How Does a Generator Create Electricity?

How Generators Work

Generators are useful appliances that supply electrical power during a power outage and prevent
discontinuity of daily activities or disruption of business operations. Generators are available in
different electrical and physical configurations for use in different applications. In the following
sections, we will look at how a generator functions, the main components of a generator, and
how a generator operates as a secondary source of electrical power in residential and industrial
applications.
How does a generator work?
An electric generator is a device that converts mechanical energy obtained from an external
source into electrical energy as the output.
It is important to understand that a generator does not actually create electrical energy. Instead,
it uses the mechanical energy supplied to it to force the movement of electric charges present in
the wire of its windings through an external electric circuit. This flow of electric charges
constitutes the output electric current supplied by the generator. This mechanism can be
understood by considering the generator to be analogous to a water pump, which causes the flow
of water but does not actually create the water flowing through it.
The modern-day generator works on the principle of electromagnetic induction discovered by
Michael Faraday in 1831-32. Faraday discovered that the above flow of electric charges could be
induced by moving an electrical conductor, such as a wire that contains electric charges, in a
magnetic field. This movement creates a voltage difference between the two ends of the wire or
electrical conductor, which in turn causes the electric charges to flow, thus generating electric
current.

Main components of a generator

The main components of an electric generator can be broadly classified as follows (refer to
illustration above):
(1) Engine
(2) Alternator
(3) Fuel System
(4) Voltage Regulator
(5) Cooling and Exhaust Systems
(6) Lubrication System
(7) Battery Charger
(8) Control Panel
(9) Main Assembly / Frame
A description of the main components of a generator is given below.
(1) Engine

The engine is the source of the input mechanical energy to the generator. The size of the engine
is directly proportional to the maximum power output the generator can supply. There are several
factors that you need to keep in mind while assessing the engine of your generator. The
manufacturer of the engine should be consulted to obtain full engine operation specifications and
maintenance schedules.
(a) Type of Fuel Used Generator engines operate on a variety of fuels such as diesel, gasoline,

propane (in liquefied or gaseous form), or natural gas. Smaller engines usually operate on
gasoline while larger engines run on diesel, liquid propane, propane gas, or natural gas. Certain
engines can also operate on a dual feed of both diesel and gas in a bi-fuel operation mode.
(b) Overhead Valve (OHV) Engines versus non-OHV Engines OHV engines differ from other
engines in that the intake and exhaust valves of the engine are located in the head of the engines
cylinder as opposed to being mounted on the engine block. OHV
engines have several advantages over other engines such as:
Compact design
Simpler operation mechanism
Durability
User-friendly in operations
Low noise during operations
Low emission levels
However, OHV-engines are also more expensive than other engines.
(c) Cast Iron Sleeve (CIS) in Engine Cylinder The CIS is a lining in the cylinder of the engine.
It reduces wear and tear, and ensures durability of the engine. Most OHV-engines are equipped
with CIS but it is essential to check for this feature in the engine of a generator. The CIS is not an
expensive feature but it plays an important role in engine durability especially if you need to use
your generator often or for long durations.
(2) Alternator
The alternator, also known as the genhead, is the part of the generator that produces the
electrical output from the mechanical input supplied by the engine. It contains an assembly of
stationary and moving parts encased in a housing. The components work together to cause
relative movement between the magnetic and electric fields, which in turn generates electricity.
(a) Stator This is the stationary component. It contains a set of electrical conductors wound in
coils over an iron core.
(b) Rotor / Armature This is the moving component that produces a rotating magnetic field in
any one of the following three ways:
(i) By induction These are known as brushless alternators and are usually used in large
generators.
(ii) By permanent magnets This is common in small alternator units.
(iii) By using an exciter An exciter is a small source of direct current (DC) that energizes the
rotor through an assembly of conducting slip rings and brushes.

The rotor generates a moving magnetic field around the stator, which induces a voltage
difference between the windings of the stator. This produces the alternating current (AC) output
of the generator.
The following are the factors that you need to keep in mind while assessing the alternator of a
generator:
(a) Metal versus Plastic Housing An all-metal design ensures durability of the alternator.
Plastic housings get deformed with time and cause the moving parts of the alternator to be
exposed. This increases wear and tear and more importantly, is hazardous to the user.
(b) Ball Bearings versus Needle Bearings Ball bearings are preferred and last longer.
(c) Brushless Design An alternator that does not use brushes requires less maintenance and also
produces cleaner power.
(3) Fuel System
The fuel tank usually has sufficient capacity to keep the generator operational for 6 to 8 hours on
an average. In the case of small generator units, the fuel tank is a part of the generators skid base
or is mounted on top of the generator frame. For commercial applications, it may be necessary to
erect and install an external fuel tank. All such installations are subject to the approval of the City
Planning Division. Click the following link for further details regarding
fuel tanks for generators.
Common features of the fuel system include the following:
(a) Pipe connection from fuel tank to engine The supply line directs
fuel from the tank to the engine and the return line directs fuel from the
engine to the tank.
(b) Ventilation pipe for fuel tank The fuel tank has a ventilation pipe to prevent the build-up of
pressure or vacuum during refilling and drainage of the tank. When you refill the fuel tank,
ensure metal-to-metal contact between the filler nozzle and the fuel tank to avoid sparks.
(c) Overflow connection from fuel tank to the drain pipe This is required so that any overflow
during refilling of the tank does not cause spillage of the liquid on the generator set.
(d) Fuel pump This transfers fuel from the main storage tank to the day tank. The fuel pump is
typically electrically operated.
(e) Fuel Water Separator / Fuel Filter This separates water and foreign matter from the liquid
fuel to protect other components of the generator from corrosion and contamination.

(f) Fuel Injector This atomizes the liquid fuel and sprays the required amount of fuel into the
combustion chamber of the engine.
(4) Voltage Regulator
As the name implies, this component regulates the output voltage of the generator. The
mechanism is described below against each component that plays a part in the cyclical process of
voltage regulation.
(1) Voltage Regulator: Conversion of AC Voltage to DC Current The voltage regulator takes up
a small portion of the generators output of AC voltage and converts it into DC current. The
voltage regulator then feeds this DC current to a set of secondary windings in the stator, known
as exciter windings.
(2) Exciter Windings: Conversion of DC Current to AC Current The exciter windings now
function similar to the primary stator windings and generate a small AC current. The exciter
windings are connected to units known as rotating rectifiers.
(3) Rotating Rectifiers: Conversion of AC Current to DC Current These rectify the AC current
generated by the exciter windings and convert it to DC current. This DC current is fed to the
rotor / armature to create an electromagnetic field in addition to the rotating magnetic field of the
rotor / armature.
(4) Rotor / Armature: Conversion of DC Current to AC Voltage The rotor / armature now
induces a larger AC voltage across the windings of the stator, which the
generator now produces as a larger output AC voltage.
This cycle continues till the generator begins to produce output voltage
equivalent to its full operating capacity. As the output of the generator increases,
the voltage regulator produces less DC current. Once the generator reaches full
operating capacity, the voltage regulator attains a state of equilibrium and
produces just enough DC current to maintain the generators output at full
operating level.
When you add a load to a generator, its output voltage dips a little. This prompts the voltage
regulator into action and the above cycle begins. The cycle continues till the generator output
ramps up to its original full operating capacity.
(5) Cooling & Exhaust Systems
(a) Cooling System
Continuous usage of the generator causes its various components to get heated up. It is essential
to have a cooling and ventilation system to withdraw heat produced in the process.

Raw/fresh water is sometimes used as a coolant for generators, but these are mostly limited to
specific situations like small generators in city applications or very large units over 2250 kW and
above. Hydrogen is sometimes used as a coolant for the stator windings of large generator units
since it is more efficient at absorbing heat than other coolants. Hydrogen removes heat from the
generator and transfers it through a heat exchanger into a secondary cooling circuit that contains
de-mineralized water as a coolant. This is why very large generators and small power plants
often have large cooling towers next to them. For all other common applications, both
residential and industrial, a standard radiator and fan is mounted on the generator and works as
the primary cooling system.
It is essential to check the coolant levels of the generator on a daily basis. The cooling system
and raw water pump should be flushed after every 600 hours and the heat exchanger should be
cleaned after every 2,400 hours of generator operation. The generator should be placed in an
open and ventilated area that has adequate supply of fresh air. The National Electric Code (NEC)
mandates that a minimum space of 3 feet should be allowed on all sides of the generator to
ensure free flow of cooling air.
(b) Exhaust System
Exhaust fumes emitted by a generator are just like exhaust from any other diesel or gasonline
engine and contain highly toxic chemicals that need to be properly managed. Hence, it is
essential to install an adequate exhaust system to dispose of the exhaust gases. This point can
not be emphasized enough as carbon monoxide poisoning remains one of the most common
causes for death in post hurricane affected areas because people tend to not even think about it
until its too late.
Exhaust pipes are usually made of cast iron, wrought iron, or steel. These need to be freestanding
and should not be supported by the engine of the generator. Exhaust pipes are usually attached to
the engine using flexible connectors to minimize vibrations and prevent damage to the
generators exhaust system. The exhaust pipe terminates outdoors and leads away from doors,
windows and other openings to the house or building. You must ensure that the exhaust system of
your generator is not connected to that of any other equipment. You should also consult the local
city ordinances to determine whether your generator operation will need to obtain an approval
from the local authorities to ensure you are conforming to local laws a protect against fines and
other penalties.
(6) Lubricating System
Since the generator comprises moving parts in its engine, it requires lubrication to ensure
durability and smooth operations for a long period of time. The generators engine is lubricated
by oil stored in a pump. You should check the level of lubricating oil every 8 hours of generator
operation. You should also check for any leakages of lubricant and change the lubricating oil
every 500 hours of generator operation.

(7) Battery Charger

The start function of a generator is battery-operated. The battery charger keeps the generator
battery charged by supplying it with a precise float voltage. If the float voltage is very low, the
battery will remain undercharged. If the float voltage is very high, it will shorten the life of the
battery. Battery chargers are usually made of stainless steel to prevent corrosion. They are also
fully automatic and do not require any adjustments to be made or any settings to be changed. The
DC output voltage of the battery charger is set at 2.33 Volts per cell, which is the precise float
voltage for lead acid batteries. The battery charger has an isolated DC voltage output that does
interfere with the normal functioning of the generator.
(8) Control Panel
This is the user interface of the generator and contains provisions for electrical outlets and
controls. The following article provides further details regarding the generator control panel.
Different manufacturers have varied features to offer in the control panels of their units. Some of
these are mentioned below.
(a) Electric start and shut-down Auto start control panels automatically start your generator
during a power outage, monitor the generator while in operation, and automatically shut down
the unit when no longer required.
(b) Engine gauges Different gauges indicate important parameters such as oil pressure,
temperature of coolant, battery voltage, engine rotation speed, and duration of operation.
Constant measurement and monitoring of these parameters enables built-in shut down of the
generator when any of these cross their respective threshold levels.
(c) Generator gauges The control panel also has meters for the measurement of output current
and voltage, and operating frequency.
(d) Other controls Phase selector switch, frequency switch, and engine
control switch (manual mode, auto mode) among others.
(9) Main Assembly / Frame
All generators, portable or stationary, have customized housings that
provide a structural base support. The frame also allows for the
generated to be earthed for safety.
_____________________________________________________________________________________

Electricity generators

by Chris Woodford. Last updated: April 21, 2015.

Oil may be the world's favorite fuel, but not for much longer. Modern homes are powered mostly
by electricity and it won't be long before most of us are driving electric cars as well. Electricity is

superbly convenient. You can produce it in all kinds of different ways using everything from coal
and oil to wind and waves. You can make it in one place and use it on the other side of the world
if you want to. And, once you've produced it, you can store it in batteries and use it days, weeks,
months, or even years later. What makes electric power possibleand indeed practicalis a
superb electromagnetic device called an electricity generator: a kind of electric motor working in
reverse that converts ordinary energy into electricity. Let's take a closer look at generators and
find out how they work!
Photo: A typical electricity generator. This one can make up to 225kW of electric power and is
used for testing prototype wind turbines. Photo by Lee Fingersh courtesy of US Department of
Energy/National Renewable Energy Laboratory (DOE/NREL).

Where does electricity come from?

The best way to understand electricity is to start by giving it its proper name: electrical energy. If
you want to run anything electrical, from a toaster or a toothbrush to an MP3 player or a
television, you need to feed it a steady supply of electrical energy. Where are you going to get
that from? There's a basic law of physics called the conservation of energy that explains how you
can get energyand how you can't. According to this law, there's a fixed amount of energy in the
universe and some good news and some bad news about what we can do with it. The bad news is
that we can't create more energy than we have already; the good news is that we can't destroy any
energy either. All we can ever do with energy is convert it from one form into another.

If you want to find some electricity to power your television, you won't be making energy out of
thin air: the conservation of energy tells us that's impossible. What you'll be doing is using
energy converted from some other form into the electrical energy you need. Generally, that

happens in a power plant some distance from your home. Plug in your TV and electrical energy
flows into it through a cable. The cable is much longer than you might think: it actually runs all
the way from your TVunderground or through the airto the power plant where electrical
energy is being prepared for you from an energy-rich fuel such as coal, oil, gas, or atomic fuel. In
these eco-friendly times, some of your electricity will also be coming from wind turbines,
hydroelectric power plants (which make power using the energy in dammed rivers), or
geothermal energy (Earth's internal heat). Wherever your energy comes from, it'll almost
certainly be turned into electricity with the help of a generator. Only solar cells make electricity
without using generators.
Photo: A large electricity generator driven by steam at CalEnergy's Leathers geothermal power
plant in Imperial County, California. Photo by Warren Gretz courtesy of US Department of
Energy/National Renewable Energy Laboratory (DOE/NREL).

How can we generate electricity?

Photo: A typical electric motor. An electricity generator has exactly the same components but
works in the opposite way, turning motion into electrical energy.
If you've read our detailed article about electric motors, you'll already know pretty much how
generators work: a generator is just an electric motor working in reverse. If you've not read that
article, you might like to take a quick look before reading on but here's a quick summary
either way.
An electric motor is essentially just a tight coil of copper wire wrapped around an iron core that's
free to rotate at high speed inside a powerful, permanent magnet. When you feed electricity into
the copper coil, it becomes a temporary, electrically powered magnetin other words, an

electromagnetand generates a magnetic field all around it. This temporary magnetic field
pushes against the magnetic field that the permanent magnet creates and forces the coil to rotate.
By a bit of clever design, the coil can be made to rotate continuously in the same direction,
spinning round and round and powering anything from an electric toothbrush to an electric train.
So how is a generator different? Suppose you have an electric toothbrush with a rechargeable
battery inside. Instead of letting the battery power the motor that pushes the brush, what if you
did the opposite? What if you turned the brush back and forth repeatedly? What you'd be doing
would be manually turning the electric motor's axle around. That would make the copper coil
inside the motor turn around repeatedly inside its permanent magnet. If you move an electric
wire inside a magnetic field, you make electricity flow through the wirein effect, you generate
electricity. So keep turning the toothbrush long enough and, in theory, you would generate
enough electricity to recharge its battery. That, in effect, is how a generator works. (Actually, it's
a little bit more tricky than this and you can't actually recharge your toothbrush this way, though
you're welcome to try!)

How does a generator work?

Take a length of wire, hook it up to an ammeter (something that measures current), and place it
between the poles of a magnet. Now move the wire sharply through the invisible magnetic field
the magnet produces and a current will briefly flow through the wire (registering on the meter).
This is the basic science behind the electricity generator, demonstrated in 1831 by British
scientist Michael Faraday. If you move the wire in the opposite direction, you generate a current
that flows the other way. (If you're interested, you can figure out the direction in which the
current flows using something called the right-hand rule or generator rule, which is the mirror
image of the left-hand rule used to figure out how motors work.)
The important thing to notice is that you generate a current only when you move the wire
through the magnetic field (or when you move a magnet past a wire, which amounts to the same
thing). It's not enough just to place a wire near a magnet: to generate electricity, either the wire
has to move past the magnet or vice-versa. Suppose you want to generate lots of electricity.

Lifting a wire up and down all day isn't going to be much funso you need to devise some way
of moving a wire past a magnet by mounting one or the other of them on a wheel. Then, when
you turn the wheel, the wire and magnet will move with respect to one another and an electric
current will be produced.
Now here's the interesting part. Suppose you bend a wire into a loop, sit it between the poles of a
magnet, and arrange it so it will constantly rotateas in the diagram here. You can probably see
that as you turn the loop, each side of the wire (either the orange side or the green side) will
sometimes be moving up and sometimes moving down. When it's moving up, electricity will
flow one way; when it's moving down, the current will flow the other way. So a basic generator
like this will produce an electric current that reverses direction every time the loop of wire flips
over (in other words, an alternating current or AC). However, most simple generators actually
produce direct currentso how do they manage it?
Artwork: A simple generator like this produces alternating current (an electric current that
periodically reverses). Each side of the generator (green or orange) is either moving up or down.
When it moves up, it will generate a current flowing one way; when it moves down, the current
flows the other way. If you're a meter connected to the wire, you don't know which way the wire
is moving: all you see is that the direction of the current periodically reverses: you see an
alternating current.

DC generators

Just as a simple DC electric motor uses direct current (DC) electricity to produce continual,
rotary motion, so a simple DC generator produces a steady supply of direct current electricity
when it spins around. Like a DC motor, a DC generator uses a commutator. It sounds technical,
but it's just a metal ring with splits in it that periodically reverses the electrical contacts from the
generator coil, reversing the current at the same time. As we saw up above, a simple loop of wire
automatically reverses the current it produces every half-turn, simply because it's rotating, and
the commutator's job is to cancel out the effect of the coil's rotation, ensuring that a direct current
is produced.
AC Alternators

What if you want to generate alternating current (AC) instead of direct current? Then you need
an alternator, which is simply an AC generator. The simplest kind of alternator is like a DC

generator without a commutator. As the coil or magnets spin past one another, the current
naturally rises, falls, and reverses, giving an AC output. Just as there are AC induction motors,
which use electromagnets to produce a rotating magnetic field instead of permanent magnets, so
there are alternators that work by induction in a similar way.
Alternators are mostly used for generating electricity from vehicle engines. Cars use alternators,
driven by their gasoline engines, which charge up their batteries as they drive along (the AC
current is converted to DC by diodes or rectifier circuits).
Artwork: Comparing the simplest DC generator with the simplest AC alternator. In this design,
the coil (gray) spins between the poles of a permanent magnet. Each time it rotates through a
half-turn, the current it generates reverses. In the DC generator (top), a commutator reverses the
current every time the coil moves a half-turn, cancelling out the reversal of the current. In the AC
alternator (bottom), there is no commutator so the output simply rises, falls, and reverses as the
coil rotates. You can see the output current from each type of generator in the chart on the right.

Generators in the real world

Generating electricity sounds simpleand it is. The hard thing is that you need to put in a huge
amount of physical effort to generate even small amounts of power. You'll know this if you have
a bicycle with dynamo lights powered from the wheels: you have to pedal somewhat harder to
make the lights glowand that's just to produce the tiny amount of electricity you need to power
a couple of torch bulbs. A dynamo is simply a very small electricity generator. At the opposite

extreme, in real power plants, gigantic electricity generators are powered by steam turbines.
These are a bit like spinning propellers or windmills driven using steam. The steam is made by
boiling water using energy released from burning coal, oil, or some other fuel. (Note how the
conservation of energy applies here too. The energy that powers the generator comes from the
turbine. The energy that powers the turbine comes from the fuel. And the fuelif it's coal or oil
originally came from plants powered by the Sun's energy. The point is simple: energy always
has to come from somewhere.)
Photo: An alternator is a generator that produces AC (alternating current) instead of DC (direct
current). Here we can see a mechanic removing the alternator from an outboard motor boat
engine. Photo by Yesenia Rosas courtesy of US Navy.

Portable generators

Photo: A portable electricity generator powered by a diesel engine. Photo by JoAnn S. Makinano
courtesy of US Air Force and Defense Imagery.
Most of the time we take electricity for granted. We switch on lights, TVs, or clothes washers
without stopping to think that the electrical energy we're using has to come from somewhere. But
what if you're working outdoors, in the middle of nowhere, and there's no electricity supply you
can use to power your chainsaw or your electric drill?

One possibility is to use cordless tools with rechargeable batteries. Another option is go for
pneumatic tools, such as jackhammers. These are entirely mechanical and powered by
compressed air instead of electricity. A third option is to use a portable electricity generator. It's
simply a small gasoline engine (petrol engine), similar to the compact engine you get on a
motorcycle, with an electricity generator attached. As the engine chugs away, burning up
gasoline, it pushes a piston back and forth, turning a generator and producing a steady electric
current as its output. With the help of a transformer, you can use a generator like this to produce
pretty much any voltage you need, anywhere you need it. As long as you have enough gasoline,
you can make your own electricity supply indefinitely. But remember the conservation of energy:
run out of gas and you run out of electricity as well!
Artwork: Generator technology advanced rapidly during the 19th century. English chemist and
physicist Michael Faraday built the first primitive generator in 1831. Within a few decades,
numerous inventors were building practical electric generators. This one (a "dynamo-electric
machine") was designed by Edward Weston in the 1870s as a way to "transmute mechanical
energy into electrical energy with greater efficiency than heretofore." It has a static outer ring of
magnets (blue) and a rotating armature (coils) in the center (red). A commutator (green) converts
the generated current to DC. From US Patent 180,082 reissue 8,141 by Edward Weston, courtesy
of US Patent and Trademark Office.