A Step by Step Process to

Troubleshoot Power Quality

Problems
Sanket Bolar

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 Today’s Presenter

n Sanket Bolar
• Megger Substation Application Engineer

n Andy Sagl - Panelist

• Megger Product Manager

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 Agenda
n PQ phenomena
n PQ problem evaluation procedure
n Key steps for a good PQ survey
n PQ recorder settings
n Data assessment

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 PQ Phenomena

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 Short Duration Variations
n Variations which occur in the duration from 0.5 cycles to 1
minute
n Include sags (dips), swells and interruptions.
n Based on the duration, they are further classified into
• Instantaneous (0.5 cycles to 30 cycles)
• Momentary (30 cycles to 3 secs.)
• Temporary (3 secs. To 1 min.)
n Effects – equipment shutdown, process disruption, component
failure

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 Short Duration Variations - Sags
n Sag is defined as a decrease in the r.m.s. magnitude of
voltage or current

n Causes of voltage sag – Switching ON loads, starting of

motors

n The term dip is used in IEC

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 Short Duration Variations - Sags

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 Short Duration Variations - Swells
n Swell is defined as an increase in the r.m.s. magnitude of
voltage or current

n Causes of voltage swell – Switching OFF loads, switching ON

capacitor banks

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 Short Duration Variations - Swells

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 Short Duration Variations - Interruptions
n Interruption is defined as a decrease in the r.m.s. magnitude
of voltage or current to less than 0.1 pu

n Causes of interruptions – faults, equipment failure

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 Short Duration Variations

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 Transients
n Transient is a quantity which varies between two consecutive
steady states during a time interval which is short when
compared with the timescale of interest

n Classified into impulsive and oscillatory transients

n Effects – Insulation failure, component failure, nuisance

tripping

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 Transients - Impulsive
n Sudden, non-power frequency change in the steady-state
condition of voltage, current, or both, that is unidirectional in
polarity (primarily either positive or negative)

n Causes – Lightning

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 Transients - Impulsive

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 Transients - Impulsive

60µs

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 Transients - Oscillatory
n Sudden, non–power frequency change in the steady-state
condition of voltage, current, or both, that includes both
positive and negative polarity values

n Classified into low, medium and high frequency based on

spectral content

n Causes – Capacitor bank energization, ferroresonance

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 Transients - Oscillatory

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 Waveform Distortion
n 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.
n Includes –
• Harmonics
• Inter-harmonics
• DC offset
• Noise
• Notching

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 Waveform Distortion - Harmonics
n Harmonics are sinusoidal voltages or currents having frequencies
that are integer multiples of the fundamental frequency
n Sources – Non-linear loads
n Total harmonic distortion (THD) is used to quantify harmonics

n Total demand distortion (TDD) is used for currents

n Effects – overheating, harmonic resonance

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 Waveform Distortion - Harmonics

Current drawn by a computer

05/12/17 03:57:52.653 PM Time

240 3 .6

120 1 .8
Va (Vo l ts)

Ia (Amp s)
0 0

-1 2 0 -1 .8

-2 4 0 -3 .6
0 .0 0 2 4 .9 8 4 9 .9 7 7 4 .9 5 9 9 .9 3
T i m e (m s )

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 Waveform Distortion - Harmonics

Current drawn by a motor

05/14/17 06:57:14.139 PM Time

240 12

120 6
Va (Vo l ts)

Ia (Amp s)
0 0

-1 2 0 -6

-2 4 0 -1 2
0 .0 0 2 4 .9 8 4 9 .9 6 7 4 .9 4 9 9 .9 2
T i m e (m s )

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 Waveform Distortion - Harmonics

Current measured on a variable frequency drive

Voltage and cur r ent

05/31/17 11:52:46.375 PM Tim e

600 240

300 120
Vb (Volts )

Ib (Amps )
0 0

-300 -120

-600 -240
0.00 24.99 49.97 74.96 99.94
Time (ms )

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 Waveform Distortion – Inter-harmonics
n Inter-harmonics are voltages or currents having frequencies
that are NOT integer multiples of the fundamental frequency

n Sources – cycloconverters, induction furnaces

n Effects – can affect Power Line Carrier signaling, induce

flicker

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 Voltage Unbalance
n Condition in a polyphase system in which the r.m.s.
values of the line voltages (fundamental component),
and/or the phase angles between consecutive line voltages,
are not all equal
n Evaluated in terms of symmetrical components in IEC
n Negative sequence factor,

n Zero sequence factor,

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 Voltage Unbalance (cont.)
n Causes – single phase loads on a three phase system, blown
fuses on one phase of a three phase cap bank

n Effects – overheating of motors and transformers

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 Voltage Fluctuations (Flicker)
n Flicker - impression of unsteadiness of visual sensation
induced by a light stimulus whose luminance or spectral
distribution fluctuates with time
n Voltage fluctuation is a phenomenon and flicker is the result
n IEC 61000-4-15 for flicker measurement technique
n Pst,

n Plt,

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 PQ Problem Evaluation Procedure

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Source: Electrical Power Systems Quality
 Key Steps for a Good PQ Survey

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 Monitoring Objectives
n Troubleshooting

n PQ evaluation

n Planning the connection of new equipment

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 Monitoring Locations
n Depends on the objective of the survey
• To diagnose specific equipment problems, recorder should be
close to the affected equipment
• For a general PQ investigation at a facility, recorder to be placed
at customer service entrance location

n Cost and convenience

n Point of Common Coupling

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 Monitoring Locations

Source: Electrical Power Systems Quality

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 Monitoring Locations
Place the monitor here
if harmonics problem is
suspected
Place the monitor here to
assess power conditioner

Place the monitor here for Place the monitor here for
overall PQ assessment equipment problem

Source: IEEE 1159

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 Pre-monitoring Site Surveys
n Electrical system data

n Changes in installation topology over time

n Known disturbing loads, rating and operating regime

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 Quantities to Measure
n Prioritize based on the objective

n Get as much data as the recorder can provide and then use
what you need.

n Decision affected by instrument storage capabilities and

communication time/cost impacts

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 Monitoring Thresholds
n While looking at equipment performance problems, set the
thresholds as per the specifications of the equipment

n For a general PQ survey, the thresholds should be set at an

appropriate level based on the application

n Tight thresholds may result in excessive triggering

n Loose thresholds may result in events not getting captured

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Source: IEEE 1159
 Monitoring Period
n Depends on the type of information that you’re trying to get
and the frequency of occurrence of problems
n Rarer events like sags/swells may need longer assessment
periods
n Harmonics data can be assessed over a shorter period of time
n IEC61000-4-30 specifies minimum assessment periods for
various parameters

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 Monitor Placement
n Secure placement
n Should not pose a safety hazard to those working in the area
n Should not pose a safety hazard to the person installing the
monitor
n External factors like temperature, humidity, Radio Frequency
Interference need to be considered
n Monitor should be able to withstand vibrations and mechanical
stresses

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 Monitor Grounding
n Grounding loop could result if the power supply ground and
the circuit ground are at different potentials

Source: IEEE 1159

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 PQ Recorder Settings

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 Setting up a PQ Recorder
n Configuration

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 Setting up a PQ Recorder
n Current / voltage ranges

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 Setting up a PQ Recorder
n Monitoring thresholds

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 Setting up a PQ Recorder
n Time intervals

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 Setting up a PQ Recorder
n Waveform capture

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 Motor Overheating and Stalling
n Common causes: voltage sag, phase imbalance,
voltage harmonics

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 Nuisance Breaker Tripping
n Common causes: swells, inrush current, load
switching, capacitor bank switching

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 Component Failures
n Common causes: Transients, lightning, loose
connections, arcing

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 Neutral Overheating
n Common causes: Unbalance three phase system,
triplen harmonics (zero sequence component)

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 UPS Unwanted Kick ON & OFF
n Common causes: Voltage sag, transients, load
switching, loose wiring

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 Switchgear Equipment Failure
n Common causes: transients caused by lightning,
load and capacitor switching, voltage swells

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 Computer Problems
n Common causes: Sag, swells, transients,
harmonics

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 Data Assessment

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 Steady State Analysis
n Trending of voltages/currents (min/avg/max) Trending of voltage
rms values of 3 phases

Va
Vb
Vc

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 Steady State Analysis
Trending of voltage
n Trending of voltages/currents (min/avg/max) min/avg/max values
of one phase

Vb min
Vb avg
Vc max

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 Steady State Analysis
Trending of current
n Trending of voltages/currents (min/avg/max) rms values of 3 phases

Ia
Ib
Ic

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 Steady State Analysis
n Trending of voltages/currents (min/avg/max)

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 Steady State Analysis
Trending of power(kW)
n Trending of voltages/currents (min/avg/max) of all 3 phases

Pa
Pb
Pc

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9:00 am
 RMS Variation Analysis
n Tabulation and waveform analysis of sags/swells

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 RMS Variation Analysis
n Tabulation and waveform analysis of sags/swells

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 Transient Analysis
n Tabulation and waveform analysis of sub-cycle events and
Electrical Fast Transients (EFTs)

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 Harmonic Analysis
Trending of voltage
n THD/TDD calculation and trending THD% values

Va THD%
Vb THD%
Vc THD%

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 Harmonic Analysis
n Harmonics/inter-harmonics trending

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 Harmonic Analysis
n Harmonic spectrum

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 Standardized PQ Reports
n Data analyzed as per standards (eg EN50160, IEEE1159)

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 Standardized PQ Reports
n Data analyzed as per standards (eg EN50160, IEEE1159)

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 Types of Instruments
PQ problems
Wiring and grounding problems
V/I measurement
V/I waveforms
Sag/swell/transients
Harmonics/inter-harmonics
Sag/swell/transients/
harmonics/inter-harmonics
Flicker
Demand/Energy measurement
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Instruments
Wiring and grounding testers
Multimeters
Oscilloscopes
Disturbance analyzers
Harmonic analyzers
Combination disturbance and
harmonic analyzers
Flicker meters
Energy monitors
 Types of Instruments

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 Megger’s Solution – MPQ2000
n Class A measurement
n Auto CT ID
n Powered off Phase A
n Supports SD cards of up to 32 GB
n Configuration verification
n IP54 with closed lid
n Onboard data analysis

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 Megger’s Solution – MPQ2000

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 Megger’s Solution – MPQ2000

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 References
n Electrical Power Systems Quality
- Roger C. Dugan, Mark F. McGranaghan,
Surya Santoso, H. Wayne Beaty
n IEC 61000-4-30
n IEEE Std. 1159

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 Survey and Contact Info
n Contact Information
• Presenter
– Sanket Bolar
sanket.bolar@megger.com

• USA and Mexico Sales

– sales@megger.com
– +1 800 723 2861

• Canada Sales Please help us improve by filling out

– caenquiries@megger.com the survey after the webinar ends
– +1 800 297 9688
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75
 Join Us For Our Next Webinar
n Do’s and Don’ts of Insulation Power Factor Testing
n July 21, 2017 at 10:00 am CT
n Presented by Jill Duplessis, Global Technical Marketing
Manager

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Upcoming AVO Training Institute July Webinar
n Protective Relays in the Power Delivery System…How it
All Fits Together
n July 25, 2017 from 1pm – 2pm CST
n Presented by Dennis Moon, AVO Training Instructor
n CLICK HERE to register!

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 Questions?
Power on
At Megger, we understand that keeping the power on is essential for the success
of your business. That is why we are dedicated to creating, designing and
manufacturing safe, reliable, easy-to-use portable test equipment backed by world-
leading support and expertise.

We can assist your acceptance, commissioning and maintenance testing for

predictive, diagnostic or routine purposes. By working closely with electrical
utilities, standards bodies and technical institutions, we contribute to the
dependability and advancement of the electrical supply industry.

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