Ceramic Things On Power Poles

From the length of the insulators probably towards the higher end of that spectrum.

Ceramic things on power poles.

The distribution lines that run down your street are probably 5 15kv. Insulators are those glass or porcelain things you see on the tops and crossarms of telephone poles. I ve seen these stacked disc structures on high voltage power lines everywhere. Cutouts act like a fuse and open when there is a problem with the line or a section of it.

It leaks if you don t seal it. Ever notice that power lines don t actually touch the poles. You definitely don t want the power lines connecting to the poles. Primary wires are on top of the pole and usually carry 12 000 volts of electricity from a substation.

Those are the insulators. Their purpose is to insulate the electrical wires they carry so that electricity or telephone calls don t all leak into the pole and into the earth. Electricity is like water. Insulators prevent energized wires from coming in contact with each other or the utility pole.

Metal and concrete poles can last much longer but eventually all utility poles need to be replaced. I could not find any information regarding this particular shape though. It s a distribution transformer aka pole pig. It lowers the voltage from the higher voltage in the supply lines to the power used in your house.

6 insulators protect electricity from draining into utility poles.