Power Quality (or Harmonic) Audits

The term is used to describe electric power that drives an electrical load and the load's ability to function properly with that electric power. Optimal power quality results in increased mission-critical uptime, cost savings, equipment efficiency and overall facility reliability. Further, power quality data is an absolute necessity when something goes wrong and the source of the problem must be investigated, whether upstream or downstream of the issue. Without the proper power, an electrical device (or load) may malfunction, fail prematurely or not operate at all. There are many ways in which electric power can be of poor quality and many more causes of such poor quality power. The electric power industry comprises electricity generation (AC power), electric power transmission and ultimately electricity distribution to an electricity meter located at the premises of the end user of the electric power. The electricity then moves through the wiring system of the end user until it reaches the load. The complexity of the system to move electric energy from the point of production to the point of consumption combined with variations in weather, generation, demand and other factors provide many opportunities for the quality of supply to be compromised.

Technical

What is a Power Disturbance?
Power disturbances are defined in terms of magnitude and duration. Disturbances range from transients that last for microseconds to outages that continue for hours. When a power disturbance falls outside operating limits, equipment may be disrupted or damaged.

Damaged Product: Interruptions can damage a partially complete product, causing the material to be re-run or scrapped.
Lost Production: Each time production is interrupted, your business loses profit on product that is not manufactured and sold.
Energy Cost: Electric utilities may charge penalties on poor power factor or high peak demands.

Power Quality AnalysisPower quality test & measure electrical load during plant’s normal operation. Compile data for V, I, PF, Harmonics & etc at respective feeders and after analysis identify areas where overall power quality needs to be improved which can result in “Energy Savings “in the range of 5-7% of total electricity bill.
Power Quality may be defined as –

The characteristics of the supply voltage and the electrical system that affect the performance of the load
The characteristics of the load that affect the electrical system or other loads
Value of the Voltage and other PQ parameters including the harmonics and the individual harmonic THD’s as a percent of the Nominal Values

The power quality analysis provides you with an opportunity to be aware of the quality of the electrical power being utilized by your facility. Power Quality Includes –

RMS measurements of voltages & currents
Harmonics up to the 50th order, with their phase information
Total Harmonics Distortion (THD)
Total VA, W & VAr power values as well as per phase values
Total VAh, Wh & VArh power values as well as per phase values
Power factor
Current & voltage unbalances
Frequency
Neutral Current
Peak, Minimum & Maximum values

Recommendation:
We recommend that power quality audit shall be perform two times in year, because

1. It detects electrical parameter variation against standard benchmark
2. It analyzes & prevents upcoming problems in the electrical system
3. Benchmarks performances at individual points on the power system
4. 100% saving of downtime
5. Longer life of equipment
6. Uninterrupted service of equipment
7. Utility bill reduction
8. If the plant is working 24×7, then it is essential to keep the electrical system uninterruptible

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