White Paper:

Understanding Harmonics

Contributed by Chris Mullins January 2014 Phase Period = 1/Frequency

Abstract 1.5

With the increase in nonlinear loads (VFDs, high

efficiency heat pumps, electronic power supplies,
1
etc.) and the reduction in excess distribution capacity,
harmonic distortion is an increasingly common power
0.5
quality issue. Most PQ equipment today can measure
harmonics, but without a good understanding of what

Amplitude
harmonics are, the numbers aren’t very helpful. Here 0
the fundamental concepts behind harmonics are
described.
-0.5
The ideal voltage waveform produced by a rotating
generator is a sine wave. A sine function can be
expressed as: -1

where Vt is the value at time t, A is the amplitude (peak -1.5

value), f is the frequency in Hertz, and is the phase
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000
angle in radians. Any sine function can be fully
described by those three parameters: amplitude,
frequency, and phase (see Figure 1). In an ideal doesn’t obey the superposition principals for inputs x Figure 1. Amplitude,
120V-nominal system, the utility voltage is sinusoidal, and y: 1. F(x+y) = F(x) + F(y), and 2. F(ax) = aF(x). In frequency, and phase
with A=120√2=167V, F = 60Hz, and =0 (although AC power systems, this means that a load is nonlinear
isn’t very meaningful without an absolute starting if it produces a non-sinusoidal current waveform when
reference, or reference to another sine wave). A key driven by a voltage sine wave (or it produces one or
property of a sine wave is that it’s periodic: V(t) = more sine waves of different frequencies).
V(t+nP), where P is the period (1/frequency), and n is
any integer. Each period (cycle) of the sine wave is In general, a nonlinear load could theoretically produce
identical to every other period. any current waveform, even something completely
unrelated to the driving voltage. Fortunately, most
Normally the only driving source in the distribution nonlinear loads aren’t as complex as that. Many are
system is the utility voltage; this voltage sinusoid is nonlinear only in that they draw current during just
the forcing function that all loads react to, by drawing portions of the voltage sine wave. A simplified example
current as determined by their load characteristics. circuit is shown in Figure 2. Here a diode rectifies the
With simple resistive loads, the instantaneous current AC voltage, and a capacitor smoothes the rippled Figure 2. Simplified
drawn is exactly proportional to the voltage, and thus output into a mostly DC voltage. This DC is applied electrical circuit
the current is a sine wave with the same frequency and
phase shift, but (usually) different amplitude. With a
mix of reactive loads, the total current is still a sinusoid Rectification Diode
with identical frequency, but the amplitude and phase AC Sinewave Rectified DC
angle may change from the voltage sine wave. Due to
the special properties of the sine function, any linear
system driven by a single sine wave will always result
in an output of the same sine wave frequency, with
no other distortion in the wave shape. Multiple linear Driving Smoothing
120VAC Load
loads produce sinusoidal currents that can be vector- AC Voltage Capacitor
added to determine the combined sine wave.

Nonlinear loads throw a monkey wrench into the

system. Technically, a system F is nonlinear if it

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White Paper:
Understanding Harmonics

to the load, shown as a single resistor. This AC –> DC Diode Ends

Conduction
conversion concept is found in most electronic power
supplies, and is responsible for much of the harmonic Diode Starts
current in today’s loads. The diode conducts only Conduction
when the AC voltage on its left side is higher than the
smoothed voltage (held up by the capacitor) on the
0c Capacitor
right side. Figure 3 shows the voltage at the “Rectified Discharge
DC” point, along with the original sine wave. The AC
voltage is only higher than the rectified voltage for
a small portion of the sine wave; this time period is
known as the “conduction angle”. t1 t2
Conduction
This load is nonlinear, as seen from the fact that the Angle
current drawn is not strictly proportional to the voltage
at each point in the 60Hz sine waveform. It is periodic and whose frequencies are whole multiples of the base Figure 3. AC –> DC
though – since it’s driven by a periodic forcing function; frequency (the inverse of the waveform period). conversion
the resulting current waveform, while not sinusoidal,
is still the same every cycle. Figure 4 shows the input Mathematically, this can be written as:
voltage (red) and current (blue) waveforms from a real
switching power supply. Here, the conduction angle is
very small, and current is only drawn at the peaks of
the voltage waveform. The current is not a sine wave Here, x(t) is an arbitrary periodic signal, and is equal to
shape, but it is periodic – it repeats with the same a summation of sine waves with the kth sine having
period as the driving voltage waveform. amplitude A k, phase k , and frequency equal to k/P,
where P is the fundamental period. In other words, any
Many, if not most nonlinear loads share this property. distorted, but periodic waveform may be decomposed
If driven by a voltage sine wave, the current waveform into a series of pure sine waves at multiples of the
may be distorted, but it will have the same waveform fundamental frequency, each with different amplitudes
shape every cycle. Fortunately, there is a powerful and phase angles.
method of analysis for these waveforms – the Fourier
Theorem. This theorem states that any periodic signal In a normal distribution system, the fundamental Figure 4. Voltage and
can be decomposed into a unique summation of pure frequency is that of the voltage driving source, nominally current waveforms from a
sine waves, each with a certain amplitude, and phase, 60Hz. A distorted waveform may be decomposed switching power supply

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White Paper:
Understanding Harmonics

into a combination of sine waves with multiples of the y-axis. We can see that the voltage waveform is Figure 5. Pure sine waves
that frequency; these are known as harmonics. The not very distorted – the main component is the 120V can combine to form a
harmonic number indicates the frequency multiple – fundamental; the others are at most one pixel tall in distorted waveform.
e.g. the 1st harmonic (the fundamental) is 60Hz, the the graph.
2nd is 120Hz, 3rd is 180 Hz, etc. The Fourier theorem
states that any distorted, but periodic, wave shape has The current is much more distorted, and consequently
a unique decomposition of a 60Hz sine wave, plus a the harmonic levels are much higher. The third
120Hz sine wave, plus a 180Hz sine, etc. In most AC harmonic is nearly as tall as the fundamental, and the Figure 6. Harmonic
power systems, the even harmonics are mostly zero 5th, 7th, and 9th are very significant. decomposition
in amplitude due to cancellations in 3 phase systems,
and symmetries in most nonlinear load currents. In
Figure 5, three harmonics, the fundamental, 3rd, and
5th are shown individually, then added together as an
example of how pure sine waves can combine to form
a distorted waveform.

A complete Fourier analysis includes a magnitude

and phase angle for each harmonic. In most cases,
the magnitude is much more important than the phase.
The magnitude determines the size, and thus the
importance of each harmonic to the overall distortion.
The phase angle is usually not of interest, although
in some specialized cases it can be used to help
determine harmonic power flow direction, and the
source of harmonic currents.

In Figure 6, the ProVision harmonic decomposition

for the waveforms in Figure 4 is graphed. The
harmonic number is on the x-axis, and magnitude on

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White Paper:
Understanding Harmonics

Figure 7. Harmonics 1, 3,
5, and 7 plotted together

To illustrate how those harmonics truly do represent Figure 8. Composite

the original waveform in Figure 4, the first seven odd waveform
harmonics from Figure 6 are shown in Figure 7. Here
harmonics 1, 3, 5, and 7 are plotted together, with their
actual amplitudes and phase shifts from the harmonic
decomposition. In Figure 8, the first harmonic is shown
at the top, then the 1st plus the 3rd, then 1+3+5, and
finally 1+3+5+7. The composite waveform gets closer
in shape to the original in Figure 4 as we add more
harmonics, and it’s approaching the final shape already
with just four of them. In fact, with just 8 numbers
(amplitude and phase of four harmonics), the waveform
of Figure 4 is mostly characterized. Adding the higher
harmonics gets the combined waveform closer and
closer to the original one, but as the higher harmonic
amplitudes get smaller, their addition has less of an
effect. Generally the harmonics above the 31st are too
small to matter, and often just the harmonics at the
15th and below are dominant.

Given the sinusoidal voltage driving function, and

generally linear nature of the distribution network
(e.g. wiring, transformers, and capacitor banks) apart
from the loads themselves, most complex current
waveforms decompose into a relatively compact set of
a few dominant harmonics.

Although the current waveform in Figure 4 (or any

periodic waveform) can be described as a summation of
harmonics, that doesn’t mean the physical generation
of the waveform involved multiple sine waves. That
current pulse was due to a narrow conduction angle in
an electronic switching power supply, and the envelope

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White Paper:
Understanding Harmonics

of the current during the small conduction angle itself tool is required – interharmonics. The whitepaper
follows the voltage sine wave shape. Regardless of Defining Interharmonics available HERE discusses
how the waveform was physically generated, it can this concept. Usually interharmonics arise when there
still be treated mathematically as a summation of are other AC sources present – either distribution
harmonics, and is identical to a waveform that was. In generation, or AC->DC->AC systems (e.g. variable
particular, passing a distorted waveform through a filter frequency drive systems).
or trap tuned to a harmonic will effectively subtract that
harmonic from the waveform mathematically, due to the A harmonic analysis is a powerful way to decompose
superposition principle. If a heavily distorted waveforma complex, distorted waveform into simpler parts.
must be “cleaned up”, it’s sometimes possible to find a Due to the nature of most nonlinear loads, most
dominant harmonic, and filter that out. The result will distorted waveforms are characterized by a small set
be less distorted. of harmonics, which can be analyzed separately. Most
PMI recorders can measure and record harmonics, and
The distribution system’s frequency response is far ProVision can compute harmonics from any captured
from flat, due to power factor correction capacitors, waveform.
and the many inductive loads. These capacitors and
inductors form resonances in the system response, Chris Mullins
and accentuate or attenuate harmonics. A frequency VP of Engineering and Operations
breakdown of complex waveforms can be helpful in cmullins@powermonitors.com
predicting interactions with resonances, or discovering http://www.powermonitors.com
the resonances themselves. 800.296.4120

In more complex situations, a distorted waveform may

not be periodic with a 1/60Hz period, or periodic at
all. In these cases, a waveform is not the summation
of a series of harmonics, and an even more powerful

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