Credits: 5

Schedule: 09.01.2019 - 10.04.2019

Teacher in charge (valid 01.08.2018-31.07.2020): 

John Millar

Contact information for the course (applies in this implementation): 

A timetable for the course is updated every week (the current/upcoming learning session is marked in red).

I, John Millar, am the responsible teacher for the course and handle pretty much everything except for a couple of guest lectures.

My room is 3540, on the 3rd floor of Maarintie 8 (TUAS-talo). I have an open-door policy during the teaching period (January to the beginning of April), but if you want to make sure I am there (I am often in research meetings and sometimes travelling), please email me, with the course code in the subject, ELEC-E8406.

My email is john.millar@aalto.fi.


Teaching Period (valid 01.08.2018-31.07.2020): 

III-IV (Spring)

Learning Outcomes (valid 01.08.2018-31.07.2020): 

You will understand the role, context and contemporary challenges of electricity distribution networks.

You will be able to plan urban and rural electricity distribution networks.

You will gain a critical overview of electricity markets and regulation.

Content (valid 01.08.2018-31.07.2020): 

Technical and economic aspects of electricity distribution network planning, functioning of electricity markets and regulation of the distribution business.

Details on the course content (applies in this implementation): 

Electricity Distribution
Networks

•what
a distribution network is
•what
its main components are
•how
to dimension and cost the
main components
•how
they are interrelated with each other
•technical constraints (thermal limits, short circuits, voltage drop and voltage rise, losses)
•faults
and interruptions
•economics
•how a
distribution network interacts with the world at large
•power
quality
•distributed
generation from a network point of view
•distribution network planning

Electricity Markets
and Regulation

•core
understanding – the difference between natural monopoly and competition
•the
fundamentals of regulating the monopolistic side
•the
fundamentals of buying and selling energy
•balance
•philosophical debate about whether electricity is a marketable commodity or
a vital service
•rising to the challenge - getting the carbon out of the power system!


Working
life skills

•Group work
•Problem solving
•Societal cost-optimal planning skills
•International and Multicultural (in
a broad sense) skills
•Develop
skills
in presenting a point of view, with awareness that there are many points of
view...
•Sense
of perspective / context / interconnectedness

Assessment Methods and Criteria (valid 01.08.2018-31.07.2020): 

Exam, group assignments.

Elaboration of the evaluation criteria and methods, and acquainting students with the evaluation (applies in this implementation): 

Contact sessions (lectures and Q&A sessions) are advised

Assignment presentation session is compulsory

Calculations exercises are up to you, but highly advised!

Group assignment, highly advised but optional (30% of final grade if it helps you)

Mid-term test is advised but optional, and contributes to 6.7% of your final grade if it helps you)

Laboratory work is advised but unavailable this year - John will try to compensate!

Final exam: Compulsory! 2 possibilities (exam dates)

Workload (valid 01.08.2018-31.07.2020): 

Contact teaching 50 h, Assignments 30 h, independent studies and work-based learning 20 h, revision 22 h, exam 3 h.

Details on calculating the workload (applies in this implementation): 

5 credits ≈ 125 hours of work

Lectures:
17 x 2h   = 54h

Calculation
exercises: 5 x 4h  = 20h

Laboratory
works:  0 x
6h  =  
0h

Assignment
(this
year optional)  » 24h (if you choose not to do it, that
will save me (John) work, but you will miss the main learning tool this course
has to offer!)

This
comes to 98 hours...

That
leaves about 27h for self-study...

If
you don’t come to lectures and/or calculation exercises, you should compensate
with more self-study

If
you just want to scrape through the course, you may get away with much less
than this

If
you want to achieve real understanding and deep learning (and a good grade...)
you should use the above numbers as a guideline!


Study Material (valid 01.08.2018-31.07.2020): 

1) Lecture slides,

2) pdf documents, links to websites

3) Lakervi & Holmes: Electricity Distribution Network Design, 2nd Edition, IEE.

Substitutes for Courses (valid 01.08.2018-31.07.2020): 

Replaces S-18.3153 and S-18.3154

Course Homepage (valid 01.08.2018-31.07.2020): 

https://mycourses.aalto.fi/course/search.php?search=ELEC-E8406

Prerequisites (valid 01.08.2018-31.07.2020): 

ELEC-E8413 Power Systems or comparable knowledge.

Grading Scale (valid 01.08.2018-31.07.2020): 

0-5

Registration for Courses (valid 01.08.2018-31.07.2020): 

WebOodi

Further Information (valid 01.08.2018-31.07.2020): 

Course starts in week 2

Language class 3 English

Details on the schedule (applies in this implementation): 

The first session is on January 9, 14:15 in AS1 (the first floor of TUAS-talo, Maarintie 8)

Technical content is taught first, practised in calculation exercises, and deeply learnt in the group planning assignment.


Description

Registration and further information