Demand side management through energy saving using induction cooker
Reducing loss in an electric utility can be solved not only through massive system reconfiguration but can also be through demand management which started these losses in the first place. An excellent example to this action can be answered by saving the usage of electricity particularly induction cooker in home and other establishments. A normal household family cooks their meals three times a day. Later, we will know how induction cooking can do this miracle.
Induction cooking is a form of heating through induction. Unlike the traditional electric coils and disks, induction cooking uses a direct transfer of energy from the induction coil to the cooking vessel to cook food. Induction heating uses relatively low electrical energy compared to conventional electric stoves therefore results lesser electricity consumption.
The main advantage known in using induction cooker is ensuring faster cooking and more energy efficient in comparison to a traditional electric cooking device. Induction cooker also allows instant control of cooking energy similar to gas stove. Using induction cooker is also much safer since the cooking surface does not produce heat that can harm its user.
An induction cooker transfers electrical energy by induction from a coil of wire into a metal vessel that must be ferromagnetic. The coil is mounted under the cooking surface, and a large alternating current is passed through it. The current in the induction cooker creates a changing magnetic field. When an electrically conductive pot is brought close to the cooking surface, the magnetic field induces an electrical current, called an "eddy current", in the pot. The eddy current in the induction cooker, flowing through the electrical resistance, produces heat; the pot gets hot and heats its contents by heat conduction.(-wikipedia-)
The cooking vessel used in an induction cooker is made of stainless steel or iron. The increased magnetic permeability of the material decreases the skin depth, concentrating the current near the surface of the metal, and so the electrical resistance will be further increased. Some energy used in induction cooker will be dissipated wastefully by the current flowing through the resistance of the coil.(-wikipedia-)
In an induction cooking technology, to reduce the skin effect and consequent heat generation in the coil of an induction cooker, it is made from litz wire, which is a bundle of many smaller insulated wires in parallel. The induction cooker coil has many turns, while the bottom of the pot in an induction cooker effectively forms a single shorted turn. This forms a transformer that steps down the voltage and steps up the current. The resistance of the pot, as viewed from the primary coil, appears larger. In turn, most of the energy becomes heat in the high-resistance steel, while the driving coil stays cool.(-wikipedia-)
The cooking surface of an induction cooker is made of a glass-ceramic material which is a poor heat conductor, so only a little heat is lost through the bottom of the pot. In normal operation the induction cooking surface of an induction cooker stays cool enough to touch without injury after the cooking vessel is removed.(-wikipedia-)
Induction cooking can be very beneficial to both the consumer and the electric utility. Anything that can lessen the amount of current in an electrical system can also lessen the losses that are developed. Not only that induction cooker can save a lot of electrical energy, this can also minimize the numbers of accidents and injuries associated with cooking activities.
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