Transmission Tower - High Voltage AC Transmission Towers

High Voltage AC Transmission Towers

Three-phase electric power systems are used for high voltage (66- or 69-kV and above) and extra-high voltage (110- or 115-kV and above; most often 138- or 230-kV and above in contemporary systems) AC transmission lines. The towers must be designed to carry three (or multiples of three) conductors. The towers are usually steel lattices or trusses (wooden structures are used in Canada, Germany, and Scandinavia in some cases) and the insulators are either glass or porcelain discs or composite insulators using silicone rubber or EPDM rubber material assembled in strings or long rods whose lengths are dependent on the line voltage and environmental conditions.

Typically, one or two ground wires, also called "guard" wires, are placed on top to intercept lightning and harmlessly divert it to ground.

Towers for high- and extra-high voltage are usually designed to carry two or more electric circuits (with very rare exceptions, only one circuit for 500-kV and higher). If a line is constructed using towers designed to carry several circuits, it is not necessary to install all the circuits at the time of construction. Indeed, for economic reasons, some transmission lines are designed for three (or four) circuits, but only two (or three) circuits are initially installed.

Some high voltage circuits are often erected on the same tower as 110 kV lines. Paralleling circuits of 380 kV, 220 kV and 110 kV-lines on the same towers is common. Sometimes, especially with 110 kV circuits, a parallel circuit carries traction lines for railway electrification.