Power quality

is a term that means different things to different people. Institute of.Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE)
Standard IEEE1100 defines power quality
as “the concept of powering and grounding sensitive electronic equipment in a
manner suitable for the equipment.”

 Power quality can be defined as the measure, analysis, and improvement of the bus voltage to
maintain a sinusoidal waveform at rated voltage and frequency. Main causes of disturbances
and power quality problems are unpredictable events, the electric utility, the customer, and
the manufacturer.

There are four major reasons for the increased concern:

1. Newer-generation load equipment, with microprocessor-based controls and power electronic devices, is
more sensitive to power quality variations than was equipment used in the past.
2. The increasing emphasis on overall power system efficiency has resulted in continued growth in the
application of devices such as high-efficiency, adjustable-speed motor drives and shunt capacitors for power
factor correction to reduce losses. This is resulting in
increasing harmonic levels on power systems and has many people
concerned about the future impact on system capabilities.
3. End users have an increased awareness of power quality issues.
Utility customers are becoming better informed about such issues as
interruptions, sags, and switching transients and are challenging
the utilities to improve the quality of power delivered.
4. Many things are now interconnected in a network. Integrated
processes mean that the failure of any component has much more
important consequences.

 Power quality (PQ) related issues are of most concern nowadays. The widespread use of
electronic equipment, such as information technology equipment, power electronics such as
adjustable speed drives (VSD), programmable logic controllers (PLC), energy-efficient lighting,
led to a complete change of electric loads nature. These loads are simultaneously the major
causes and the major victims of power quality problems. Due to their non-linearity, all these
loads cause disturbances in the voltage waveform.¹

POWER QUALITY ISSUES

 Voltage Fluctuations: Variations in voltage levels beyond the specified tolerances can cause
equipment malfunction or damage.

 Frequency Variations: Deviations from the standard frequency (e.g., 50 Hz or 60 Hz) can
affect the operation of sensitive equipment like clocks and motors.

 Harmonic Distortions: Non-linear loads, such as variable frequency drives or power

electronics, can introduce harmonics into the electrical system, leading to overheating and
malfunction of equipment.

 Voltage Sags and Swells: Temporary reductions (sags) or increases (swells) in voltage levels
can disrupt the operation of sensitive equipment.
 Interruptions: Complete loss of power for a short or extended period can cause downtime and
financial losses for businesses

Voltage Quality

Technically, in engineering terms, power is the rate of energy delivery and is proportional to the product of the
voltageand current. It would be difficult to define the quality of this quantityin any meaningful manner. 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 thepower quality area are devoted to maintaining the
supply voltage within certain limits.
the current passing through
the impedance of the system can cause a variety of disturbances to the
voltage. For example,
1. The current resulting from a short circuit causes the voltage to sagor disappear completely, as the case may be.
2. 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.
3. 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.Therefore, while it is the voltage with which we
are ultimately concerned,we must also address phenomena in the current to understand the basis of many power
quality problems.

Over voltage
 An overvoltage is an increase in voltage for a time of over 10 ms. Overvoltages can be induced by the
disconnection of heavy loads or by natural events such as lightning. Spikes and transients differ to power
surges because they are larger in magnitude yet much shorter in duration. These sudden bursts of energy
can result in circuit board or processor damage, memory loss and data corruption
 Causes - Lightning, switching of lines or power factor correction capacitors, disconnection of heavy loads.
 Consequences- Destruction of components (particularly electronic components) and of insulation materials,
data processing errors or data loss, electromagnetic interference

Voltage swell
Momentary increase of the voltage, at the power frequency, outside the normal tolerances, with duration of
more than one cycle and typically less than a few seconds. Check out our complete range of surge
protection device to protect your application from the mains supply service entrance until end-load point of
connection. SPDs are designed against surges and transients.
Causes-A voltage swell is an increase in the RMS voltage above the nominal voltage or a sliding
reference voltage. The increase lasts from half a cycle to several seconds. Switching off large
loads, capacitor banks energizing, and transfer of loads from one power source to another
cause voltage swells.

Voltage spikes and transient

  Spikes and transients are fast-moving, high-energy bursts lasting for just a few milliseconds that are
superimposed onto the normal mains power supply.
 They range from a few volts to several thousand volts (some can 6 kV or higher) and are caused by the
sudden release of stored energy. Spikes and transients are common during electrical storms and following
lightning strikes Spikes and transients differ to power surges because they are larger in magnitude yet much
shorter in duration. These sudden bursts of energy can result in circuit board r processor damage, memory
loss and data corruption. Check out our complete range of surge protection devices to protect your
application from the mains supply service entrance until end-load point of connection. SPDs are designed
against surges and transients

Causes-he main causes of an increase in voltage are static electricity, magnetic fields, faulty
wiring, and lightning.

Voltage sags

 A voltage sag is a short duration (i.e , 0.5 – 60 cycles) decrease in the RMS voltage magnitude,
usually caused by a fault somewhere on the power system. Voltage sags are the most important
power quality problem facing many industrial customers especially those with a process. A sag is
when the voltage drops below 90% of nominal.

Casuses-oltage sag is generally caused by a short circuit fault or by a sudden change in the
characteristics of a power source or a load such as the case during a motor starting. If the voltage
does sag, some equipment may not be supplied by the amount of voltage they require and their
performance may be affected

Interuption
 Interruptions occur when a source-side protective device opens a section of the circuit due to a
fault condition. The interruption may be sustained or momentary. Sustained interruptions last
minutes or hours while momentaries last few seconds.

 Causes of short interruptions: Mainly due to the opening and automatic reclosure of protection
devices to decommission a faulty section of the network. The main fault causes are insulation
failure, lightning and insulator flashover.

 Causes of long interruptions: Eqquipment failure in the power system network, storms, animals
and objects ( trees, cars) striking lines or poles, fire, human error, bad coordination or failure of
protection devices.

Concecuences

 Tripping of protection devices, loss of information and malfunction of data processing

equipment. Stoppage of sensitive equipment, such as PCs, PLCs, if they’re not prepared to deal
with this situation

 Systems shut down

Long interruption

Flickering effect-

The flicker effect is a flickering of lights induced by rapid variations in voltage. These voltage
variations are caused by loads in which the power absorption varies very quickly: arc furnaces,
welding machines, rolling machines, laser cutters.
 TRABSIENT

The transients are disturbances that would affect the power quality and it would be harmful to the
equipment in a power system. The electrical transients would only take place for a few milliseconds, it
can be described as a temporary surge. This fault would only last for few milliseconds but it would be
enough to transfer a huge amount of power to the power system.

Electromagnetic transients

This type of transient is formed because of the magnetic field and electric field interaction in a
power system. This type of transient would appear as a transmission wave on transmission lines,
cables, bus sections, etc. This type of transients could be caused due to lightning and line
switching. These transients could pay the way for over-voltages, over-currents, and abnormal
waveforms.

Electromechanical transients

As the name indicates these types of transients are formed by the interaction of the electrical
energy and mechanical energy in the power system. Power oscillation is a major example of an
electromechanical transient.

Impulsive transients

The impulsive transient can be described as a quick change of voltage or current, we can
determine the impulsive transients by their rise and decay time. These transients should be
reduced very fast by using the proper devices, and they shouldn’t be allowed to propagate far
from their sources. The impulsive transients are mostly created by lightning.

Oscillatory transients
This type of transient is caused due to the energization of the capacitor banks, the frequency of
the oscillation is dependent upon the capacitance of the capacitor banks and also on the short
circuit impedance of the circuit that feeds the capacitor bank. The oscillatory transients are
divided according to the frequency content, time duration, and also voltage magnitude.

Harmonic Distortions: Non-linear loads, such as variable frequency drives or power electronics, can
introduce harmonics into the electrical system, leading to overheating and malfunction of equipment.\

Different Solutions for Improvement of Power Quality

As there are many reasons for the above-mentioned problems, it is necessary to find solutions to
avoid the consequent damage. There are different solutions for improving power quality. Some
of them are –

 Appropriate Wiring

It is essential to maintain an appropriate wiring system. One needs to check if there are any
loose, missing, or improper wiring connections. It is very important to find the connection
problems at panels, equipment, and receptacles.

Also, there are certain testers that can check any improper issues like reversed polarity. It is must
and should to care for the isolating panels that feed sensitive electronic loads from heavy
inductive loads.

 Adequate Grounding

A majority of industrial, commercial, medical, and other equipment are connected to computers
and effective digital systems. It is necessary to enable adequate grounding of the systems to
ensure good quality power. High-levels of safety is assured with accurate grounding and
bonding integrity. Otherwise, you will be left with costly disturbances.

 Spectacular Power-Conditioning Equipment

Different types of power-conditioning equipment help in improving the power quality supplied
to the final loads. Some of them are noise filters, isolation transformers, voltage regulators, and
UPS.

 Noise Filters
In order to remove unwanted frequency signals and associated problems, noise filters have to be
used. They are enabled by a combination of capacitors and inductance. Considerable frequencies
of power supply can be suppressed and, therefore, the final quality of power output is good and
efficient.

 Isolation Transformers

Isolation transformers separate the load or equipment from the main power supply through
galvanic isolation. Also, there are certain other characteristic elements like capacitance ability in
these transformers. So, they can also avoid certain noise levels. They are most helpful to avoid
the defects caused by voltage fluctuations and power outages.

 Voltage Regulators

Regulation of voltage levels is possible through many devices like tap changers, buck boost
transformers, constant voltage transformers, and so on. They ensure that substantial voltage
levels are provided to the end-use equipment.

 UPS

Uninterrupted power supply systems allow a continuous flow of electricity to the concerned
appliances. Different types of UPS systems like online UPS, line interactive UPS, and so on are
available in the market to meet the demands of various power-based applications.