Lecture 4

Power Quality

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Power Quality
• What is power quality?
• How does it affect motor performance?
• What mitigation techniques are used most
often in industry?
 Quality of Supply
Power quality is an indication of how closely a
steady supply voltage matches its specified
distribution parameters.

The parameters include amplitude range, AC

frequency, phase angle and smooth sinusoidal
voltage curve.

The more the actual voltage waveform differs

from the ideal/specified value, the lower the
quality of the electrical supply.

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 QoS in Egypt
• The minimum standard for quality of supply
(QoS) for Egypt is specified in …

• Key limits include:

– Voltage levels and tolerances
– THD

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Types of Power Quality Problems

Source: www.sapqi.com

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 Voltage Unbalance (VU)

The ratio of the maximum deviation from the average voltage,

and the average voltage.

𝑚𝑎𝑥. 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑑𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑎𝑣𝑔. 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒

%𝑉𝑈 = × 100
𝑎𝑣𝑔. 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒

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 The Effect of VU on Motors
Unbalanced voltage has an
increased heating effect on winding
temperature.

The increase is equal to two times

the square of the unbalance %.

Increase = 2 x (unbalance %)2

Source: www.pumpsandsystems.com

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 Causes of Voltage Unbalance
• Single phase loads
• Fault in one winding of a three phase machine
(transformer or motor)

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 Case Study

Voltage Unbalance for HVAC Chiller

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 Problem Statement
A 55 kW chiller compressor is powered by a three-phase supply.
The line voltages are measured and found to be:

VL1L2 = 401 V (The voltage between line 1 and line 2)

VL1L3 = 378 V (The voltage between line 1 and line 3)
VL2L3 = 398 V (The voltage between line 2 and line 3)

Calculate:
– The voltage unbalance
– Potential increase in motor winding temperature
– Estimated increase in motor losses

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 Findings

Average voltage = 392 V

– 𝐿𝑖𝑛𝑒 1: 401 − 392 Τ392 = 0.023 = 2.3%
– 𝐿𝑖𝑛𝑒 2: 378 − 392 Τ392 = 0.036 = 3.6%
– 𝐿𝑖𝑛𝑒 3: 398 − 392 Τ392 = 0.015 = 1.5%

Voltage Unbalance = 3.6%

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 Findings
Increase in winding temperature:
Increase = 2 x (unbalance%)2
= 2 x (3.6)2
= 26%

Increase in motor losses:

Assume a 90% efficiency, and estimated increase of
20% from curve)
Increase = 55 x (1 – 90%) x 20%
= 1.1 kW
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 Harmonics
• Harmonics are waveforms
with a frequency that is a full
multiple (1,2,3 etc.) of the
original waveform, called
the fundamental waveform.

• When harmonics combine

with the fundamental
waveform, the new
summated waveform is one
that becomes distorted.

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 Distorted Waveform
Harmonic Distortion
1.5

0.5

-0.5

-1

-1.5
0 60 120 180 240 300
Fund 3rd 5th 7th 1+3+5+7

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 Quantifying Distortion
Total harmonic distortion (THD) is the magnitude of the
harmonic distortion in a system.

2 2 2 2
V2  V3  V4  ......  VN
THD   100
V1

Where:
• N is the harmonic number
• N =1 is the fundamental frequency of the ideal waveform

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 What causes harmonics?
Harmonics and harmonic distortion are caused by the presence of
nonlinear loads.

A nonlinear load has impedance

Linear loads have a constant
that changes with the applied
impedance hence they draw a linear
voltage. The current drawn will not
sinusoidal current.
be sinusoidal.
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 Sources of Non-linear Loads
• Power electronics like variable speed drives (VSD), soft starters,
power inverters

• Other electronics like PLCs, computers, servers, fax machines

• Control gear from lighting (fluorescent lamps, HID lamps)

• Appliances like refrigerators, microwaves, television screens

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 Effects on Energy Efficiency
• Harmonics cause more current to be used to do the same
work. This adds energy cost, require more expensive wiring
or causes overheating and damage.

• Higher frequency harmonics cause additional core losses in

motors resulting in energy losses, additional energy cost and
overheating of the motor core.

• Higher frequency harmonics could also interfere with

communication frequencies and highly sensitive electronics
like avionics and medical equipment

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 Mitigation of Harmonics
• Identify and remove nonlinear loads, where possible.

• Add linear loads to the system.

• Install isolation transformers.

• Install harmonic filters.

• Use higher pulse rectifiers (12 or 18 pulse).

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 Power Factor
• From an energy efficiency perspective:

Power Factor (pf) is a ratio that indicates how much of

the power supplied or generated can be used to perform
useful work in a specific electrical system.

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Relation between Voltage and Current

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 Equipment Influencing pf
Component type PF Effect Wave forms Examples

Resistive Unity The current and voltage waves • Heater elements

will be exactly in phase
Inductive Lagging The current wave will “lag”
behind the voltage wave
• Induction motors
• Induction and arc furnaces
• Welding machines
• Inductors and chokes
• Transformers at low or no
load
• Old electromagnetic
ballasts in lighting systems

Capacitive Leading The current wave will “lead” the • Capacitors

voltage wave • Over excited synchronous
machines

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 Why improve power factor?
Improving a poor or low power factor:
• Can reduce the peak maximum demand and
consequently, the overall cost of electrical supply
• Could reduce the probability of paying a penalty for a
poor overall power factor
• Could increase the system capacity
• Could reduce the system losses
• Could improve the overall voltage level
• Could result in longer life cycle for motors by running
cooler and more efficiently

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 Improving the Power Factor
Most reactive components are inductive.
Improve the power factor by adding capacitance to the system.
This reduces the phase angle.

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 Case Study

Power Factor Improvement of

Cooling Water Circulating Pump

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 Problem Statement
Consider the following cooling pump motor:

1. Operates 24 hours a day, 5 days a week, 50 weeks per year

2. At a power factor of cosφ = 0.81
3. Motor electrical input power was measured at 200kW
4. Electricity costs are EGP 0.65/kWh. The utility charges a penalty for power
factor below 0.95

5. What would the demand cost savings be if the power factor were corrected
to cosφ = 0.96?

6. If the supply cable is 120m long and has a resistance of 0.15Ω/km, what is
the energy saving in cable losses?

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