OTHER POWER QUALITY ISSUES-

VOLTAGE VARIATION,VOLTAGE STEPS,

VOLTAGE FLUCTUATIONS AND
LOAD CURRENTS

RAJ MOYAL
EE-084022
 CONTENT
 WHAT IS POWER QUALITY

 PQ PROBLEM

 WHY PQ IS SUCH A BIG PROBLEM

 VOLTAGE VARIATIONS

 VOLTAGE STEPS

 VOLTAGE FLUCTUATIONS

 LOAD CURRENTS
WHAT IS POWER QUALITY

The term Power quality is used to describe the

extent of variation of the voltage, current and
frequency on the power system. The variation of
voltage and current can either be in terms of
magnitude or waveform shape/distortion.
POWER QUALITY PROBLEMS

 Definition.
 P.Q. problems is any power problem manifested
in voltage , Current ,or frequency deviation that
result in failure or miss operation of Costumer
equipment.e.g.
 Surges and spikes (overpowering).
 Harmonics ( current & voltage )
 Voltage Fluctuations.

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WHY PQ IS SUCH A BIG PROBLEM?

 The sensitivity of today’s electronic equipment

makes it susceptible to power disturbances.
 For some devices, a momentary disturbance can
cause
 scrambled data
 interrupted communications

 system crashes and equipment failure

VOLTAGE VARIATIONS

 It is slow variation in rms voltage,mainly due to

the daily load variations.
 Types of voltage variations-

- - Sag

- - Interruption

- - Overvoltage
• Sag – a decrease in RMS voltage lasting
from a half-cycle to a few seconds.
• Interruption – complete loss of voltage.
• Overvoltage – an RMS increase in voltage
lasting more than a few seconds.
VOLTAGE VARIATION SOURCES

• Supply side variations

• Short circuits
• Capacitor switching
• Load switching
• Regulator malfunction
• Load side variations
• Motor starting
 VOLTAGE EVENTS

DISTURBANCE EFFECT
Overvoltage Overstress insulation
Under voltage Excessive motor current
Unbalance Motor heating
Interruption Complete shut-down
Sag Variable speed drive & computer trip-
out
Swell Overstress insulation
Fluctuations Light flicker
VOLTAGE STEPS
 It is sudden change in rms voltage due to
transformer tap changer operation,load switching
situation,and switching of shunt capacitors and
inductors.

 Voltage steps exceeding a certain threshold need to

be considered in any performance criterion.

 Voltage steps below 1 or 2 percent of the nominal

voltage are probably not worth reporting.
VOLTAGE FLUCTUATIONS
 It is change in rms voltage on a very short time
scale(seconds or less) due to fast variations in the
load current.

 It will lead to variation in the intensity of lightning,a

phenomena called light flicker.

 Light flickering exceeding certain level are

interpreted by our brain as disturbing and leading
to headaches.
 Well defined standards have been developed
to determine whether a certain voltage
fluctuation will lead to light flicker:the so
called “flickermeter” concept.

 As voltage fluctuations are due to load

variations,responsibility rests with customer
behind the load variations.
LOAD CURRENTS
 Current disturbance,both variations and events is a
problem when they do not lead to any voltage
disturbance.e.g.reactive component of the current.
 This will lead to an increase in losses in the
system,and(variation in rms) requires overratings of
series components like cables and transformers.
 Effect-transport less energy.
 Inrush current due to load switching are short enough
for any thermal problems,but setting of over-current
protection is affected by them.
THANKS