: one flick of a switch on and a room is illuminated or a fan starts running or hot water begins to flow from a geyser. In reality, the entire process of generation of electricity in power plants and its journey to houses or wherever else at the point of use, is quite complicated, involving various stages. It is important for all users to know some aspects of electricity for its safe and cost-effective usage. Likewise, it would be very desirable to have some idea of working of commonly used electrical gadgets in a typical household for their proper use over years. The present book, based on decades of experience of the author as a professional electrical engineer, describes all aspects of electricity into a house, including its safe use, and working of a multitude of electrical appliances, from simple illumination devices, fans, ACs, geysers to gadgets in kitchens such as a mixie, oven and induction stove, that would ideally need some knowledge of their working for their efficient and trouble-free operation. An important feature of the book is the detailed discussion concerning renewal sources of electricity generation, esp. electricity from the Sun and how this is going to be THE energy of future in a matter of a few decades. PART - A ELECTRICITY – General, What it is and where does it come from, PART - B Know Your Appliances, Inside the House: General, Inside Kitchen, ... And as a Matter of Interest . . . 10must-have gadgets for your kitchen, Inside Bathroom, ... Some Added Information on Thermostats and Timers, Miscellaneous, PART C - Entertainment Electronics, PART D - Electrical Energy for the Future, Electricity to the Earth in Future, Concluding Remarks Dr. S.C. Bhargava graduated in electrical engineering in 1963 and postgraduated in power systems in 1966 from the University of Roorkee, India. He used to teach graduate and (part-time) postgraduate courses at (now) N I T, Jaipur before proceeding to the UK on a University of Aston scholarship for his Ph D which he obtained in 1972. His research was heavily based on analytical and extensive experimental work using electromagnetic fields and their applications. On his return from the UK, he served as Specialist, Electromagnetic Phenomena, at Corp. R & D, B H E L, Hyderabad, from 1974 to 1999 where his research activities involved application of electromagnetic phenomena at large. Following his retirement from BHEL in 1999, he had been a visiting professor at several engineering institutes in Hyderabad, teaching graduate and postgraduate courses. He is the Fellow or Senior Member of several Professional Societies in India and abroad such as Institution of Engineers (India), Institution of Electrical Engineers (UK), Institution of Electronics and Telecommunication Engineers (India), Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (USA) and Computer Society of India. His fields of interest include “biological effects of electromagnetic fields on living beings” on which he has published several papers, and “solar electricity”. He has published over 40 technical papers in National and International journals of which many were presented at National and International conferences. He is the author of the book “Electrical Measuring Instruments and Measurements”, published in 2013 by B S Publications in Hyderabad and CRC Press in the UK. The book has been approved by the JNTU as one of the text books on electrical measurements, a subject taught to EEE students of the University in III semester. His other book, titled “Finite Element Analyses of Eddy Current Effects in Turbogenerators”, dealing with special problems of turbogenerators, based on his vast experience related to electromagnetic fields and their application to analyses of turbogenerators, has been recently published by CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group, UK. He has recently come out with a unique book titled “A Book of Physics – In Perspective” that deals comprehensively with almost all topics of physics at high school and board levels to help the students and teachers of physics alike to understand the various aspects of physics in perspective.