Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 1

PRACTICAL ELECTRIC
POWER QUALITY
Ward Jewell
Wichita State University
Sponsored by

PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 2

Electric Power Quality

vendor

utility

PSerc

facility

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 3

CT scanner

Resets, loses data during series of scans

PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 4

Power Quality Monitoring:

Waveforms
volts

time (ms)
PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 5

Power Quality Monitoring:

RMS
volts

time (seconds to days)

PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 6

Voltage sags

Trees in line

PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 7

Sag to 97 V rms for 2 cycles

Scanner continues to operate.

PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 8

Voltage sags
Chiller motor starts

Scanner stops.
PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 9

Sag to 112 V for 5 seconds

PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 10

The CBEMA curve

Computer Business Equipment Manufacturers Association

2-cycle
sag

PSerc

5-second
sag

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 11

Motor contactor protects scanner

High voltage setting: 139 V
Electric
Power

Motor
contactor
Low voltage setting: 113 V

PSerc

CT
scanner

 Ward Jewell, 2005

112 V < 113 V: contactor drops out

PSerc

Slide 12

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 13

... voltage setting should be

+10% of supply voltage ...
- CT scanner installation manual

Nominal voltage 120 V: 108 - 132 V

Measured voltage at installation 126 V:

113 - 139 V
PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 14

Solution: reset trip voltage to

108-132 V

PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 15

Lesson:
Install equipment properly!

PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 16

Disturbances:
Voltage:
Momentary outages
Voltage sags
Lights

flicker
Inspect building power system
Ask utility for help with cause of sags

PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 17

Our power systems were designed

for:

Incandescent
Lights

AC Motors
PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 18

Now the power system serves

High-efficiency
lights

Adjustable-speed
Motor Drives
PSerc

Computers

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 19

Disturbing loads

Adjustable-speed
Motor Drives

PSerc

Computers

High-efficiency
lights

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 20

Sensitive Loads

Microprocessor-controlled
equipment
Computers

Adjustable-speed
Motor Drives
PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 21

POWER QUALITY
IS

PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 22

A POWER QUALITY PROBLEM

IS

when something doesn't work because of

the electric power supplied to it.

PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 23

Other solutions for the CTs

problems were proposed:
Power Line Conditioners
Electric
Power
Transient
voltage
surge
suppressor

Voltage
Regulator
Uninterruptible
Power Supply
Filter

PSerc

CT
scanner

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 24

Other solutions for the CTs

problems were proposed:
Power Line Conditioners
Electric
Power
Transient
voltage
surge
suppressor

PSerc

CT
scanner

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 25

Transient voltage surge

suppressors (TVSS)

$1,500 service entrance + $1,000 CT scanner

Use secondary surge arrestors at service entrance

PSerc

Protects against lightning and other surges

Should be included with equipment, but was not.
RECOMMENDED.
Must protect all conductors
(power, communications, telephone, TV, etc.)

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 26

Other solutions for the CTs

problems were proposed:
Power Line Conditioners
Electric
Power
Transient
voltage
surge
suppressor

CT
scanner

Filter

PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 27

Filters
Protects against:
Electrical noise on power lines
Electromagnetic interference (EMI)
Radio frequency interference (RFI)
Included

PSerc

with equipment

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 28

Other solutions for the CTs

problems were proposed:
Power Line Conditioners
Electric
Power

Voltage
Regulator

Transient
voltage
surge
suppressor

CT
scanner

Filter

PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 29

Voltage regulator

PSerc

$10,000
Includes filters
Protects against short (a few cycles) voltage
fluctuations, including outages.
NOT RECOMMENDED; would prevent few
outages.

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 30

Other solutions for the CTs

problems were proposed:
Power Line Conditioners
Electric
Power
Transient
voltage
surge
suppressor

Uninterruptible
Power Supply
Filter

PSerc

CT
scanner

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 31

Uninterruptible power supply

(UPS)

PSerc

$40,000
Protects against outages (minutes to hours)
Manufacturers recommended solution
Can sometimes be applied to computer only
Would prevent 1-5 outages per year.
NOT RECOMMENDED; hospital willing to tolerate
rare outages.
Should be used on critical loads.

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 32

Sometimes a UPS is appropriate

How many outages do you have each year?
Is there a safety issue?
How much does each outage cost you?
Does an outage damage equipment?
How much will the UPS cost?
How many outages can you tolerate?

UPS

PSerc

Sensitive Load

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 33

Electrocardiograph treadmill

Does this load need a UPS?

PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 34

UPS: Online vs. Offline

Offline:
finite switching time when outage or sag occurs
lower cost

Online:
battery always supplies load, so no switching time.
higher cost
There are many designations within these,
but the issue is switching time

PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 35

Offline UPS switching time

How much of an outage or sag can your load tolerate?

PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 36

Static transfer switch

PSerc

Transfers load to another source

Electronic switch

Fast; user notices no change

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 37

Lesson:
There is often
a cheap solution

PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 38

Disturbances occur continuously.

Should your equipment fail?

PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 39

The CBEMA curve

Computer Business Equipment Manufacturers Association

2-cycle
sag

PSerc

5-second
sag

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 40

Momentary outage: 12 seconds

Voltage
122

0
10 minutes per division

PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 41

The CBEMA curve

Computer Business Equipment Manufacturers Association

2-cycle
sag

PSerc

5-second
sag

12-second
outage

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 42

The ITIC Curve

Information Technology Industry Council

PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 43

Metal fabrication facility

Various odd equipment behavior:

PSerc

Spring winding counter resets to zero

Programmable logic controller (PLC) errors
Numerically-controlled machines malfunction

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 44

Voltage notching

PSerc

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Slide 45

DC motor drive
Rectifier
switches

DC
motor

PSerc

+
-

AC
supply

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 46

DC motor drive
Rectifier
switches

DC
motor

PSerc

+
-

AC
supply

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 47

DC motor drive
Rectifier
switches

DC
motor

+
-

Two switches closed causes

momentary short circuit and notch

PSerc

AC
supply

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 48

Voltage notching
Main
Service
Panel

Winder
subpanel

420 V

Notch
depth:
480 V

380 V

DC motor
drive
Numerically-controlled
spring winder

PSerc

Drive
subpanel

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 49

Counting circuit
+5 Vdc
10 k

up/down
disable

output 1

DC power
supply
AC
50/60 Hz

RESET
Pushbutton
reset

4-digit
counter
and
processor
count
modes

PSerc

output 2

Notch on
ac resets
counter

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 50

Series Reactors
Main
Service
Panel

Winder
subpanel
48 V
42 V

38 V

REACTOR
480 V

Numerically-controlled
spring winder

PSerc

Drive
subpanel
432 V

DC motor
drive

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 51

Lesson:
Strange problems?
DC motor drives?
Install series reactors
PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 52

Disturbances:
Voltage:
Momentary outages
Voltage sags
Voltage notching
Random

equipment problems
Series reactors or isolation transformers

PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 53

The CBEMA curve

Computer Business Equipment Manufacturers Association

Voltage notch
PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 54

Commercial radio transmitter

Repeated damage when utility

capacitors are switched on.
PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 55

dc power supply
Rectifier bridge fails
4H

480 Vac

PSerc

20 uF

9000 Vdc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 56

Capacitors help utility maintain

constant voltage to customers

PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 57

Capacitor switching
Distribution feeder
When switch is closed,
feeder voltage is zero
until capacitor charges.
Initial capacitor
voltage is zero

PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 58

Voltage goes to zero when feeder

capacitor is switched on

PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 59

The CBEMA curve

Computer Business Equipment Manufacturers Association

Cap switch
PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 60

Why would a brief outage harm supply?

4H

480 Vac

PSerc

20 uF

9000 Vdc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 61

DC voltage is too high to measure

4H

480 Vac

PSerc

20 uF

9000 Vdc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 62

Call someone who knows the answer:

power supply design engineer.
4H

480 Vac

PSerc

20 uF

9000 Vdc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 63

Switching transient is high frequency:

~10 kHz

PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 64

Transient causes
high voltage oscillation

(computer simulation)
PSerc

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Slide 65

Voltage crosses zero

20 kHz
ringing

(computer simulation)
PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 66

Diodes are too slow to recover

diodes conduct
In reverse

20 kHz
ringing

(computer simulation)
PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 67

Solution: RC snubber
Power supply design engineer
specified the R and C values 4 H

480 Vac

PSerc

20 uF

9000 Vdc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 68

Lesson:
The problems probably
been solved before.
Call someone who
knows what to do!
PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 69

Disturbances:
Voltage:
Momentary outages
Voltage sags
Voltage notching
Capacitor switching
Ask manufacturer for help
Ask utility for help
PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 70

Lightning

PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 71

TV station
$50k damage every year

Transmitter

PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 72

Transmitter

PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 73

Lightning will strike

Lightning

rods may help prevent burn

damage to structures

Other

devices may reduce number of

strikes

Butlightning will strike

PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 74

Poor Tower Ground

Transmitter

bends
PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 75

Poor Tower Ground

bolted
connections
Transmitter

PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 76

Poor Tower Ground

Transmitter

PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 77

Can we insulate?
high
voltage

Transmitter

PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 78

Can we insulate?
NO!
voltage is too high
~1,000,000 V

Transmitter

PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 79

Lightning will flow to earth.

Insulation will not stop it.
Keep it away from sensitive equipment
by giving it other paths to earth.

PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 80

Improve tower ground

Transmitter

PSerc

One ground
rod close
to each leg

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 81

Improve tower ground

Transmitter

PSerc

Exothermic
weld
(cadweld)
conductors
from tower
to rods

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 82

Improve tower ground

Transmitter

PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 83

Transmitter

high voltage
PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 84

Transmitter

PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 85

Bond tower grounds

to building grounds

Transmitter

PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 86

Bond all grounds

to service entrance ground

Transmitter

PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 87

high voltage

Transmitter

PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 88

Transmitter

PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 89

Bond cable shield to tower

Transmitter

PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 90

high voltage

Transmitter

PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 91

Bond cable shield to

building steel

Transmitter

PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 92

Surge suppression:

everywhere a conductor enters

the facility:
antenna cable

Transmitter

PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 93

Surge suppression:

everywhere a conductor enters

the facility:
secondary surge arrestors

Transmitter

PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 94

Surge suppression:

at sensitive equipment:
transient voltage surge suppressors
(UL 1449 listed)

Transmitter

PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 95

Provide all possible safe paths to earth;

place surge suppression at the others
Bond cable
shield to

tower

building steel
Surge
Suppression
Transmitter

Bond all grounds to service entrance

PSerc

Improve
tower
ground

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 96

Or, even better,

move all conductor entrances
to one location at ground level,
through grounded copper bulkhead.

Transmitter

PSerc

Move
service
entrance
to ground

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 97

Lightning Protection:
Customer Side Low Voltage Systems
Lightning

will strike

rods or other devices will not stop all strikes

Lightning

will flow to earth

insulation will not stop it

Keep

it away from sensitive equipment

Provide safe paths to earth

Bond all grounds
Use arrestors and suppressors
service entrance arrestors
sensitive equipment suppressors
PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 98

lightning

The CBEMA curve

Computer Business Equipment Manufacturers Association

PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 99

Disturbances:
Voltage:
Momentary outages
Voltage sags
Voltage notching
Capacitor switching
Lightning
Properly designed and installed
Grounding system
Surge suppression
PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 100

Surge suppression
Secondary Surge Arrestors
at service entrance

Sensitive load

Transient voltage surge

suppressors (UL 1449 listed)
at sensitive load
PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 101

Electrocardiograph

PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 102

ECG

Artifacts
-noisy traces
here...

PSerc

ECG

...when this
treadmill
operates

treadmill

treadmill

Electrocardiograph

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 103

Normal electrocardiograph trace

PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 104

Trace with 60 Hz ac noise

artifacts

PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Electromagnetic Interference (EMI)

PSerc

Slide 105

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 106

Electromagnetic Interference (EMI)

Facility EMI levels were normal.

PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 107

Electromagnetic Interference (EMI)

Facility EMI levels were normal.
At normal EMI levels, properly
designed and operating equipment
should not be affected.

PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 108

Electromagnetic Interference (EMI)

Facility EMI levels were normal.
At normal EMI levels, properly
designed and operating equipment
should not be affected.

Call the manufacturer!

PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

PSerc

Slide 109

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 110

Right arm lead is damaged

PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 111

Right arm lead is damaged

replace lead

PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 112

Disturbances:
Electromagnetic Interference:
Radiated

PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 113

Disturbances:
Electromagnetic Interference:
Radiated
Measure

PSerc

EMI levels

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 114

Disturbances:
Electromagnetic Interference:
Radiated
Measure

EMI levels

If EMI is high:
Locate source; isolate or shield

PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 115

Disturbances:
Electromagnetic Interference:
Radiated
Conducted
Measure

EMI levels

If EMI is high:
Locate source; isolate or shield
If EMI is normal:
Repair, replace, or shield affected equipment
PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 116

Motor Drive Controller Failures

PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 117

Motor Drive Controller Failures

subpanel

motor
drive

240 V
ref controller
neutral
motor

safety/equipment
ground

PSerc

ref

tach

reference/signal
ground

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 118

Common: reference signal to

safety ground
subpanel

motor
drive

240 V
ref controller
neutral

PSerc

0-1 V tach
signal
ref

tach

reference/signal
ground

motor

safety/equipment
ground

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 119

Common: reference signal to

safety ground
subpanel

motor
drive

240 V
ref controller
neutral
motor

safety/equipment
ground

PSerc

ref

tach

reference/signal
ground

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 120

Short circuit in drive:

x
x motor
drive

subpanel
240 V

ref controller

neutral
safety/equipment
ground

PSerc

ref

tach

reference/signal
ground

motor

120 V

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 121

Short circuit in drive:

x
x motor
drive

subpanel
240 V

ref controller

neutral
safety/equipment
ground

PSerc

signal input!

ref

tach

reference/signal
ground

motor

120 V 119 V across

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 122

Less common: reference signal to

neutral
subpanel

motor
drive

240 V
ref controller
neutral
motor

safety/equipment
ground

PSerc

ref

tach

reference/signal
ground

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 123

Normal n-g voltage: 1-5 V

subpanel

240 V
neutral

1V

motor
drive
ref controller
motor

safety/equipment
ground

PSerc

ref

tach

reference/signal
ground

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 124

Normal n-g voltage: 1-5 V

subpanel

240 V
neutral

PSerc

noisy
signal input!

ref

tach

reference/signal
ground

ref controller
motor

safety/equipment
ground

1V

motor
drive

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 125

Expected
signal:

Noisy
signal:

3
2

v( t )

v( t )
0

1
0
0

PSerc

0.005

0.01
t

0.015

0.02

0.017

0
0

0.005

0.01
t

0.015

0.02

0.017

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 126

Ideal: reference to signal ground

subpanel

motor
drive

240 V
ref controller
neutral
motor

tach signal!
safety/equipment
ground

PSerc

ref

tach

reference/signal
ground

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 127

Disturbances:
Electromagnetic Interference:
Radiated
Conducted
Check

and correct
facility and equipment
wiring and grounding

PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

PSerc

Slide 128

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 129

Pure 60 Hz sine wave:

no harmonics

PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 130

Distorted PC current waveform

Current

2
0
PSerc

Time

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 131

PC current spectrum
1
Relative value

0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
1
PSerc

9 11 13 15
Harmonic

17 19

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 132

Fourier series

Current

Fundamental
Third harmonic
Sum

-2
0

PSerc

Time

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 133

Sum of the first 19 harmonics

Current

2
0

PSerc

Time

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 134

What causes harmonics?

Saturated

transformers

Arcs

Arc furnaces, fluorescent lights

Rectifiers

Microprocessors, motor drives,

any electronic load

PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 135

Arcs: fluorescent lights

current

PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 136

Switches ........... distort current

PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 137

DC power supplies

PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 138

AC current to full wave rectifier

in PC power supply

PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 139

AC current to 3-phase battery charger

PSerc

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Slide 140

AC current to adjustable speed

motor drive

PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 141

Harmonics cause
Transformers

PSerc

to overheat

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 142

Transformers overheat

Eddy current losses

increase with
square of frequency

PSerc

Hysteresis losses
increase with
frequency

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 143

Harmonics cause
Transformers

to overheat
Neutrals to overheat

PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 144

Triplen harmonics sum on neutral

Neutral current may be greater than phase currents

Neutral may be overloaded

Neutral conductor must be equal to or greater than

in size than phase conductors

PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 145

Harmonics cause
Transformers

to overheat
Neutrals to overheat
Transformer secondary voltage distortion

PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 146

Current

Transformer secondary
voltage distortion

Transformer
series impedance
PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 147

Harmonics cause
Transformers

to overheat
Neutrals to overheat
Transformer secondary voltage distortion
Power system losses to increase

PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 148

Losses are higher in

harmonics
Fundamental current: 8.6 A

I2: 73

Harmonic current:

I2: 168

PSerc

13.0 A

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 149

Harmonics cause
Transformers

to overheat
Neutrals to overheat
Transformer secondary voltage distortion
Power system losses to increase
Telephone and other communication noise
Watt-hour meters to read high or low
Protective relays to fail
Capacitors to explode
and more
PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 150

Lesson:
Harmonics are everywhere.
They rarely cause problems.
There are many analysis
techniques and solutions.
PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 151

Disturbances:

PSerc

Voltage:
Momentary outages
Voltage sags
Voltage notching
Capacitor switching
Lightning
Electromagnetic Interference:
Radiated
Conducted
Harmonics

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 152

Solving power quality problems

Whats failing?
Whats the disturbance?
How does the disturbance cause the failure?
How can you stop it?
Eliminate the disturbance
Dont let the disturbance reach the affected equipment

PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 153

Power quality is suspected when:

Lights
flicker

or

Someone else
cant figure out
whats wrong

?
?
?

PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 154

Ask Utility for help:

Inspect feeder
Are there trees in the line?
Check recorders for activity
Transformers
Capacitors
Fuses
Connections

PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 155

Talk to everyone:
Repair
personnel
Users

Workers

Technicians

PSerc

Electrician

Plant
Engineers

Maintenance
personnel

Field
Engineers

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 156

Determine exactly what is wrong

Whats not working?

Whats it doing?

PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 157

When does it happen?

Time of day?
How often?
When did it start?

Time of week, month, year?

What else is happening then?

PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 158

What changed
before the problem started?
Changes

to electric power system?

New equipment?
Equipment relocated?

PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 159

Have user keep a log

Date Time Equipment

Problem

Observations, notes

Compare with utility

operation and service logs
PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 160

Become familiar with the facility

List

disturbing loads
List susceptible loads
Talk with people as you go

PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

HVAC

Slide 161

Elevators

Check wiring
diagrams

Transformer
45 kVA

Office
Equipment

Main
Panel
Transformer
45 kVA

Exterior
Lighting
PSerc

Interior
Lighting

Office
Equipment

Heating

Office
Equipment

Identify
connections
among
disturbing and
affected loads

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 162

Inspect and repair

facility wiring and grounding

National Electrical Code

Correct safety problems first

Powering and Grounding Sensitive

Electronic Equipment (IEEE 1100, the
Emerald Book)
Use Figure 6-1 forms

PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 163

Replace equipment with duplicate

if possible

If replacement works,
the problem isnt power quality.

PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 164

Ask for help from

equipment design engineer

Phone, fax, email

PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 165

Most problems
will be solved
by now.
PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 166

Measuring power quality

Power

quality monitor
Digital multimeter
Oscilloscope
Infrared camera
Wiring & grounding survey equipment
Field strength meter
Spectrum analyzer
PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 167

Digital Multimeter
true rms reading

$100 - $400
Use clamp-on current probe
Steady-state rms voltage and current
Maximum/minimum rms voltage and current
Measure voltage sags

Maximum/minimum instantaneous voltage and current

Estimate of waveform distortion

PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 168

Wiring and grounding

survey equipment

PSerc

$10 - $1,000
Voltage
Proper wiring
Phase rotation
Neutral impedance
Ground impedance
Leakage current
Earth ground resistance

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 169

Digital storage oscilloscope

$1,000 - $2,000
View voltage and current waveforms
Reveals information not detectable by multimeter

PSerc

Store waveforms; analyze for harmonic content

Transfer waveforms to computer for reports and analysis
May have triggers for detecting transients

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 170

Infrared camera

PSerc

$10,000
Find loose connections, damaged equipment

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 171

Field strength meter

$100

- $1,000
Measures and records field strength
Magnetic
Electric
Produces

PSerc

time or spatial plots

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 172

Spectrum analyzer
$1,000

- $4,000
Use with handheld antenna
Detects, locates radiated
electromagnetic interference (EMI)
radio frequency interference (RFI)
television interference (TVI)

PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 173

Power quality monitor

$1,000 - $10,000; can be rented

Digital storage oscilloscope
Records periodically
Triggers on disturbances

PSerc

Quickly reveals power quality disturbances

You may recognize the disturbance source

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 174

Power quality analysis technique

PSerc

Begin at affected equipment

Move away from affected equipment to locate
source
Measure at service entrance to determine if
source is inside facility
Measure on transformer primary (distribution
feeder) to determine if utility or another customer
is source
Monitor long-term if no disturbance is detected

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 175

Simulate if necessary

Actual

PSerc

Simulated

Duplicate disturbance and effects to verify cause

Safely test various solutions before implementing

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 176

Specify solution
Do not allow a vendor to specify equipment
(you may get something you dont need)
Instead:
Specify the equipment needed,
then request quotes from several vendors

PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 177

Solutions

PSerc

Fix code violations, especially grounding

Ask equipment design engineer for solution
Move affected or disturbing equipment
Install power conditioning equipment

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 178

Power Conditioning

PSerc

Uninterruptible power supply (UPS) (sags)

Voltage regulator (sags)
Filter (harmonics or electromagnetic interference)
Transient voltage surge suppressor (lightning)
Static var compensator (flicker)
Series capacitor (flicker)
Shielding (electromagnetic interference)
Series reactor (dc motor drive voltage notching)
Isolation transformer (voltage notching,
conducted noise)

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 179

Summary

PSerc

Ask utility for help; begin by inspecting feeder

Determine exactly what is happening
Are there other problems?
Get familiar with the facility and operations
Fix code violations
Monitor for unusual electrical activity
Match electrical activity & operations with problems.
Talk to the equipment manufacturer
Specify the needed solution

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 180

Power quality problems

PSerc

 Ward Jewell, 2005

Slide 181

pserc.org
ward.jewell@wichita.edu

PSerc