Digital Meters - Power

Quality Monitoring and

Analysis
John Levine
Mar 21, 2006

1
GE Consumer & Industrial
Multilin
3-Sep-17
Contents

Effects of power quality

Power Quality definitions revisited
What is needed for PQ monitoring ?
GE Multilins solution
o PQMII
o EPM9000 series
Summary

Monitor and Analyze Power Disturbances, Disruptions & Harmonics

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GE Consumer & Industrial
Multilin
3-Sep-17
PQ is a Business Problem
Power Quality issues cause business problems
such as:
Lost productivity, idle people and equipment
Lost orders, good will, customers and profits
Lost transactions and orders not being processed
Revenue and accounting problems
Customer and/or management dissatisfaction
Overtime required to make up for lost work time

According to Electric Light and Power Magazine, 30 to 40 Percent

of All Business Downtime Is Related to Power Quality Problems.
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GE Consumer & Industrial
Multilin
3-Sep-17
Is Power Quality Such a Big
Problem?

4
GE Consumer & Industrial
Multilin
3-Sep-17
Why PQ is such a Big Problem?

The sensitivity of todays electronic equipment makes it

susceptible to power disturbances
For some devices, a momentary disturbance can cause
o scrambled data
o interrupted communications
o a frozen mouse
o system crashes and equipment failure

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GE Consumer & Industrial
Multilin
3-Sep-17
PQ Problems are Expensive
Berkeley Lab Study Estimates $80 Billion Annual
Cost of Power Interruptions Research News,
Berkeley Lab, February 2, 2005

$50 billon per year in the USA is lost as a results

of power quality breakdowns . Bank of America
Report

A manufacturing company lost more than $3

million one day last summer in Silicon Valley
when the lights went out. New York Times
January 2000

A voltage sag in a paper mill can waste a whole

day of production - $250,000 loss Business
Week, June 17,, 1996

Half of all computer problems and one-third of all

data loss can be traced back to the power line
Contingency Planning Research, LAN Times
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GE Consumer & Industrial
Multilin
3-Sep-17
Who is Affected?
High Cost Facilities
o Semiconductor plants
o Pharmaceuticals
o Data centers

Medium Cost Facilities

o Automotive manufacturing
o Glass plants Lost production
o Plastics & Chemicals Scrap
Costs to restart
o Textiles
Labor costs
Equipment damage and repair
Other costs

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GE Consumer & Industrial
Multilin
3-Sep-17
PQ Definitions Revisited
IEEE Categories
Std 1159-1995
Short Duration Typical
Variations Duration
Instantaneous Sag 0.5 30 cycles
Momentary Sag 30 cycles 3
sec
Temporary Sag 3 sec 1 min

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GE Consumer & Industrial
Multilin
3-Sep-17
PQ Definitions Revisited
IEEE Categories
Std 1159-1995
Short Duration Typical
Variations Duration
Instantaneous Sag 0.5 30 cycles
Momentary Sag 30 cycles 3
sec.
Temporary Sag 3 sec 1 min.
Instantaneous Swell 0.5 30 cycles
Momentary Swell 30 cycles 3
sec.
Temporary Swell 3 sec 1 min.

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GE Consumer & Industrial
Multilin
3-Sep-17
PQ Definitions Revisited
IEEE Categories
Std 1159-1995
Short Duration Typical
Variations Duration
Instantaneous Sag 0.5 30 cycles
Momentary Sag 30 cycles 3
sec.
Temporary Sag 3 sec 1 min.
Instantaneous Swell 0.5 30 cycles
Momentary Swell 30 cycles 3
sec.
Temporary Swell 3 sec 1 min.
Momentary Interruptions 0.5 30 cycles
Temporary Interruptions 30 cycles 3
sec.

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GE Consumer & Industrial
Multilin
3-Sep-17
PQ Definitions Revisited
IEEE Categories
Std 1159-1995
Long Duration Typical
Variations Duration
Sustained interruptions > 1 min
Under voltages > 1 min
Over voltages > 1 min

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GE Consumer & Industrial
Multilin
3-Sep-17
PQ Definitions Revisited
IEEE Categories
Std 1159-1995
Long Duration Typical
Variations Duration
Sustained interruptions > 1 min
Under voltages > 1 min
Over voltages > 1 min
Voltage imbalance Steady state
Waveform Distortion

12
GE Consumer & Industrial
Multilin
3-Sep-17
PQ Definitions Revisited
IEEE Categories
Std 1159-1995
Long Duration Typical
Variations Duration
Sustained interruptions > 1 min
Under voltages > 1 min
Over voltages > 1 min
Voltage imbalance Steady state
Waveform Distortion
DC offset Steady state
Harmonics Steady state
Inter harmonics Steady state

For Electric Utilities Control of Voltage and Prevention of Outages is Power

Quality
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GE Consumer & Industrial
Multilin
3-Sep-17
Sources of PQ Problems
Utility Sources Internal Sources
Lightning Individual Loads Lighting, Elevators, Coolers,
PF Correction HVAC
Equipment Uninterruptible Power Supplies
Faults
Variable Frequency Drives
Switching
Battery Chargers
Large Motors During Startup
Electronic Dimming Systems
Lighting Ballasts (esp. Electronic)
Arc Welders, and Other Arc Devices
Medical Equipment, e.g. MRIs and X-Ray
Machines
Office Equipment and Computers
Wiring 14
GE Consumer & Industrial
Multilin
3-Sep-17
PQ Problems and Possible Causes
Typical problems Disturbance Type Possible Causes
Overheated neutral Steady-state Shared neutrals
Intermittent lock-ups Improper or inadequate wiring
Frequency deviations High source impedance
SCR/Rectifiers and notching
Harmonics

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GE Consumer & Industrial
Multilin
3-Sep-17
PQ Problems and Possible Causes
Typical problems Disturbance Type Possible Causes
Overheated neutral Steady-state Shared neutrals
Intermittent lock-ups Improper or inadequate wiring
Frequency deviations High source impedance
SCR/Rectifiers and notching
Harmonics
Interruption Utility faults
Garbled data Inrush currents
Random increase in harmonics levels Inadequate wiring

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GE Consumer & Industrial
Multilin
3-Sep-17
PQ Problems and Possible Causes
Typical problems Disturbance Type Possible Causes
Overheated neutral Steady-state Shared neutrals
Intermittent lock-ups Improper or inadequate wiring
Frequency deviations High source impedance
SCR/Rectifiers and notching
Harmonics
Interruption Utility faults
Garbled data Inrush currents
Random increase in harmonics levels Inadequate wiring
Intermittent lock-ups Sags/Swell Source voltage variations
Lights flicker Inrush/surge currents
Garbled data Inadequate wiring

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GE Consumer & Industrial
Multilin
3-Sep-17
PQ Problems and Possible Causes
Typical problems Disturbance Type Possible Causes
Overheated neutral Steady-state Shared neutrals
Intermittent lock-ups Improper or inadequate wiring
Frequency deviations High source impedance
SCR/Rectifiers and notching
Harmonics
Interruption Utility faults
Garbled data Inrush currents
Random increase in harmonics levels Inadequate wiring
Intermittent lock-ups Sags/Swell Source voltage variations
Lights flicker Inrush/surge currents
Garbled data Inadequate wiring
Component failure Impulses Lightning
Dielectric breakdown EMI/RFI Load switching
Lock-ups Capacitor switching
Garbled data Static discharge
Wavy CRTs Hand-held radios
Loose wiring/arcing

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GE Consumer & Industrial
Multilin
3-Sep-17
PQ Problems and Possible Causes
Typical problems Disturbance Type Possible Causes
Overheated neutral Steady-state Shared neutrals
Intermittent lock-ups Improper or inadequate wiring
Frequency deviations High source impedance
SCR/Rectifiers and notching
Harmonics
Interruption Utility faults
Garbled data Inrush currents
Random increase in harmonics levels Inadequate wiring
Intermittent lock-ups Sags/Swell Source voltage variations
Lights flicker Inrush/surge currents
Garbled data Inadequate wiring
Component failure Impulses Lightning
Dielectric breakdown EMI/RFI Load switching
Lock-ups Capacitor switching
Garbled data Static discharge
Wavy CRTs Hand-held radios
Loose wiring/arcing
Overheated transformers and motors Harmonics Electronic loads
Voltage and current distortions SCR/rectifier
Garbled data
Lock-ups
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GE Consumer & Industrial
Multilin
3-Sep-17
Major PQ Problems
Outages,
6%
Spikes, 7%

Swells,
Sags, 56%
31%
Source: EPRI, 1994

Swells Sags (Dips)

System fault conditions Associated with system faults
Switching on a large capacitor bank Switching of heavy loads
Switching off a large load Starting of large motors

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GE Consumer & Industrial
Multilin
3-Sep-17
Cost of Voltage Sags

Textile Industry

Plastics Industry

Glass Industry

Process Industry

Semiconductors

$1k $10k $100k $1M $10M

Source: EPRI The Economics of Custom Power, IEEE T&D Show 2003

Losses per Voltage Sag Event

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GE Consumer & Industrial
Multilin
3-Sep-17
Cost of Momentary Outages
Cost of Momentary Interuption
($/ kW Demand)
Category Minimum Maximum
Industrial
Semiconductor Manufacturing $20.0 $60.0
Electronics $8.0 $12.0
Automobile Manufacturing $5.0 $7.5
Pharmaceutical $5.0 $50.0
Glass $4.0 $6.0
Rubber and Plastics $3.0 $4.5
Petrochemical $3.0 $5.0
Food Processing $3.0 $5.0
Textile $2.0 $4.0
Metal Fabrication $2.0 $4.0
Mining $2.0 $4.0
Momentary Outages Paper $1.5 $2.5
create problems when Printing(Newspapers) $1.0 $2.0
computers and clocks Commercial
reset, equipment stalls, Hospitals, banks, civil service $2.0 $3.0
and work stops. Communications, information processing $1.0 $10.0
Resturants, bars, hotels $0.5 $1.0
Commercial shops $0.1 $0.5
Source: EPRI The Economics of Custom Power, IEEE T&D 2003
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GE Consumer & Industrial
Multilin
3-Sep-17
High Speed Waveform Capture

High Speed Waveform Capture Is the Most Important PQ

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Troubleshooting Tool GE Consumer & Industrial
Multilin
3-Sep-17
Benefits of Continuous PQ Monitoring
Power Quality monitoring provides a continuous
Health Check of a facilitys power system for
example:
o Harmonic interaction between loads and
power conditioning equipment spotted
o High Inrush currents from equipment
startup detected
o Transients from load switching are seen
It provides data to see, diagnose and avert
looming problems like squeaky brakes on a
car
o Trends can be detected
o JIT equipment maintenance programs
can be established
It acts like a Black Box on an airplane to tell
you what, when, and where a Power Quality
event occurred to prevent it from reoccurring
Continuous PQ Monitoring Detects, Records, and Leads 24
GE Consumer & Industrial
to the Prevention of PQ Problems Multilin
3-Sep-17
What is needed for PQ Monitoring?
PQ Monitors must detect and record Plus they must
the 7 types of PQ problems
Be easy to use
Transients Be Suitable for continuously
Interruptions monitoring indoors and outdoors
Sag/Under Voltage Interface with standard PQ analysis
Swell/Over Voltage SoftwarePQDif format
Waveform Distortion Be fast enough to capture high
speed events that produce
Voltage Fluctuations equipment problems
Frequency Variations Have enough storage to save the
waveforms you need
These include Flicker and Have PQ analysis tools that
Compliance to ITI(CBEMA), IEEE produce usable, actionable
and ISO Standards recommendations
ITI: Information Technology Industry Council (Computer & Business Equipment Manufacturers Association)
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GE Consumer & Industrial
Multilin
3-Sep-17
Real Time Field Recorded Events

Source: AGA Brazil

Meter: EPM9650

Period: Jan 2005 Dec

2005

Continuous Monitoring of the Station for PQ Problems26

GE Consumer & Industrial
Multilin
3-Sep-17
PQ Meter ITI Capture

ITI Acceptable Power

Disturbance Envelope

Damage Inducing Voltage

Surges as Recorded

Equipment Interrupting
Voltage Sags as Recorded

27
ITI: Information Technology Industry Council (Computer & Business Equipment Manufacturers Association) GE Consumer & Industrial
Multilin
3-Sep-17
Instantaneous Sag Event

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GE Consumer & Industrial
Multilin
3-Sep-17
Instantaneous Swell Event

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GE Consumer & Industrial
Multilin
3-Sep-17
Harmonic & Interharmonic Spectrum

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GE Consumer & Industrial
Multilin
3-Sep-17
Flicker Recording

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GE Consumer & Industrial
Multilin
3-Sep-17
Flicker Recording

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GE Consumer & Industrial
Multilin
3-Sep-17
Summary
GE Multilin provides the necessary tools for a successful PQ
disturbance analysis and allows users to take remedial actions

Symptoms
Feels the pulse of the
power system network

Examinations Accurate Measurement to

determine actual state
High resolution recordings
Diagnosis for longer durations
GE Communicator
software
Remedy Remedial actions

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GE Consumer & Industrial
Multilin
3-Sep-17
Finally

If You Cant Measure it You Cant Manage

it
If You Can Measure it You Can Manage
it

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GE Consumer & Industrial
Multilin
3-Sep-17