3 ms·
In a previous life I worked as an intern at a company making SCADA software and the like. The fact that they did this by hand, managing the grid and keeping it
by ls612 3y ago
In a previous life I worked as an intern at a company making SCADA software and the like. The fact that they did this by hand, managing the grid and keeping it in balance, for 60-80 years before any computer existed to help them, and it basically worked, boggles my mind.
- idiotsecant 3y agoThey didn't manage it by hand, really. The system manages itself with speed droop flywheel governors. They were purely mechanical systems that made each generator on the grid 'push' a little harder when speed dropped, proportional to the generator capacity. Wince speed drops when load increases, the whole grid manages itself with a few springs and hydraulic valves on each machine. Occasionally you might need to get a few more units online with fast load, transmission trips, etc but those events are infrequent enough to be well within the ability of humans to manage, especially with old trelatively small power networks.