Does a bell ring? Basically yes, at least in my state. Days that are extreme in either direction (hot/cold) require considerably more electricity. Say its gonna be 105 F today. Major utility plants will all be operating at as close to max output as possible. Some plants even exist mostly to only come on line in high demand times.
How long does it take to ramp up from cold? Completely depends on the system but ideally you bring any boiler/steam system up slowly and progressively. Most boilers are kept warm enough to start relatively quickly. To truly start from cold takes awhile, trying to rush that process can be dangerous.
That’s pretty neat! Is there a central computer system that determines which power company or which specific plant needs to turn on or ramp up, or do y’all just jockey to fill the need first so your company gets paid?
Everything is organized at a high level depending on the state/municipality. I’m currently in a very large hospital plant but we are also considered a utility. So, we generate 95% of the hospitals electricity day to day. We could generate 100% but we want to stay tied to the utility. So, sometimes on high demand days we get called on to produce as much as possible and feed back to the grid. The money generated by that feeding goes back into the hospital’s bank account. At some plants operators and engineers get FAT bonuses based on total generation.
How do you know when the grid needs more power? Does a bell ding?
How long does it take to ramp up from cold?
Does a bell ring? Basically yes, at least in my state. Days that are extreme in either direction (hot/cold) require considerably more electricity. Say its gonna be 105 F today. Major utility plants will all be operating at as close to max output as possible. Some plants even exist mostly to only come on line in high demand times.
How long does it take to ramp up from cold? Completely depends on the system but ideally you bring any boiler/steam system up slowly and progressively. Most boilers are kept warm enough to start relatively quickly. To truly start from cold takes awhile, trying to rush that process can be dangerous.
That’s pretty neat! Is there a central computer system that determines which power company or which specific plant needs to turn on or ramp up, or do y’all just jockey to fill the need first so your company gets paid?
Everything is organized at a high level depending on the state/municipality. I’m currently in a very large hospital plant but we are also considered a utility. So, we generate 95% of the hospitals electricity day to day. We could generate 100% but we want to stay tied to the utility. So, sometimes on high demand days we get called on to produce as much as possible and feed back to the grid. The money generated by that feeding goes back into the hospital’s bank account. At some plants operators and engineers get FAT bonuses based on total generation.
That’s interesting! Thank you.