Why Overhead Transmission Line Conductors are not insulated?

Hey, today we are going to know why overhead transmission and distribution line conductors are not insulated.

We know that the insulation of an Electrical system depends upon voltage. We know that overhead transmission and distribution lines carry a very high voltage. So, it will be too costly to insulate overhead transmission and distribution lines because as the voltage is higher so the thickness of the insulation should be higher, and a million kilometers of transmission line insulation will be very costly. This is the main reason why overhead transmission and distribution lines are not insulated.

As the transmission and distribution lines are at a height so there is no chance of any physical contact by humans or anything. So for this reason also overhead lines are not insulated.

Read Also: How to Know the KV of a Transmission Line? Easy Way

The conductor used in overhead transmission and distribution line is called ACSR(Aluminium Conductor Steel Reinforced) which is a combination of aluminum and steel. So this type of conductor has low corrosion effect, loss, etc. So insulation is not required to protect the conductor from corrosion, losses, etc.

The overhead transmission and distribution line has already Sag and its sag increases with time so if the transmission line has insulation it will damage when Sag increases with time.

As the overhead lines are not insulated, the air surrounding them acts as insulation. Air provides insulation between two adjacent conductors of an overhead line. Due to air between two adjacent conductors capacitance effect occurs. The capacitance effect occurs between the conductor and the earth called earth capacitance. The capacitance effect that occurs between two line conductors is called line capacitance.

Read Also: Why Neutral Wire is not used in Transmission Line?

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