Power Quality

Is Power Quality Such a Big Problem?

 Who is Affected?
• High Cost Facilities
o Semiconductor plants
o Pharmaceuticals
o Data centers

• Medium Cost Facilities

o Automotive manufacturing
o Glass plants
o Plastics & Chemicals
o Textiles

– Lost production
– Scrap
– Costs to restart
– Labor costs
– Equipment damage and repair
– Other costs
 POWER QUALITY

in a wider, Indian perspective

GRID - Level & CONSUMER - Level

1) SUPPLY CONTINUITY
2) FREQUENCY
3) VOLTAGE
• The IEEE defines POWER QUALITY as the ability
of a system or an equipment to function satisfactorily
in its electromagnetic environment without
introducing intolerable electromagnetic disturbances
to anything in that environment.

PQ mainly deals with

• Continuity of the supply.
• ”Quality” of the voltage
Term – ‘Outs’
 BLACKOUTS
• It is short or long term loss of electric power to an
area.

CAUSES:
• Faults at power stations.
• Damage to electric transmission lines, substations or
other parts of the distribution system.
• Short circuit, or the overloading of electricity mains.
 BROWNOUTS

• A brownout is an intentional or unintentional drop in

voltage in an electrical power supply system.

CAUSES:
• Use of excessive loads causes reduction in voltage
which in turn causes brownouts.
 SUPPLY INTERRUPTIONS

• LOAD - SHEDDING due to over-loading or under-

voltage
• TRIPPING due to a fault or equipment failure
 VOLTAGE PROBLEMS
• Swells & Sags, Spikes & Dips, Flicker :
Caused by switching on / off of large loads, capacitor banks,
electric furnaces, welding machines.

• Phase Unbalance :
Caused by single/three - phase or unbalanced loads (e.g. railway
traction), pole - discrepancy, break in a phase (conductor snapping),
break in neutral, hanging faults.

• Wave Form Distortions (Harmonics and DC offset) : caused by

Converters, UPS, speed controllers, computers, TVs, chargers,
printers, tube-lights, CFLs, fan regulators, electronic ballasts

Adverse effects: Over-heating & noise, telephone interference,

hum, capacitor failure, mal-operation of control device and medical
equipment.
 POWER QUALITY

• Power quality refers to maintaining a sinusoidal

waveform of bus voltages at rated voltage and
frequency.

• The waveform of electric power at generation

stage is purely sinusoidal and free from any
distortion.
Classification of power quality
 Causes of Power Quality Deterioration

1. Natural Causes:

• Faults or lighting strikes on transmission

lines or distribution feeders.

• Falling of trees or branches on distribution

feeders during stormy conditions,
equipment failure etc.
 Causes of Power Quality Deterioration

2. Due to load or transmission line / feeder

operation:
• Transformer energisation
• Capacitor or feeder switching
• Power electronic loads (UPS, ASD,
converters etc.)
• Arc furnaces and induction heating systems
• Switching on or off of large loads etc.
 Four Major Reasons for the Increased Concern

• Newer-generation load equipment

• Increasing harmonic levels on power systems

• End users have an increased awareness of power quality

issues.
• Many things are now interconnected in a network.
Integrated processes mean that the failure of any
component has much more important consequences.
Power Quality
Power Quality = Voltage Quality
• The power supply system can only control the
quality of the voltage; it has no control over
the currents that particular loads might
draw.

• Therefore, the standards in the power quality

area are devoted to maintaining the supply
voltage within certain limits.
• Generators may provide a near- perfect
sine wave voltage, the current passing
through the impedance of the system can
cause a variety of disturbances to the
voltage.

For example,
• Current resulting from a short circuit
causes the voltage to sag or disappear
completely.
• Currents from lightning strokes passing through
the power system cause high-impulse voltages
that frequently flash over insulation and lead to
other phenomena, such as short circuits.

• Distorted currents from harmonic- producing

loads also distort the voltage as they pass through
the system impedance. Thus a distorted voltage is
presented to other end users
 Principal Phenomena Causing Electromagnetic
Disturbances as Classified by the International Electrotechnical
Commission (IEC)
Types of power quality phenomena according to IEEE 1159-1995:
a. Short Duration Variations
 Voltage Sag
 Voltage Swell
 Interruption
b. Long Duration Variations
 Under voltage
 Overvoltage
 Sustained Interruption
c. Voltage Unbalance
d. Waveform Distortion
 DC Offset
 Harmonics
 Interharmonics
 Notching
 Noise
e. Electrical Transients
f. Voltage Fluctuations (Flicker)
g. Power Frequency Variation
For steady-state phenomena, the following
attributes can be used:
• Amplitude
• Frequency
• Spectrum
• Modulation
• Source impedance
• Notch depth
• Notch area
For non-steady-state phenomena, other
attributes may be required:
• Rate of rise
• Amplitude
• Duration
• Spectrum
• Frequency
• Rate of occurrence
• Energy potential
• Source
SHORT DURATION VARIATIONS
This category encompasses the IEC category of voltage dips and
short interruptions.
Each type of variation can be designated as,
1. Instantaneous,
2. Momentary,
3. Temporary
CAUSES
1. Fault conditions
2. The energization of large loads which require high starting
currents
3. Intermittent loose connections in power wiring.
4. Depending on the fault location and the system conditions, the
fault can cause either temporary voltage drops (sags), voltage
rises (swells), or a complete loss of voltage (interruptions).
 INTERRUPTION
An interruption occurs when the supply voltage or
load current decreases to less than 0.1 pu for a
period of time not exceeding 1 min.

CAUSES
1. Power system faults
2. Equipment failures
3. Control malfunctions
• The interruptions are measured by their duration since
the voltage magnitude is always less than 10 percent of
nominal.

• The duration of an interruption due to a fault on the

utility system is determined by the operating time of utility
protective devices.

• Instantaneous reclosing generally will limit the interruption

caused by a nonpermanent fault to less than 30 cycles.

• Delayed reclosing of the protective device may cause a

momentary or temporary interruption.
• The duration of an interruption due to equipment
malfunctions or loose connections can be irregular.

• Figure shows such a momentary interruption during which

voltage on one phase sags to about 20 percent for about 3
cycles and then drops to zero for about 1.8 s until the
recloser closes back in.
 Sags (dips)
• A sag is a decrease to between 0.1 and 0.9 pu in RMS
voltage or current at the power frequency for durations
from 0.5 cycle to 1 min.

Causes of Voltage sags

1. Associated with system faults
2. Energization of heavy loads
3. Starting of large motors.

Sag durations are subdivided here into three categories such as,
• Instantaneous (0.5-30 Cycles)
• Momentary (30 Cycles-3sec)
• Temporary (3sec – 1 min)
• Figure shows typical voltage sag that can be associated with a
single- line-to-ground (SLG) fault on another feeder from
the same substation.
• Figure illustrates the effect of a large motor starting. An
induction motor will draw 6 to 10 times its full load current
during start-up

• In this case, the voltage sags immediately to 80 percent and

then gradually returns to normal in about 3 s.

• Note the difference in time frame between this and sags

due to utility system faults.
 Swells
• A swell is defined as an increase to between 1.1 and
1.8 pu in RMS voltage or current at the power
frequency for durations from 0.5 cycle to 1 min.

• Swells are characterized by their magnitude (RMS

value) and duration.

Causes of Voltage Swell

1. Associated with system faults
2. Energization of large Capacitor bank
3. Switching off large load
The severity of a voltage swell during a fault condition is a
function of
1. Fault location
2. System impedance
3. Grounding
 Voltage Imbalance (voltage unbalance)
• Voltage imbalance (also called voltage unbalance) is sometimes
defined as the maximum deviation from the average of the three-
phase voltages or currents, divided by the average of the three-
phase voltages or currents, expressed in percent

• Voltage imbalance (or unbalance) is defined as the ratio of the

negative or zero sequence component to the positive sequence
component. (Std from symmetrical components)

• The negative or zero sequence voltages in a power system

generally result from unbalanced loads causing negative or zero
sequence currents to flow.
Source
• The primary source of voltage unbalances of less than 2 percent is
single-phase loads on a three-phase circuit
• Result of blown fuses in one phase of a three-phase capacitor bank
• Severe voltage unbalance (>5%) can result from single- phasing
conditions
 Transients can be classified into
two categories,
• Impulsive

• Oscillatory
 Impulsive transient
• It is a sudden, non–power frequency change in the
steady-state condition of voltage, current, or both.

• It is unidirectional in polarity (primarily either positive

or negative).

• Impulsive transients are normally characterized by their

rise and decay times, which can also be revealed by their
spectral content.
For example,
• 1.2X50-μs 2000-volt (V) impulsive
transient nominally rises from zero to its
peak value of 2000 V in 1.2μs and then
decays to half its peak value in 50μs .

• The most common cause of impulsive

transients is lightning.
 Oscillatory Transient
• It is a sudden, non–power frequency change
in the steady-state condition of voltage,
current, or both.

• It includes both positive and negative

polarity values.

• It consists of a voltage or current whose

instantaneous value changes polarity
rapidly.
• It is described by its spectral content
(predominate frequency), duration, and
magnitude.
• The spectral content subclasses are
High
Medium
Low frequency
HF transients:
Primary Frequency component >500kHz measured in
microsecond duration - Local system response to Impulsive
transients.

MF transients:
Primary Frequency component 5-500kHz measured in
microseconds -Back-to-back capacitor energization.

LF transients:
Primary Frequency component <5kHz measured in
microseconds - duration 0.3 to 50 ms - Capacitor Bank
energization.
 Long-Duration Voltage Variations
• Long-duration variations encompass root-
mean-square (RMS) deviations at power
frequencies for longer than 1 min.

• It can be either overvoltages or under

voltages.
• Overvoltages and Undervoltages
generally are not the result of system
faults, but are caused by load variations
on the system and system switching
operations.

• Long-duration variations are typically

displayed as plots of RMS voltage versus
time.
OVERVOLTAGE
• Increase in the RMS AC voltage greater than 110
percent at the power frequency for a duration longer
than 1 min.

CAUSES
1. Load switching (e.g., switching off a large load or
energizing a capacitor bank)
2. Incorrect tap settings on transformers can also result in
system overvoltages.

EFFECT
• The overvoltages result because either the system is too
weak for the desired voltage regulation or voltage
controls are inadequate.
UNDERVOLTAGE
• Decrease in the RMS AC voltage to less than 90 percent at
the power frequency for a duration longer than 1 min.

• Due to switching events that are the opposite of the events

that cause overvoltages.

CAUSES
1. A load switching on or a capacitor bank switching off can
cause an under voltage until voltage regulation equipment
on the system can bring the voltage back to within
tolerances.
2. Overloaded circuits can result in undervoltages
 SUSTAINED INTERRUPTION

• When the supply voltage has been zero for a period

of time in excess of 1 min, the long-duration voltage
variation is considered a Sustained Interruption.

• This term has been defined to be more specific

regarding the absence of voltage for long periods.
Waveform Distortion
• Waveform distortion is defined as a steady-state
deviation from an ideal sine wave of power frequency
principally characterized by the spectral content of the
deviation.

There are five primary types of waveform distortion:

• DC offset
• Harmonics
• Interharmonics
• Notching
• Noise
DC offset
• The presence of a dc voltage or current in an ac power system
is termed dc offset. This can occur as the result of a
geomagnetic disturbance or asymmetry of electronic power
converters

• Direct current in ac networks can have a detrimental effect by

biasing transformer cores so they saturate in normal
operation. This causes additional heating and loss of
transformer life.

• Direct current may also cause the electrolytic erosion of

grounding electrodes and other connectors
Harmonics
• Harmonics are sinusoidal voltages or currents having
frequencies that are integer multiples of the frequency at
which the supply system is designed to operate.

• IEEE Standard 519-1992 provides guidelines for

harmonic current and voltage distortion levels on
distribution and transmission circuits.
• Periodically distorted waveforms can be
decomposed into a sum of the fundamental
frequency and the harmonics.

• Harmonic distortion originates in the nonlinear

characteristics of devices and loads on the
power system.

• Harmonic distortion levels are described by the

complete harmonic spectrum with magnitudes
and phase angles of each individual harmonic
component
• Total harmonic distortion (THD), as a measure
of the effective value of harmonic distortion.

• THD - used to characterize both current and

voltage waves. However THD refers distortion
in voltage waves.

• Figure illustrates the waveform and harmonic

spectrum for a typical adjustable-speed-
drive(ASD) input current.
Total Harmonic distortion (THD)

• IEEE 519 sets limits on total harmonic distortion

(THD) for the utility side of the meter.

• Utility is responsible for the voltage distortion at the

point of common coupling (PCC) between the utility
and the end user.

• Total harmonic distortion is a way to evaluate the

voltage distortion effects of injecting harmonic currents
into the utility’s system.
Total Harmonic distortion (THD) =
• (RMS value of the harmonic content / RMS value of the
fundamental) * 100

• Total harmonic distortion (THD) is a term used to describe

the net deviation of a nonlinear waveform from ideal sine
waveform characteristics.
THD = (4.82/114) × 100 =4.23%
Total Demand Distortion (TDD)
• IEEE 519 sets limits total demand distortion (TDD) for the
end-user side of the meter.

TDD = (RMS of the harmonic current / RMS value of Max

Demand of Load Current) * 100

• Expressed as a percent of rated load current.

• TDD deals with evaluating the current distortions caused by
harmonic currents in the end-user facilities
Interharmonics
• Voltages or currents having frequency components that are
non-integer multiples of the fundamental frequency at
which the supply system is designed to operate (e.g., 50 or
60 Hz) are called interharmonics.

• They can appear as discrete frequencies or as a wideband

spectrum.

Sources of Interharmonic Waveform Distortion

• Static frequency converters
• Cycloconverters
• Induction furnaces
• Arcing devices
NOTCH
• Notching is a periodic voltage disturbance caused by the
normal operation of power electronic devices when
current is commutated from one phase to another
NOISE
• Noise is defined as unwanted electrical signals with
broadband spectral content lower than 200 kHz
superimposed upon the power system voltage or current in
phase conductors, or found on neutral conductors or signal
lines.

SOURCES
• Power electronic devices, Arcing equipment, Loads with
solid-state rectifiers, and Switching power supplies.
Voltage Fluctuation
(Voltage flicker)
Voltage Fluctuation (Voltage flicker)
• Voltage fluctuations are systematic variations of the voltage
envelope or a series of random voltage changes, the
magnitude of which does not normally exceed the voltage
ranges specified by ANSI C84.1 of 0.9 to 1.1 pu.

Source
• Loads that can exhibit continuous, rapid variations in the
load current magnitude can cause voltage variations that are
often referred to as flicker.
Power Frequency Variations

• Power frequency variations are defined as the deviation of

the power system fundamental frequency from it specified
nominal value.

• The power system frequency is directly related to the

rotational speed of the generators supplying the system.
There are slight variations in frequency as the dynamic
balance between load and generation changes.

• The size of the frequency shift and its duration depend on

the load characteristics and the response of the generation
control system to load changes.
Figure : Illustrates frequency variations for a 24-h period on a typical 13-kV
substation bus.
 CBEMA Curve

• A set of curves representing the withstanding capabilities

of computers interms of the magnitude and duration of the
voltage disturbance.

• Developed by the Computer Business Equipment

Manufacturers Association (CBEMA)
• The axes represent magnitude and duration of the
event.

• Points below the envelope are presumed to cause the

load to drop out due to lack of energy.

• Points above the envelope are presumed to cause other

malfunctions such as insulation failure, over voltage
trip, and over excitation.
 ITI Curve

• A set of curves published by the Information

Technology Industry Council (ITIC) representing the
withstand capabilities of computers connected to
120-V power systems in terms of the magnitude and
duration of the voltage disturbance.

• The ITI curve replaces the curves originally developed

by the ITI’s predecessor organization CBEMA
International Standards
 Need for PQ Standards
• Increased use of sensitive electronic equipment,
increased application of nonlinear devices to improve
energy efficiency, the advent of deregulation, and the
increasingly complex and interconnected power system
all contribute to the need for power quality standards.
• Standards set voltage and current limits that sensitive
electronic equipment can tolerate from electrical
disturbances.

• Utilities need standards that set limits on the amount of

voltage distortion their power systems can tolerate from
harmonics produced by their customers with nonlinear
loads.

• End users need standard that set limits not only for
electrical disturbances produced by utilities but also for
harmonics generated by other end users
• Deregulation increases the need for standards so that
the offending organization causing poor quality
problems is held accountable for fixing the problems.

• Standards also allow utilities to provide different levels

of power quality service.

• Several national and international organizations

have developed power quality standards.
 Power Quality Standards Organizations

 Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)

 American National Standards Institute (ANSI)

 National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)

 National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)

 National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA)

Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI)
It is the sole United States representative to the two
major international standards organizations,

1. International Standard Organization (ISO)

2. International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC).
• IEEE SCC-22: Power Quality Standards Coordinating Committee
• IEEE 1159: Monitoring Electric Power Quality
• IEEE 1159.1: Guide For Recorder and Data Acquisition Requirements
• IEEE 1159.2: Power Quality Event Characterization
• IEEE 1159.3: Data File Format for Power Quality Data Interchange
• IEEE P1564: Voltage Sag Indices
• IEEE 1346: Power System Compatibility with Process Equipment
• IEEE P1100: Power and Grounding Electronic Equipment
• IEEE 1433: Power Quality Definitions
• IEEE P1453: Voltage flicker
• IEEE 519: Harmonic Control in Electrical Power Systems
• IEEE P519A: Guide for Applying Harmonic Limits on Power Systems
• IEEE P446: Emergency and standby power
• IEEE P1409: Distribution Custom Power
• IEEE P1547: Distributed Resources and Electric Power Systems
Interconnection
 IEC POWER QUALITY STANDARDS
• IEC 61000-4-11 – voltage sag immunity – 16 Amps or less
• IEC 61000-4-34 – voltage sag immunity – more than 16 Amps
• IEC 61000-4-30 – power quality measurement methods
• 61000-1-X – definitions and methodology
• 61000-2-X – environment (e.g. 61000-2-4 is compatibility levels
in industrial plants)
• 61000-3-X – limits (e.g. 61000-3-4 is limits on harmonics
emissions)
• 61000-4-X – tests and measurements (e.g. 61000-4-30 is power
quality measurements)
• 61000-5-X – installation and mitigation
• 61000-6-X – generic immunity & emissions standards
 Semiconductor Equipment and Material
International (SEMI Standards)

• SEMI F47- Industry Standard for Voltage Sag Immunity

• SEMI E6 –Power Consumption Reporting standard

 American National Standards Institute (ANSI)

• ANSI C62: Guides and standards on surge protection

• ANSI C84.1: Voltage ratings for equipment and power systems

• ANSI C57.110: Transformer derating for supplying non-linear

loads
 International Union for Electricity Applications
(UIE)

UIE-DWG: Guides to quality of Electrical supply for

industrial installations.
• Part-1 - Introduction to EMC
• Part-2 - Voltage dips and interruptions
• Part-3 - Voltage Distortion
• Part-4 - Voltage unbalance
• Part-5 - Flicker
 Sources of PQ Problems
Major sources of power quality problems can be divided into two
categories, depending on the location of the source in relationship
to the power meter.
1.Utility side of the meter includes
 Switching operations
 Power system faults
 Lightning.
2.Other category is on the end-user side of the meter and includes
 Non-linear loads
 Poor grounding
 Electromagnetic interference
 Static electricity
 Utility side of the meter
Sources of PQ problems on utility side of the meter involve

• They can be either man-made or natural events.

• They all involve some type of interruption of the current or

voltage. The most common manmade causes are switching
operations.

• Utilities switch equipment on and off by the use of breakers,

disconnect switches, or reclosers.

• Usually some type of fault on the power system causes a breaker to

trip.

• Utilities trip breakers to perform routine maintenance. They also

trip breakers to insert capacitors to improve the power factor.
 Utility side of the meter
• Lightning striking a power line or substation equipment,
a tree touching a power line, a car hitting a power pole,
or even an animal touching an energized line may cause
the fault.

• The tripping of the breaker and the initiating fault can

cause the voltage to sag or swell, depending on when in
the periodic wave the tripping occurs.

• Utilities set breakers and reclosers to reclose on the fault

to determine if the fault has cleared. If the fault has not
cleared, the breaker or recloser trips again and stays
open.
Figure shows a utility breaker & Utility PF
Improvement Capacitor
 Utility side of the meter
• Utility activity that can cause oscillatory transients is the
switching of power factor improvement capacitors. utilities use
power factor improvement capacitors to improve the power
factor by adding capacitive reactance to the power system. This
causes the current and voltage to be in phase and thus reduces
losses in the power system.

• When utilities insert capacitors in the power system, they

momentarily cause an increase in the voltage and cause
transients.

• Capacitors, if tuned to harmonics on the power system, can also

amplify the harmonics. This is especially true if the utility and
end user both switch their capacitors on at the same time.
End-user side of the meter
• Sources of PQ problems on the end-user side of the meter
usually involve a disruption of the sinusoidal voltage and
current delivered to the end user by the utility.

• These disruptions can damage or cause misoperation of

sensitive electronic equipment in not only the end-user’s
facilities but also in another end-user’s facilities that is
electrically connected.
The following is a list of power quality problems caused by
end users:
 Non-linear inrush current from the start-up of large motors
 Static electricity
 Power factor improvement capacitors amplifying harmonics
 Poor wiring and grounding techniques
 Nonlinear loads
• There are today many types of nonlinear loads. All these devices
change a smooth sinusoidal wave into irregular distorted wave
shapes. The distorted wave shapes produce harmonics. They
include all types of electronic equipment that use
 SMPS, ASDs
 Rectifiers, Inverters
 Arc welders and Arc furnaces
 Electronic and magnetic ballast in fluorescent lighting
 Medical equipment like MRI (magnetic radiation imaging)
and x-ray machines.
 Other devices that convert ac to dc and generate harmonics
include battery chargers, UPS, electron beam furnaces, and
induction furnaces.
Most electronic devices use switched-mode power supplies that produce harmonics.

Power Supply without

Switched mode

Power Supply with

Switched mode
What is a switched-mode power supply? How does it produce
harmonics?
• The switched-mode process converts ac to dc using a rectifier
bridge, converts dc back to ac at a high frequency using a switcher,
steps the ac voltage down to 5 V using a small transformer and
finally converts the ac to dc using another rectifier. Electronic
equipment requires 5 V dc to operate.

• Switching circuit that takes stored energy from a capacitor in short

pulses and delivers voltage at a frequency of 20 to 100 kHz to a
transformer in the form of a square wave.

• The high-frequency switching requires a small and light transformer.

However, the pulsed square wave distorts the sine wave and
produces harmonics.
 Power factor improvement capacitors

• They cause the current to lead the voltage by 90°. This

subtracts from the phase angle shift of induction loads that
cause the current to lag the voltage by 90°.

• This is how capacitors reduce the phase shift between current

and voltage and provide the magnetization that motors and
transformers need to operate.

• Therefore, capacitors are an inexpensive way to provide

reactive power at the load and increase power factor.
• They supply the reactive, magnetized power required by electric
loads, especially industrial loads that use inductive motors.

• Motors with their inductive, magnetizing, reactive power cause

current to “lag” behind voltage.

• Capacitors create “leading” current. Capacitors act in opposition

to inductive loads, thereby minimizing the reactive power
required.

• When carefully controlled, the capacitor lead can match the

motor lag, eliminate the need for reactive power, and increase
the power factor toward unity.
• Both fixed and dynamic shunt capacitors applied to inductive
loads increase the power factor.

• Fixed capacitors are switched on manually and apply a constant

capacitance; dynamic capacitors can be switched on automatically
and adjust their capacitance according to the inductive load.

• Both types have advantages and disadvantages, but both types

provide similar benefits. In raising the power factor, shunt
capacitors release energy to the system, raise system voltage,
reduce system losses and, ultimately, reduce power costs.

• However, capacitors have a downside. They can amplify

harmonics through harmonic resonance.
 Poor grounding
• Poor grounding can cause voltage potential differences,
excessive ground loops, and interference with sensitive
electronic equipment.

• Proper grounding not only protects people from shock but

provides a reference point and a path for large currents caused
by faults, like switching surges and lightning strokes
• Poor grounding can result in lightning destroying equipment in
a home, office, or factory.

• Lightning surges will take the path of least resistance.

• Wiring and grounding should be designed to divert lightning

current away from sensitive equipment to ground through
lightning protection devices, such as lightning arresters and
surge protectors as shown in Figure
 Electromagnetic interference (EMI)
• Another source of power quality problems is electromagnetic
interference (EMI). Some devices, like a large motor during start-
up, emit a magnetic field that intersects with an adjacent sensitive
device, like a computer or telephone.

• Michael Faraday’s transformer law explains this phenomenon.

• Faraday’s transformer law says that when an alternating magnetic

field cuts across an adjacent conductor, it will induce an
alternating current and voltage in that conductor.

• Induced current and voltage can damage sensitive electronic

equipment or cause it to malfunction.
• Sensitive equipment in hospitals often experiences EMI
problems.

• For example, in one open-heart-surgery training center,

electromagnetic fields from an adjacent electrical equipment
room were causing heart monitors to read incorrectly.

• Moving cables emitting the electromagnetic fields a safe

distance from the cables feeding the heart monitors solved this
problem.
 Static electricity
• Static electricity occurs when the rubbing of one object against
another causes a voltage buildup.

• For example, you can build up an electric charge on your body when
you rub your shoes on a carpet.

• Discharge of static electricity can occur when you then touch a

grounded object, like another person or a metal object.

• Static electricity can create voltages of 3000 V or more and damage

sensitive electronic equipment.
Minimize the static electricity problems by
• Increasing the humidity
• Changing the carpet
• Clothing
• Furniture to non static types
• Grounding the person working on a piece of equipment to the
equipment with a wrist strap.
Effects of Power Quality
Problems
 Effects of Power Quality Problems

• Computers and computer-controlled equipment- freeze up

and lose data. Most power quality problems on computers are
caused by voltage variations.

• Consumer products include digital clocks, microwave ovens,

television sets, video cassette recorders, and stereo equipment
- Affected by voltage sags and outages causing the electronic
timer to shut down. This problem manifests itself by the
blinking clock.
• Lighting includes incandescent, high-intensity discharge, and
fluorescent lights - Incandescent lights often dim during a voltage
sag. All lighting will flicker when arc furnaces and arc welders
cause the voltage to fluctuate.

• Meters - give erroneous readings in the presence of harmonics.

• Ferromagnetic equipment include transformers and motors -

overheat and lose life when harmonic currents increase the loading
on them.
• Telephones - experience noise induced by adjacent electrical
equipment.

• Adjustable-speed drives not only cause harmonics but are

affected by them- frequent shutdown of an ASDs is usually an
indication of excessive harmonics.

• Manufacturing processes - experience frequent shutdowns due

to voltage sags.

• Capacitors - can amplify as well as draw harmonic currents to

themselves. This often causes the capacitors to fail or be tripped
off- line.