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The United States, far across the ocean, is still using the most primitive wooden poles?
As we all know, most of today's electric poles are made of cement.
Why does the technologically advanced United States still use such primitive telephone poles, and does wooden telephone poles have any unique advantages?
How poles work
Utility poles, also known as power poles or utility towers, are vertical structures used to support transmission lines such as wires, fiber optic cables, etc.
According to the different uses and design requirements, power poles are generally divided into three categories: transmission line poles, terminal poles and communication poles.
The main function of transmission poles is to support the power transmission lines and transport power from the power station to the various end users. As a result, transmission poles are usually tall and have large spans to meet the requirements of long-distance power transmission.
The terminal pole is used to access the power transmission line of the end user, which transmits the power from the transmission line to the end user such as home and factory.
The function of the communication pole is to support communication lines such as optical fibers, telephone lines, and television lines, and to transmit information such as voice, data, and images.
So how do poles work, and how do these poles of different sizes send electricity to thousands of households to meet people's daily electricity needs?
Poles typically consist of a vertical shaft and multiple beams across the shaft. The shaft is usually made of steel tube, concrete, or wood.
The beams can be steel, aluminum, or composite. The choice of material is based on the needs and environmental conditions to ensure the strength, stability and durability of the poles.
When installing power poles, it is first necessary to determine the installation location, and it is necessary to comprehensively consider many factors such as power line demand, soil conditions, and topography.
This is because poles play a key role in supporting transmission lines in power transmission. Transmission lines consist of high-voltage cables or wires that are suspended from poles.
Therefore, the height and spacing of the poles need to be designed according to the specific transmission requirements to ensure the safe operation of the wires and the effectiveness of power transmission.
In addition, poles are also used to support communication networks, such as fiber optic cables and antennas.
Fiber optic cables transmit data signals along poles by hanging or burying them underground, while antennas are used for signal transmission for wireless communications. The height and layout of the poles are critical to the transmission quality and coverage of the communication signal.
It is precisely because of the vital role of power transmission that poles are used. Therefore, since mankind entered the electric age, we have been looking for ways to improve the transmission performance of power poles by optimizing raw materials.
The evolution of the material structure of the pole
In the early days, most of the poles were made of wood. This is mainly due to the low cost and ease of processing of wood, as well as the flexibility to design the height of the poles according to the needs of the circuit erection.
However, the raw materials for wooden structures, although inexpensive and easy to make, have extremely fatal drawbacks. Wood is perishable, and once it is windy and rainy, it is easy to be damaged.
Therefore, in the middle of the 19th century, with the rise of the Industrial Revolution, science and engineering technology were greatly developed, and people began to slowly use metal poles instead of wooden poles.
The use of iron and steel materials makes the poles more stable and durable. As electricity gradually becomes the most important part of people's lives, the application of metal poles around the world has also become more extensive.
Since entering the new century, the pole has ushered in a new change, stimulated by the development of the scientific and technological revolution, modern high-strength materials have begun to be applied to the manufacture of the pole.
People started using steel, aluminum, composites, and concrete, among others, to make utility poles. These materials have high strength, corrosion resistance and wind resistance, and can meet the requirements of power transmission and communication signal transmission.
With the increasing demand for power transmission and communication, the structural design of power poles has also undergone changes. Modern pole construction uses a vertical shaft and a beam across the shaft to support cables and equipment.
At the same time, according to the demand and environmental requirements, parameters such as the height, spacing and layout of the pole are optimized to ensure the stability and safety of the pole.
In recent years, with the development of smart cities and the Internet of Things, smart power poles have begun to emerge. These poles integrate sensors, cameras, charging facilities, and wireless networks to enable a wide range of applications such as light control, environmental monitoring, safety monitoring, and wireless communication.
It is not difficult to see from the development history of electric poles that electric poles are developing in the direction of modernization and high-tech, whether in terms of material selection or structural layout design.
What is puzzling is that the United States, as the world's first scientific and technological power, has always been at the forefront of the world's scientific and technological development, but it is such a country that still uses primitive wooden poles, is it because wooden poles are more environmentally friendly?
Why the U.S. still uses wooden poles
In fact, the reason why the United States is still using original wooden poles is mainly due to the advantages of wood materials, cost, environmental factors and technology.
In terms of price, wooden poles are made of natural wood, which is lower than other materials. In addition, the wood material has excellent insulating properties and can effectively prevent current leakage.
At the same time, wooden poles have strong resistance to electromagnetic interference, which helps to improve the transmission quality of communication signals.
In addition, wooden utility poles are easier to manage and maintain. Due to long-term use, utility poles inevitably need to be repaired and replaced regularly.
Repairing wooden poles is relatively easier than repairing metal poles, and wooden poles are easier to replace. This convenience makes it possible to use wooden utility poles to restore power and communication services more quickly in the event of wind, snow, or other natural disasters.
Especially in the face of natural disasters such as earthquakes, the lightweight and flexibility of wooden poles can better resist deformation and vibration caused by earthquakes, and reduce the damage of earthquakes to transmission lines and communication lines.
In addition to these factors, the vast forest area of the United States is also the reason why they chose to use wooden power poles.
According to the data of 2023, the total forest area in the United States has reached 3111.6 square kilometers, and it has maintained a steady growth trend.
This means that the United States has a large number of forest resources compared to other countries.
Under this premise, power companies in the United States tend to choose more low-cost wood materials for power poles. This has become a tradition in the United States, and it is difficult to change easily.
Because of this, even with the development of technology in the United States, the most primitive wooden power poles are still used, and a large part of this is because the private power supply companies in the United States want to make more profits.
Compared with the United States, our country's power supply is completely contracted by the government, so naturally we will not worry too much about the cost of materials.
The "silver poles" used in mainland China today are made of cement materials on the inside, and most of them are coated with "zinc" on the outside, which greatly improves the service life and power supply efficiency of the poles.
Wooden poles and "silver poles" are the products of the old era and the scientific and technological achievements of the new era.
However, the national situation in the United States determines that they will be more inclined to use wooden telephone poles, and as for whether they will keep up with the trend of the times in the future, it is unknown whether they will "renew" the telephone poles.
What do you think about this? Welcome to leave a message in the comment area to discuss.