Electric Power Books

A very good book that covers most of the power converter architectures. An excellent addition to your personal library.

The book is so clearly written you can open it practically anywhere and read just the items of interest.

Concepts are supported by properly simplified schematics.

All the math needed for your own designs is shown and explained, but in such a way, that if you do not need the math right now, you can skip it.

Half the reason I bought this book was to learn to build switching power supplies, the other half was to learn analog design in general. The book is excellent for both purposes.

I recently graduated from Virginia Tech (undergrad), and I had only two classes that focused on power supply design/analysis. As an extension to what I learned in those classes (basics about buck/boost/flyback design and fabrication), this book is fantastic.

The book assumes you have a basic knowledge of EE principles, but nearly everything is explained in great detail. Topologies are examined one by one, and the author includes ALL of the derivations that lead to his design equations, which leaves very little room for misunderstanding. Each section contains pros/cons to using that particular topology, how to remedy common problems, and even talks a little about component selection (although since this book is years old, there are probably better components out there).

I haven't spent much time looking at the magnetics design section; however, it seems as though it would be useful. The chapter on loop compensation is excellent as well, offering a complete refresher of control theory and the design/analysis/use of Type 2 and 3 controllers. As I said before, the author assumes you're starting with very minimal knowledge of power supplies, so every equation and assumption is clearly justified in writing.

All in all, I would definitely recommend this text to anyone who is interested in power supply design or has to gain a quick understanding of something in the workplace since it not only includes the "quick and easy" design equations but also how to get there if you really care to know.

If you're an avid electronics enthusiast, you've more than likely had to build some power supplies. The days of building simple linear supplies are over. If you need various voltages that are carefully controlled and/or just want to build efficient supplies, you need to build a switchmode power supply. This handbook will take you through the major topologies, explaining them all in detail, along with the necessary math to choose the proper components, and the theory of how it's done - and how to choose the proper topology in the first place. The book is well-written and stuffed full of very useful information. Power Factor Correction is also covered, with examples, chips, and theory to build PFC circuits, along with transformer design and theory as well. This book is a great book to buy with "Switchmode Power Supply Handbook", by Keith Billings. Keith's book presents additional information and transformer design mock-ups, along with additional ways to calculate and pick components. Used together, you have the information you need to build a working switching supply with a minimum of hassle. Of course, this assumes that you're already famaliar with electronics and magnetism, and have a good working knowledge of algebra and basic trig. These books are not meant for beginners by any means. I am one happy customer to have found such a good reference for an art that seems to only be known by a few anymore, and other reference materials do not even begin to go into the depth that this book does.
The only shortcoming is that Pulse Width Modulation power supply chips are not covered much, but this book cannot be expected to keep up with the latest PWM chips used in switchmode supplies. This problem is easily resolved by going to National Semiconductor's website and getting current datasheets on PWM chips for standalone, voltage-controlled or current-mode designs, of which they have many. Motorola also has reference materials available on PWM offerings that they carry.

Although a good primer on the basic switching topologies, with an excellent chapter on inductor and transformer design, I couldn't help but feel that this book is more than a little outdated (which it is, at nine years old). There was no mention of synchronous or polyphase switchers, inductorless converters, charge pumps, high-frequency designs...and the section on MOSFETs left out what I feel was a great deal of information about paralleling and load sharing. Many of Linear Technology's app notes go above and beyond the material presented in this book...and they're free.

It is a very useful reference book for anyone interested in power generation. It contains general mechanical and electrical theory, design approach, operation and maintenance concepts. It has practical value as it contains broad information about steam turbines, gas turbines and auxiliaries. It is a very valuable desk reference.

I think this is a great reference book. The book is very easy to read, and to understand. I have found the book's content to be highly relevant to the field and could be used every day for anyone interested (or working) in power generation.

Power Generation Handbook is very comprehensive, covering all aspects of steam and gas turbines and generators, combined cycles and many other topics. This is a very valuable desk reference.

P. Kiameh's "Power Generation Handbook" has been an invaluable addition to the materials I need to sucessfully execute my job. I work in the electrical power industry and Mr. Kiameh's simple and practical approach has provided that extra assistance that allows for easy solution to our every day problems. More importantly, Mr. Kiameh has managed to complile useful and important principles relating to the Power industry in one handbook. I highly recommend this book for technical personnel involved in the Power Generation Industry.

This is an excellent, practical handbook on power generation. It contains clear descriptions of how power generation components are constructed, how they work and how to maintain them. Points in the text are illustrated through numerous detailed photographs, drawings and graphs. Topics include steam turbines, governing systems, valves, lubrication systems, gas turbines, bearings, seals, combined cycles, cogeneration, electrical components, etc.

I have attended two courses taught by Philip Kiameh at the University of Toronto's Professional Development Centre, one on power generation equipment and the other on mechanical equipment. Philip was an excellent teacher and his text books are similarly excellent and I highly recommend them. This text book is a valuable reference to the power generation course material.

The book is interesting in a sort of disjointed way. If you like abandoned industrial settings the pictures are great too look at. Reading the narrative is tiresome because you just want to jump and look at the stunning pictures. The book also reviews the various styles of substations. About 2/3 of the way through the book conveys into a rather simple photo-album-style pictorial with few details on the subject matter, some of which is too interesting to know so little about.

I had to read it several times to fully understand the different substation styles and technologies because some of those chapers are spread out over more than two pages. It is easy to lose your place when trying to identify the systems in the narrative to the diagrams, schematics, and photographs. Often I was trying to find details in pictures written about in the narrative, only to find I was in the wrong chapter.

Other than these minor issues if you wanted to know how they converted AC to DC and how the subway works, even today, this is an important book for even a casual subway fan.

An excellent high quality work at a very reasonable price.
Well written interesting text, superb high quality photographs and professional architectural drawings. A great buy for anyone interested in the subject.
Amazon's rapid response to my order was also impressive. This is the first time I've ordered from Amazon. The book was shipped from stock and arrived just a few days after I placed my order. Excellent service.

I'm not an architecture student, or an art fan. I just happen to have an obsession with infrastructure. This book was completely satisfying. It's filled with gorgeous pictures of off-limits places. That alone would have been just a tease, but the author's extensive research pays off for the reader. He fills the book with history and technical details. Worth every penny and then some.

Who would have thought that a collection of buildings containing basically the same thing would have produced such a fascinating book and who but Princeton would take a chance and publish it. It seems to fit right into their quirky line of Americana, which includes, for instance, a history of paint-by-numbers (ISBN 1568982828) a photo tour of the brothels of Nevada (ISBN 1568984189) or a collection of amateur QSL cards (156898281X).

Christopher Payne has done his best to record the contents of these buildings before they are gone forever. His efforts are perfect examples of what industrial archaeology photography should look like, well lit, straightforward and content rich images with fortunately no angled shots, no out-of-focus areas merging into darkness or meaningless close-ups. These photos really tell a story and being well printed (200dpi) on quality paper helps, too.

As well as the fifty-four main photos there are others taken by him and several historical ones in the essay describing the workings of the subway electrical supply (some of the technical drawings included in the essay could have been larger though) and like his photos Payne makes the world of rotary converters, transformers, bus boards and potheads come alive.

All in all a super little book and a good example of how a tiny part of industrial America can become fascinating with well-written words and elegant photography.

Many photo history books suffer from an imbalance between the strength of the prose and the strength of the photographs. Christopher Payne's New York's Forgotten Substations does not. The writing is crisp, bringing you into the subject matter and explaining the basics of subway power and the history of these substations. The photos capture the magnificence of the substations in they heyday, and the seeming pathos of their abandonment. This is black and white photography at its best. Forgotten Substations is a feast for subway buffs, engineering geeks, and appreciators of industrial aesthetic alike.

An excellent book for anyone interested in using solar power. It's especially useful for anyone planning to build a new house. But anyone wanting the basics of solar (passive) heating and solar electricity will benefit.

Paul gives an honest step-by-step account of his own building experiences, including the mistakes and what it took to correct them. I found the entire story very worthwhile and useful.

If you want a solid overview of how to prep any house for alternative electrical power, you should read this book. If you're looking for practical info in the best use of passive solar heating, you can't beat this book.

Jim, Montana
[...]

This fun book taught me how to think in terms of independent living. One of the best on my shelf.

As a Biologist, I have been looking for a book that would give a clear and concise introduction to solar energy and photovoltaics. Paul Fowler's book does just that. It is written for the person who has an interest in solar power, but who does not have the technical background to immediately delve into more detailed texts. It's story format is engaging, yet also very informative. I highly recommend this book.

Found this book very interesting and easy to read. The book shows the 'human' side of this technology and the enduring spirit of a man who wanted to live independant of the utilities. A man who dared to live the simplier life and enjoyed the hard work to get there.

If only there were 240+ million more like him.

In my quest to utilize this techology, I was delighted to encounter a volume that felt like it emerged from personal experience and not simply a rote tech survey. While I am not a particularly technical person, I found the information and presentation clear and direct. There is an undercurrent of personal charm I found engaging and added to my a sence of confidence in being able to do this. My wife and I are delighted with the results of what we learned and applied based on Mr Fowlers' book. Our second home in the woods was enhanced for it.

The information in this book is top notch reference material for engineers who work in power plants. I use the book almost daily at my power plant everything is useful to me. The only reason I didn't put five stars is that the book was issued with the cover on upside down.

This is the best combination of practical and theoretical electrical engineering ever published - period. It covers both IEC and ANSI requirements in depth. It is now my working bible! You have to buy it to understand!

Information is vast, useful and rare.
Rare Blend of theoretical study with pratical data and tips.
Material of immense use to practcing engineers.
All 32 chapters are very interesting.
Book gives concept of one of window shopping elimenating the need for hunting information at several places.
Book is indeed a commendable endeavour.
The book can surely be termed as a handbook on these subjects.

A must have have for every practising Electrical Engineer. The USP of the book lies in its blending of theory with Practical know how of the technology which is a rare find in literature.

Extract from a review by Bhaskar Sinha, Dy. G. M. (Engg.), BHEL,
published in Beacon, house journal of IEEE Delhi Section, Vol.21,No.1, (June 2002)

The release of a new title by the renowned technical publishing house of Newnes / Butterworth-Heinemann is usually a noteworthy event for the technical fraternity. The title under review has come as a surprise, not only because it far exceeds the standard usually set for handbooks but also because it has achieved the unique distinction of being a reference work equally useful and valuable for industry professionals, practising engineers, consultants, technicians, students, teachers, research scholars and all others professionally interested in industrial power systems.

By virtue of their diversity, complexity and size, industrial power systems throw a formidable challenge to the electrical engineer. Standard electrical engineer's handbooks do not address the requirements of this special field completely. For the large number of day-to-day problems faced by production, operation and maintenance engineers working in industries there are few dedicated reference books to fall back upon for guidance. The ones that are available also do not cover the ground adequately. The present work is perhaps the most complete industrial power systems handbook currently available.

This is a reference for all engineers in design and application, protection and testing, production, project engineering, project implementation and maintenance. The text is structured into five parts. The essential theory of each topic is covered first, followed by industrial practice information. The idea is that detailed theory can always be gleaned from textbooks. Agrawal knows where exactly he must draw the line between theory and application engineering.

Mr. Agrawal has effectively bridged the gap between theory and practice in his book. Clear application data and guidelines, manufacturer's practices, application practices, commercially available ratings of machines, selection, operation and maintenance of equipment and plant, troubleshooting - all are covered in every conceivable detail. The material is cleverly keyed in to the recommendations of international standards organisations like ISO, IEEE, ANSI, BSI, DIN, IEC, etc.

One detailed flip-through leaves you convinced of the publisher's claim that "never before has so much ground been covered in a single volume reference source". Apart from doing yeomen's service to practising engineers, the author has done a great favour to teachers at technical institutes who have limited access to information from the Industry. Students will now not be deprived of this kind of information since teachers can always refer this excellent handbook to reply to questions raised in the classroom.

The production values of the book are excellent. Each page is lavishly illustrated with high quality drawings, graphs and photographs. The overall structuring of the book is excellent.

There is no capsule biography of the author anywhere in the book. For most readers Agrawal will remain only a name.

At the end of it all, the book emerges as a landmark achievement in its field. When you put it down, you cannot help wishing there were separate handbooks of identical character in the areas of transmission, distribution and utilization too.

This publication covers all aspects of renewable solar power in the U.S. It takes complex scientific and engineering concepts and brings them down to understandable practical knowledge that all professionals as well as the casual reader seeks.

Any time a project team gets together on the design of renewable energy systems, they will need a common practical project oriented denominator from which to work from--and this is it. Even though the focus is on sustainable solar power, the book never forgets the other renewable energy sources that can be used for sustainable development.

Thank you for the clearest, most concise, & easily understood treatment of a technology whose time has definitely come. Starting with a history & background of solar technology in its previous incarnations, we are quickly brought up to date with workable solutions to many of our current energy challenges. From homes to concert halls & public facilities, the "how-to" of putting these technologies to work is fully explained in crisp paragraphs & bullet items, punctuated by colorful graphs, schematics, photos & charts which clearly illustrate the concepts explained. Examples of successful projects are provided & strategies presented to transition into use of solar power & other forms of renewable energy. When you finish reading this book, I'm sure you will feel as I did that you have a genuine understanding of what technologies are available & how they can work

Amazing, is the most compressive compilation of renewable technologies ever created under one cover. It reads as if you are having a one on one lesson from a favorite professor. In a simple laymen way it exposes the social, economic, and architectural relationships with renewable technologies. A must read for city planners, architects, engineers, and all college students.

We have all intellectuality known that the continued use of fossil fuels has been dumb. But this year the emotional understanding of the situation came closer to home as the cost of home heating has roughly doubled. All of a sudden, sustainable energy, particularly solar power looks a lot more attractive than it did even last year.

In spite of its title, this book is primarily on solar power. To be sure about half the book is on other technologies such as wind, tidal, and so on. But from an architectural standpoint, the technology is more advanced and more easily adapted when it is solar.

This book is not a detailed tutorial on how to install a solar power system, instead it is more of an overall survey of the concepts of how solar power can be utilized in the home and in some commercial/industrial buildings.

Near my house is a new development being built. There is absolutely no attention being made for solar power. So it hasn't quite yet reached the house buying public, but that time is coming. The concepts in this book are reaching mandatory level, maybe next year when the price of heating doubles again.

If there is one point lacking in this book, that is passive home heating. This is cheaper to install, has a very good payback, and can be combined with solar electric in the same building.

The book is quite an accomplishment with an amazing wealth of information- a virtual solar bible. With information about different types of technologies, manufacturing processes, costs, and installation data, it tells everything an architect would ever need to know about solar power. The book is like the graphic standard for solar power technology.

I have been looking for a book like this for some time. The math and physics are at the college level, but I figure I need to learn something new. This could be worth working on. Now to find the materials and get to building. Who knows, I might be able to convert my car, build a new airplane, or even a classy cabin cruiser. Great book.

It is an amazing book that covers all subjects related to fuel cells in an understandable manner. It is the best book to be used as text book in a fuel cell course. It is really the unique book that truthfully has the necessary amount of information to build a PEMFC.

Fuel cells are a new topic for me, and I selected this book because the title and description seemed interesting. It was a great choice because it is written in easy to understand language - making a complicated subject understandable. Although there are many parts of the book geared toward designing a fuel cell with mathematical equations - -there are also other parts that simply describe how the fuel cell works, different types of fuel cells, different sources of hydrogen, the hydrogen economy etc. A "must read" for anyone interested in fuel cell technology.

On the whole, this is an excellent text, but I was a bit put off some of the opening discussion. The chapter on the "Hydrogen Economy" -- while well-written -- really didn't belong in the front of this book. It feels like an opinion piece, and the discussion questions at the end of that chapter felt biased. The first few paragraphs of the book aren't about fuel cells, they're about pollution, fossil fuel use, and global warming. While these are important topics worthy of discussion, they aren't fuel cells. The same print space could have told me something about nomenclature (What's a PEM cell? You'll have to flip ahead to chapter 3 to find out).

If I'm reading this book, I get that fuel cells are an important part of our technological future. What I wanted was an unbiased exploration and explanation of the technology. I got that, mostly, but I also got the author's opinion on government regulations (the author is clearly for them, and appears to feel that they are the best -- possibly only -- way to create the Hydrogen Economy) and was told that Carbon Dioxide is a pollutant directly responsible for global warming. Reasonable people can and have disagreed with both of these assertions, and I could and have read both sides of these arguments elsewhere. I didn't need them here.

In a field where only a limited number of books are available on the subject, it is refreshing when such a well written, compressive volume is released. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. The author has skillfully combined an easy to understand description of fuel cell technology with enough meat (equations) to keep an engineer satisfied. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in fuel cells.

I am an electrician whose job requires trouble shooting different types of equipment for different customers in many different environments. I see all kinds of motors and machines and jury rigs. This book is invaluable for troubleshooting any motor on the planet. It gives excellent reference schematics and diagrams that coincide with the different chapters. It has helped me on many occasions. It's really meant for poeple who
re-wind motors more than trouble shooters but you will not regret owning it if you do any kind of maintenance or trouble shooting on a variety of machines.

I received this book in High School as part of the "Electrical Installation" curricullum in January of 1986. At the advice of my instructor, Mr. Bergovoy, I didn't return the book at the end of the school term. I ended up having to pay for the replacement. However, this book has paid for itself thousands of times over the last 20 years. I recommend it to electricians ranging from the student to the master level..

This book is great. I've read many books on repairing electric motors , but none of them have given me a practical & theoretical view on the subject as this book has. I recommend this book to students, and fully quallified engineers. The best...... My greatest thanks to the authors.

started as a plant electrician and kept learning thanks to this book now repair light fixture to refrigeration

If your looking for a book that is all meat, if your looking for the "bible" of motors, if your desire for motor knoweledge is from the most basic to advance knoweledge.....YOU have to buy this book. I am an electrician, and industrial controls technician and I have found no better book. I am looking through my well used second edition, that was given to me while in college in 1984, and if you could see just my first page of the book, at how much highlighting and notes in the margins there are, you would see that nearly every sentence in the book is packed full of useful information,...IF... you take the time to read it. I believe it is as clearly written as you can get on a technical subject. I consider myself just a slightly above average student, and even I could understand this material. From casual interest in motors to engineer, this book needs to be on your technical bookshelf, unlike other technical books at this price that I threw out after college, this is a keeper. Check out all the other reviewers here, then buy the book.

Comprehensive overview of power quality. This book is a very good reference for power quality engineers or anyone interested in power quality.
Needs more example problems. Book needs more refinement as well.

voltage transient - voltage sag - swell - voltage fluctuation - harmonics - noise

This is a must have for any professional involved in Power Quality. Not only are all the topics covered, they are explained in a way that is easy to read and understand.

This is a very good handbook for not only power quality professional,but also electrical engineers. With well organized chapters, it covered comprehensive knowledge of power quality and relevant experience of authors. I really hope it can be translated into Chinese and let more power quality professionals share this valuable resource.

I have recently asked some electrical engineers to recommend me a good book concerning Power Quality. Each of them gave me two or three recommendations and only "Electrical Power Systems Quality" by R. C. Dugan, M. F. McGranaghan, S. Santoso and H. W. Beaty appeared in all recommendations...
Indeed, it seems to me to be one of the best books about Power Quality I have ever read. It is very well organized, complex and up-to-date, and above all it is very useful for my research project as it offers clear descriptions (understanding) of all, important Power Quality issues. I would recommend it as a kind of compendium for engineers, designers and researchers that work not only with Power Quality but also with modern Electric Power Systems in general.

Excellent Book in Power Electronics and Motor Drives, May 4, 2002
Reviewer: Prof. Cong Wang from China Univ. of Mining and Tech., Beijing, China
Prof. Bose, author of the book, is well-known in the world in the field of power electronics, and it is an honor to review his book. The book is a masterpiece contribution in power electronics and drives area. I was teaching his previous book "Power Electronics and AC Drives" (1986) for more than 10 years in my undergraduate and graduate classes. In 1999 our University published the Chinese Version of his another book "Power Electronics and Variable frequency Drives"(1996), I was one of the translators. I was delighted to see this updated, expanded and technologically enhanced book. It will now easily replace his previous book. It is difficult to imagine that anybody else other than Prof. Bose can write such an authoritative book. The writing style is superb, and difficult things have been expressed in clear language.

The book covers almost everything in power electronics and motor drives. It starts with power semiconductor devices, and then covers different classes of converters. The induction and synchronous motor drives (with control and estimation) have been discussed in detail. Finally, the special feature of the book is coverage on artificial intelligence applications in power electronics which have not been treated in any other book on power electronics. There is a separate Problems Manual of the book. I should recommend the book in undergraduate (Senior) and graduate courses in all universities.

The book provides detailed information about modern power electronics and drives. It covers latest power circuit topologies and control techniques. The book is well illustrated with easy to read schematics, waveforms, and comparison tables.

The book attracted my interest for its unique assortment of contents in power electronics, and modern concepts of motor start and speed controls. It covers various principles and applications of AC-DC-AC conversion and AC-AC conversion possible to use for the motor controls with adequate mathematical, graphical and text contents, e.g. rarely seen families of curves/characteristics pertaining to motors. The AC-AC conversion is evolving and has a good chance for the wider application in the future since its hardware is lighter with potentially fewer overall switching devices; therefore, it is attractive to ship, aircraft, etc. applications. This Author's vision certainly deserves the highest rating for his creation.
The areas that might have been included are, for example: Harmonic filters and their principles and applications in the energy conversion. For example, the hybrid filters, and various topologies of passive, active and hybrid filters as applied to energy converters or motor drives. These are presently heavily focused on by the Power Quality specialists."

The reader need only be well grounded in the theory and practice of DC-DC converter design. If so, this grand survey course opens the way to the much larger world of AC power conversion. The impressive breadth of scope is attained within a reasonably modest length (<700 pages) due to the use of telling figures and diagrams, and the author's gift for getting right to the point: what does it do; how does it do it; and what are the advantages/disadvantages versus competing topologies. The presentation seems to include just sufficient detail to enable rapid evaluation of each approach for a given purpose, but never so much detail as to bog down the pace.

Unlike many academics, the author appreciates both elegance of approach and practicality of implementation given available technology and devices. Thus, some topologies are included "for completeness", some are described as "widely used" in large-power industrial applications, and yet another might be described as having "an extensive literature" but few or no commercial products, etc. This will be a valuable up-to-the-minute reference for working power electronic engineers as well as students.

Power electronics evolved, taking root and growing into a blossomed tree, inch by inch, from thyristors to transistors to DC drives to microprocessors to advanced converters to AC drives to sensorless control and estimation to AI (artificial intelligence) based control with much more to still come.
Power electronics and variable frequency drives are multidisciplinary fields in electrical engineering. Therefore, a book that encompasses such comprehensive knowledge has to be written by an author who has a visionary engineering knowledge. Prof. Bose is a celebrity, he has been investigating and contributing for this field for more than 40 years and have been contributing widely with more than 150 papers, 21 U.S. patents, 6 books, tutorials and keynote addresses throughout the world. His comprehensive understanding of such field is unique; this book is really recommended if you want to learn what is modern power electronics and ac drives!