Overhead Power Lines

[xrtn2]

Originally Posted by Chrissib

Overhead lines in non earthquake prone areas is so 3rd world.

Yeah.

In Brazil we need $1 trillion for underground Power Lines, so we will need 200 years to change that.

[George W. Bush]

Originally Posted by xrtn2

In Brazil we need $1 trillion for underground Power Lines, so we will need 200 years to change that.

What for? Economically and technically it usually doesn't make much sense to bury cables - it is mostly for aesthetic reasons, a luxury whose cost the consumer/taxpayer has too foot. On average the whole shit has to be dug out and replaced again after only 30 years - overhead cabling has an average life span of 50 years and is incomparably easier to mantain and replace.

So there are way better and more intelligent means of spending a trillion bucks in Brazil.

[Positronn]

Originally Posted by goschio

Just hate above ground powerlines. They are not only extremely ugly and messy but also cause lots of power outages.

Not totally true. If the overhead lines are insulated, there are no risk with trees and power outages are much more rarer. They are also easier to repair and quickier to identify the problem. Underground lines may be tough to repair, maintain and expand. In a developed country, it might be no bigger problem and maintance is ok, but in a developing country, there is no way to bury all the cables within a few years. All in all, I'm very supportive of burying cables in historic and downtown areas.

[George W. Bush]

I think that a situation like that of Tokyo, which has some 95% overhead cabling, is perfectly tolerable. What I dislike is extremely messy cabling on ugly oblique poles like e.g. in Bangkok, which has gone out of control. If they tidy up their cables and use better-looking poles, like in Tokyo, then I see no problem.

Of course burying all the cables would be preferable. But it is a luxury that considerably inflates the tax/electricity/telecommunication bill. Some particularly aesthetic areas in cities may be worth the extra cost, but certainly not all.

And to tell the truth: Before reading about the issue in SSC I never ever thought much about it, it didn't bother me in the least - overhead cables where a neutral fact of life, if I noticed them at all. Only because people make such a fuss about it in this forum I got a little hypersensitized.

[goschio]

Originally Posted by Positronn

Not totally true. If the overhead lines are insulated, there are no risk with trees and power outages are much more rarer. They are also easier to repair and quickier to identify the problem. Underground lines may be tough to repair, maintain and expand. In a developed country, it might be no bigger problem and maintance is ok, but in a developing country, there is no way to bury all the cables within a few years. All in all, I'm very supportive of burying cables in historic and downtown areas.

What has this to do with insulation? A fallen tree physically damages the lines and poles. I have seen it often enough.

Record for myself was one week without power after a day with 130km/h winds. Of course those suburbs with underground powerlines had power back after a day or so.

[Positronn]

130km/h winds that cause fallen trees aren't a daily phenomenon. In such a severe storm, even underground systems may be in danger, as you said. However, slow winds occur everyday and make the trees move, touching the cables. If they are insulated, nothing happens.

[Neungz]

Chongqing

image hosted on flickr

Chongqing street by irishtravel, on Flickr

image hosted on flickr

Chongqing Doodle Street by triplefivechina, on Flickr

image hosted on flickr

Chongqing Street Scene by Prince Roy, on Flickr

[anakngpasig]

thank god the new parts of Manila don't have overhead wires anymore. everywhere else in the city it's still a 3rd-world chaotic mess

Originally Posted by crossboneka

i hope they bury the all the wires in the historic areas too, the look of the buildings' architecture are ruined by the wires.

[Manila-X]

As for Metro Manila, Intramuros and both Makati and Ortigas CBDs should place electric wires underground in the near future. And I'm talking about existing areas and not the new developments.

The rest leave it as it is.

[fieldsofdreams]

I have lived in Manila for 18 years, and sadly, I can remember the dangling power lines that ran through nearly every street in the metropolis. The only places that power lines go underground would be certain areas in the Makati CBD where tall buildings stand, and I think it's time to make some power lines go underground in Manila, not only to reduce potential electrocution risks, but to also clear up the scenery of Manila's crowded streets. The caveat, though: power lines may be severely affected by floods in low-lying areas, so making power lines run underground need careful analysis, observation, and planning before implementing it on a large scale.

[VECTROTALENZIS]

Taiwan







South Korea

[ukiyo]

Originally Posted by George W. Bush

I think that a situation like that of Tokyo, which has some 95% overhead cabling, is perfectly tolerable. What I dislike is extremely messy cabling on ugly oblique poles like e.g. in Bangkok, which has gone out of control. If they tidy up their cables and use better-looking poles, like in Tokyo, then I see no problem.

I don't think it's 95% in Tokyo lol, actually due to the massive street tree planting they are burying many cables and by 2016 or so only 14% of roads in central Tokyo won't have underground cables. In residential areas they're still quite common and in especially Osaka. Here's some of my pictures of Osaka:





Although the main business districts in Osaka don't (usually) have overground cables.





The reason for overground cables is just one reason: cost. It costs a lot, especially due to frequent earthquake damage to underground everything and it's a lot cheaper to fix cables/poles above ground. Of course, this is also not as safe since it could cause fires I guess.

[trainrover]

They actually placed an accent aigu over the E in 'Cafe' to the anglicised street name Why didn't they just name the --uhm-- lane in French instead?

[The Cake On BBQ]

Originally Posted by Sarcasticity

Philippines has them in every city. I think they're ugly, but it depends. If they're neatly done, it adds alot to the city, but in the case in my country, they're really done bad, really bad

http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/p...m/29059874.jpg

http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6121/6...edc6a150_z.jpg

Woah

In Turkey, they are mostly buried underground although in some poor neighbourhoods they are still above ground due to lack of planning and in some neighbourhoods and cities they are still above ground due to high risk of earthquake.

[ukiyo]

Originally Posted by trainrover

They actually placed an accent aigu over the E in 'Cafe' to the anglicised street name Why didn't they just name the --uhm-- lane in French instead?

That's how it is spelled a lot in english though http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cafe especially the places that think they're chic.

[trainrover]

Cafe didn't used to be. It's the blunt mélange (oops you see?! only we Quebeckers ought to be the muddled ones) of mundane things into both French and English that looks especially peculiar.

Truly, I suspect the decision at naming it was executed offshore, somewhere else far away ... ruelle Café would be acceptable, less hokey...

[Hauler]

It depends. It can look good, when there's a whole bunch of them and the neighborhood itself isn't that 'clean'. But usually I can't stand them. Here's a picture I took in Osoyoos, British Columbia (Canada) in 2009:

[fieldsofdreams]

Well, power poles had a special significance since Thomas Edison invented electricity: a stack of wires connecting one pole to another meant that telegrams and power lines distribute power to each building and home in the inner city, and that the more poles a power company put in, more people had the opportunity to use electricity and start their own businesses or live comfortably. However, technologies have changed and improved over time, and despite the fact the utility lines now run underground in many suburban and urban neighborhoods, overhead power lines are a necessity, especially when bringing power for long distances at a time.

[trainrover]

Yet I lived nearby a nuclear power station that shipped all its power overseas and which wasn't transmitted by saltwater-borne pylons...

[DanielFigFoz]

Originally Posted by trainrover

Cafe didn't used to be. It's the blunt mélange (oops you see?! only we Quebeckers ought to be the muddled ones) of mundane things into both French and English that looks especially peculiar.

Truly, I suspect the decision at naming it was executed offshore, somewhere else far away ... ruelle Café would be acceptable, less hokey...

In the UK café is spelt with an acute accent