HARMONICS ANALYSIS &

MEASUREMENTS
Eng. (Ms) HMAI Herath
BSc. Eng.(Hons) , MSc, CEng, MIE(SL)
 Harmonic Indices

• Harmonic indices are used to describe the effects of harmonics on power system
components and communication systems.
• Generally, two important indices, THD and TDD are used.
• These indices are used to measure the deviation of a periodic waveform containing
harmonics from a perfect sine wave.
• For a perfect sine wave, the deviation (or the distortion) is zero.
 • Total Harmonic Distortion (THD) is a measurement that
tells how much of the distortion of a voltage or current is due
to harmonics in the signal.
• THD is defined as the ratio of the equivalent root mean
square (RMS) voltage of all the harmonic frequencies (from
the 2nd harmonic onwards) over the RMS voltage of the
Harmonic fundamental frequency.

Indices :
THD
Where
Vn_rms is the RMS voltage of the nth harmonic
Vfund_rms is the RMS voltage of the fundamental frequency
(Note that voltage is used in this equation, but current could be used
instead)
 • THDI is defined as the ratio of the equivalent root mean
square (RMS) current of all the harmonic frequencies (from
the 2nd harmonic onwards) over the RMS current of the
fundamental frequency.
Harmonic 𝑇𝐻𝐷𝐼 =
∝
σ𝑘=2 𝐼2 n_rms
𝐼 𝑓𝑢𝑛_𝑟𝑚𝑠
Indices :
THDI Where
In_rms is the RMS current of the nth harmonic
Ifund_rms is the RMS current of the fundamental frequency
 Example: THDV Calculation

Harmonic Amplitude
• From the frequency spectrum, measured voltage amplitude 1 3.08V
of each of the harmonic frequencies and fundamental data 3 0.308V
5 0.159V
is as follows. Calculate the THDV for the voltage 7 0.090V
waveform. 9 0.0487V
11 0.0253V
13 0.0164V
THD = 11.8 % 15 0.010V

Note that voltage amplitudes are used instead of RMS voltage

because VRMS=VP/√2 and since the √2 occurs in all terms, it can be
factored out and cancelled.
 • Total Demand Distortion (TDD) factor is a calculated value
based on the amount of harmonic distortion related to the full
load capacity of the electrical system.

• TDD is defined as the ratio of RMS of harmonic current to

the RMS value of the rated or maximum demand fundamental
current, expressed as a percent.
Harmonic
Indices :
TDD
Where
In is the RMS current of the nth harmonic
IL is the full load capacity of the system (Peak or maximum
demand load current at the fundamental frequency component)
 Difference between THD and TDD
• THD is the measured distortion on the actual magnitude of current flowing at a given instant. This could be
referred to as a “sine wave quality factor” as it is a measure of the amount of distortion at that given time, for that
given magnitude of current.

• IEEE 519 defines TDD as “the total root-sum-square harmonic current distortion, in percent of the maximum
demand load current”.

• You should not be intimidated by TDD equation, as it simply states that TDD is equal to the square root of the sum
of squares of each of the maximum demand currents from the second harmonic to the maximum harmonic present,
divided by the maximum demand load current at the fundamental. TDD is meaningful when monitored at the PCC
over a period of time that reflects maximum customer demand. Per IEEE 519, this is typically 15 minutes to 30
minutes. [Peak or maximum demand load current (IL) at the fundamental frequency component measured at the
point of common coupling (PCC), which is usually at the customer's metering point].
 Difference between THD and TDD
• THD is the measured distortion on the actual magnitude of current flowing at a given instant. This could be
referred to as a “sine wave quality factor” as it is a measure of the amount of distortion at that given time, for that
given magnitude of current.

• IEEE 519 defines TDD as “the total root-sum-square harmonic current distortion, in percent of the maximum
demand load current”.

• You should not be intimidated by TDD equation, as it simply states that TDD is equal to the square root of the sum
of squares of each of the maximum demand currents from the second harmonic to the maximum harmonic present,
divided by the maximum demand load current at the fundamental. TDD is meaningful when monitored at the PCC
over a period of time that reflects maximum customer demand. Per IEEE 519, this is typically 15 minutes to 30
minutes. [Peak or maximum demand load current (IL) at the fundamental frequency component measured at the
point of common coupling (PCC), which is usually at the customer's metering point].
 Example 2
• Calculate the voltage THD from the individual voltage harmonics listed in Table 1 where the
fundamental voltage is 240.54 V.
Table 1
 Example 3
• Calculate the current THD from the individual current harmonics listed in Table 2 where the
fundamental current is 903.2 A.
Table 2
 THD Measurement

▪ Measurement at the PCC (at the transformer) or Metering point

▪ Measuring Equipment: Harmonic analyzer/ Power quality analyzer / Spectrum analyzer

 ▪ Standard : IEEE 519
▪ According to IEEE 519, harmonic voltage distortion on
power systems 69 kV and below is limited to 5% total
Harmonic Limits harmonic distortion (THD) with each individual harmonic
limited to 3%.
The current harmonic limits vary based on the short circuit strength of the system they are being
injected into.