TEST & MEASUREMENT
Figure 3. The impact of current harmonics generated by a nonlinear load.
arise in a broad range of electric infrastructure, as illustrated in Figure 2. As we’ll discuss later, power quality monitoring is becoming increasingly critical in business sectors such as electric generation and distribution, EV charging, factories, and data centres.
ELECTRICITY UTILITY COMPANIES, ELECTRICITY TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION
Utility companies serve the consumers with distribution systems that include generating stations, which are power substations that supply electricity via transmission lines. The voltage supplied via these transmission lines is stepped down to lower levels by substation transformers, which inject certain harmonics or inter-harmonics to the system. Harmonic currents in distribution systems can cause harmonic distortion, low power factor, and additional losses as well as overheating in the electrical equipment2
, leading
to a reduction in the lifetime of equipment and increases in cooling costs. Nonlinear single-phase loads served by these substation transformers deform the current’s waveform. The unbalance of nonlinear loads leads to additional losses on power transformers, additional load of neutrals, unexpected operation of low power circuit breakers, and incorrect measurement of electricity consumed.3
Figure 3 illustrates the
effect of these linear loads. Electricity generation by wind and photovoltaic (PV) solar systems injected into the grid cause several power quality problems as well. On the wind generation side, wind intermittency creates harmonics and short-duration voltage variations.4
www.irish-manufacturing.com
Figure 4. Power quality issues for EV chargers.
The inverters in PV solar systems create noise that can produce voltage transients, distorted harmonics, and radio frequency noise because of the high speed switching commonly used to
EV CHARGERS EV chargers can face multiple power quality challenges, both in power sent to and from the
grid (see Figure 4). From a power distribution company perspective, power electronics-based converters used in EV chargers inject harmonics and inter-harmonics. Chargers with improperly designed power converters can inject direct currents (DC). Additionally, fast EV chargers introduce rapid voltage changes and voltage faults in transmission or distribution systems lead
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