POWER QUALITY

MONITORING
 Syllabus
• Monitoring considerations - monitoring and diagnostic
techniques for various power quality problems
• Quality measurement equipment - harmonic / spectrum
analyzer -flicker meters - disturbance analyzer.
• Applications of expert systems for power quality
monitoring
• Principle & Working of DSTATCOM – DSTATCOM in
Voltage control mode, current control mode, DVR
Structure – Rectifier supported DVR – DC Capacitor
supported DVR -Unified power quality conditioner.
• Power quality monitoring is the process of gathering,
analyzing, and interpreting raw measurement data into
useful information.

• The process of gathering data is usually carried out by

continuous measurement of voltage and current over an
extended period.

• The process of analysis and interpretation- signal

processing and artificial intelligence
• Power quality monitoring programs  improving the
system wide power quality performance.

Examples of these facilities include

• computer networking and telecommunication facilities,
• semiconductor and electronics manufacturing facilities,
• biotechnology and pharmaceutical laboratories, and
• financial data-processing centers.
 Need of Power Quality Monitoring

• Power quality(PQ) monitoring is necessary to detect and

classify disturbance at a particular location on the power
system
• PQ monitoring assists in preventive and predictive
maintenance
• Problems can be detected before they cause widespread
damage by sending automated alerts
• PQ monitoring can be used to determine the need for
mitigation equipment
 Objectives of PQ Monitoring

• Continuous evaluation of the electric supply system for

disturbances and power quality variations.

• Document the performance of power conditioning

equipment, such as static switches, UPS systems, other
ride through technologies, and backup generators.

• Evaluate power quality characteristics of the equipment

within the facility
 Monitoring Considerations

The monitoring objectives often determine the choice of

monitoring equipment, triggering thresholds, methods for data
acquisition and storage, and analysis and interpretation
requirements.

• Monitoring to characterize system performance

• Monitoring to characterize specific problems
• Monitoring as part of an enhanced power quality service
• Monitoring as part of predictive or just-in-time
maintenance
 Proactive Monitoring

• The traditional approach to power quality monitoring is

reactive. i.e. monitoring is done after the occurrence of
problem.

• But to overcome certain undesired situations we need to know

when a problem is going to occur, before it happens.

• Permanent power quality monitoring systems are designed

to proactively identify conditions and events that may cause
problems that should be addressed. System characterization
is a proactive approach to power quality monitoring.
MONITORING APPROACH
1. Monitoring as part of a facility site survey
2. Determining what to monitor
3. Choosing monitoring locations
4. Options for permanent power quality monitoring
equipment
5. Disturbance monitor connections
6. Setting monitor thresholds
7. Quantities and duration to measure
8. Finding the source of a disturbance
 Monitoring as part of a facility site survey
Initial site survey should be designed to obtain as much
information as possible about the customer facility

1. Nature of the problems (data loss, nuisance trips, component

failures, control system malfunctions, etc.)

2. Characteristics of the sensitive equipment experiencing

problems (equipment design information or at least
application guide information)

3. The times at which problems occur

4. Coincident problems or known operations (e.g., capacitor
switching) that occur at the same time

5. Possible sources of power quality variations within the

facility (motor starting, capacitor switching, power
electronic equipment operation, arcing equipment, etc.)

6. Existing power conditioning equipment being used

7. Electrical system data (one-line diagrams, transformer

sizes and impedances, load information, capacitor
information, cable data, etc
Data forms that can be used for this initial verification

Form for recording supply

transformer test data
Form for recording feeder circuit test data
(from panel).
Form for recording branch circuit test
data (from panel).
Form for recording test data at
individual loads.
Determining what to monitor

Characterizing the quality of AC power

• Important disturbances can range from very high frequency impulses
caused by lightning strokes or current chopping during circuit
interruptions to long-term overvoltages caused by a regulator tap
switching problem.

• The methods for characterizing the quality of ac power are

important for the monitoring requirements.

• For instance, characterizing most transients requires high-

frequency sampling of the actual waveform.

• Voltage sags can be characterized with a plot of the rms voltage

versus time.

• Outages can be defined simply by a time duration. Monitoring to

characterize harmonic distortion levels and normal voltage variations
requires steady-state sampling with results analysis of trends over time
 Choosing
monitoring
locations

Since the primary objective was to characterize

power quality on primary distribution
feeders, monitoring was done on the actual
feeder circuits

One monitor was located near the

substation, and two additional
sites were selected randomly

A good compromise approach is to monitor

at the substation and at selected customer
service entrance locations.

The substation is important because it is the

PCC for most rms voltage variations.
Options for permanent power quality
monitoring equipment
• Digital fault recorders (DFRs)
• Smart relays and other IEDs.
• Voltage recorders
• In-plant power monitors
• Special-purpose power quality monitors
• Revenue meters.
 Disturbance monitor connections

• Input filters and/or surge suppressors on their power

supplies that can alter disturbance data if the monitor
is powered from the same circuit that is being
monitored.

• Disturbance monitors are designed to detect conditions

that are abnormal.

• Grounding
• Ground Loops
 Setting monitor thresholds

• It is necessary to define the range of conditions that

can be considered normal

• The best approach for selecting thresholds is to

match them with the specifications of the
equipment that is affected
 Quantities and duration to measure
• For instance, the voltages provide information about the
quality of power

• Amount of information in the currents associated with these

disturbances that can help determine the cause and
whether or not equipment was impacted

• Current measurements are used to characterize the

generation of harmonics by nonlinear loads on the system.

• Voltage measurements help characterize the system

response to the generated harmonic currents
 Finding the source of a disturbance

• The first step in identifying the source of a disturbance

is to correlate the disturbance waveform with possible
causes

• Once a category for the cause has been determined (e.g.,

load switching, capacitor switching, remote fault
condition, recloser operation), the identification becomes
more straightforward.
Power Quality Measurement
Equipment
Wiring and grounding test devices
Multimeters
Oscilloscopes
Disturbance analyzers
Harmonic analyzers and spectrum
analyzers
Combination disturbance and harmonic
analyzers
Flicker meters
Energy monitors
 QUALITY MEASUREMENT EQUIPMENT

• To maintain an efficient and effective electricity supply, it is

necessary to define the levels of distortion that can be permitted
on power system.

• Power quality phenomena cover a wide range of frequencies.

They include everything from very fast transient over
voltages (microsecond time frame) to long-duration outages
(hours or days time frame).

• Power quality problems also include steady-state phenomena,

such as harmonic distortion, and intermittent phenomena,
such as voltage flicker.

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Characteristics of Power Quality Monitoring
Equipment
• Confirming the presence of harmonics
• Locating the harmonic source
• Evaluating the severity of the problem relative to
acceptable harmonic limits
• Setting standards and guidelines
• Harmonic filter design
• Providing the input data for harmonic software analysis
program
• Designing analytical model of the problem
 Factors to be considered while selecting the
power quality monitoring instrument
• Number of channels (voltage and/or current)
• Temperature specifications of the instrument
• Ruggedness of the instrument
• Input voltage range (e.g., 0 to 1000 V)
• Power requirements
• Ability to measure currents
• Ability to measure three-phase voltages
Wiring and grounding test devices
Multimeters
Oscilloscopes
Disturbance analyzers
Harmonic analyzers and spectrum
analyzers
Combination disturbance and harmonic
analyzers
Flicker meters
Energy monitors
Disturbance Analyzer

1960s
The Dranetz 646 is a used Power Line Disturbance Analyzer that is used to monitor and record
impulses, sags, surges, undervoltages, overvoltages, and frequency variations on a single
channel or 3 channels (depending on model), neutral to ground voltage channel, and a single
channel of DC voltage.
1. Managing the large volume of raw measurement data that must be
collected, analyzed, and archived becomes a serious challenge as the
number of monitoring points grows.

2. The data volume collected at each monitoring point can strain

communication mechanisms employed to move that data from monitor to
analysis point.

3. As understanding of system performance grows through the feedback

provided by the monitoring data, detailed views of certain events, such as
normal capacitor switching, become less valuable and would be of more use in
a summary or condensed form.

4. The real value of any monitoring system lies in its ability to generate
information rather than in collecting and storing volumes of detailed raw data.
• Disturbance analyzers and disturbance monitors form a category
of instruments that have been developed specifically for power
quality measurements.

• They typically can measure a wide variety of system disturbances

from very short duration transient voltages to long-duration
outages or undervoltages.

• Thresholds can be set and the instruments left unattended to

record disturbances over a period of time.

• The information is most commonly recorded on a paper tape, but

many devices have attachments so that it can be recorded on disk
as well
There are basically two categories of these devices:

1. Conventional analyzers that summarize events with specific

information such as overvoltage and undervoltage magnitudes, sags
and surge magnitude and duration, transient magnitude and duration,
etc.

2. Graphics-based analyzers that save and print the actual waveform

along with the descriptive information which would be generated by
one of the conventional analyzers
• It is often difficult to determine the characteristics of a
disturbance or a transient from the summary information
available from conventional disturbance analyzers. For instance,
an oscillatory transient cannot be effectively described by a peak
and a duration.

• Therefore, it is almost imperative to have the waveform capture

capability of a graphics-based disturbance analyzer for detailed
analysis of a power quality problem (Fig.). However, a simple
conventional disturbance monitor can be valuable for initial
checks at a problem location.
Spectrum Analyzer
• A spectrum analyzer measures the magnitude of an
input signal versus frequency within the full frequency
range of the instrument

• Spectrum analyzers usually display raw, unprocessed

signal information such as voltage, power, period, wave
shape, sidebands, and frequency.

• They can provide you with a clear and precise window

into the frequency spectrum
 Oscilloscope Vs Spectrum Analyzer

• An oscilloscope give amplitude v/s time display of a wave,

• whereas the spectrum analyzer gives amplitude v/s
frequency display.

• The oscilloscope gives distribution of energy in wave with

respect to time,
• whereas the spectrum analyzer displays frequency
components of a wave and their amplitudes.
 Most Common Spectrum Analyzer
Measurements are
• Modulation is important for making sure your system is
working properly and that the information is being
transmitted correctly.

• In communications, measuring distortion is critical for both

the receiver and transmitter.

• Excessive harmonic distortion at the output of a transmitter

can interfere with other communication bands.

• Noise is often the signal you want to measure. Any active

circuit or device will generate noise.
• There are basically two ways to make frequency domain
measurements

1] Fourier Transform Analyzer

2] Swept-Tuned Analyzer
• It takes a time-domain signal, digitizes it using digital sampling,
and then performs the mathematics required to convert it to the
frequency domain, and display the resulting spectrum.

• Analyzer looks at the entire frequency range at the same time using
parallel filters for measuring simultaneously.

• It is actually capturing the time domain information which

contains all the frequency information in it.
• Phase as well as magnitude
• The most common type of spectrum analyzer is the swept-tuned
receiver.

• It is the most widely accepted, general-purpose tool for frequency-domain

measurements.

• Very basically, these analyzers sweep across the frequency range of

interest, displaying all the frequency components present.

• The swept receiver technique enables frequency domain measurements to

be made over a large dynamic range and a wide frequency range
Harmonic Analyzer
Harmonic Analyzer
1] RF input attenuator,
2] Mixer,
3] IF (Intermediate Frequency) gain,
4] IF filter,
5] Detector,
6] Local oscillator,
7] Video filter,
8] Sweep generator, and
9] CRT display.
 RF input attenuator

• The RF input attenuator is a step attenuator located

between the input connector and the first mixer.

• It is also called the RF attenuator.

• This is used to adjust the level of the signal incident

upon the first mixer.

• This is important in order to prevent mixer gain

compression and distortion due to high-level and/or
broadband signals.
 Mixer
• Mixer is a device that converts a signal from one frequency to
another. Therefore it is sometimes called a frequency
translation device.
 IF gain

• The IF gain is located after the mixer but before the IF,
or RBW, filter.

• This is used to adjust the vertical position of signals on

the display without affecting the signal level at the input
mixer.

• The IF gain will automatically be changed to compensate

for input attenuator changes, so signals remain stationary
on the CRT display, and the reference level is not
changed.
 IF filter
• The IF filter is a bandpass filter which is used as the window for
detecting signals. It's bandwidth is also called the Resolution
bandwidth (RBW) of the analyzer and can be changed via the front
panel of the analyzer.

• If resolution bandwidth is narrowed, selectivity is improved.

• This will also often improve Signal to Noise Ratio.

• The optimum resolution bandwidth setting depends heavily on the

characteristics of the signals of interest.
 Detector
• The analyzer must convert the IF signal to a baseband
or video signal so it can be viewed on the instrument's
display.

• Many modern spectrum analyzers have digital displays

which first digitize the video signal with an analog-to-
digital converter (ADC).

• This allows for several different detector modes that

dramatically effect how the signal is displayed.
 Video Filter

• The video filter is a low-pass filter that is located after

the envelope detector and before the ADC.

• This filter determines the bandwidth of the video

amplifier, and is used to average or smooth the trace seen
on the screen
 Local Oscillator

• The local oscillator is a Voltage Controlled Oscillator

(VCO) which in effect tunes the analyzer.

• The sweep generator actually tunes the LO so that its

frequency changes in proportion to the ramp voltage.

• This also deflects the CRT beam horizontally across the

screen from left to right, creating the frequency domain
in the x-axis
 Operations
• First of all, the signal to be analyzed is connected to the
input of the spectrum analyzer.

• This input signal is then combined with the LO

through the mixer, to convert (or translate) it to an
intermediate frequency (IF).

• These signals are then sent to the IF filter.

• The output of this filter is detected, indicating the presence
of a signal component at the analyzer's tuned frequency.

• The output voltage of detector is to drive the vertical axis

(amplitude) of the analyzer

• The sweep generator provides synchronization between

the horizontal axis of the display (frequency) and tuning of
the LO.

• The resulting display shows amplitude versus frequency of

spectral components of each incoming signal.
Flicker measurement
techniques
• RMS strip charts: Historically, flicker has been measured
using rms meters, load duty cycle, and a flicker curve. If
sudden rms voltage deviations occurred with specified
frequencies exceeding values found in flicker curves, such as
one shown in Fig., the system was said to have experienced
flicker.
• Fast Fourier transform: Another method that has been used to
measure flicker is to take raw samples of the actual voltage
waveforms and implement a fast Fourier transform on the
demodulated signal (flicker signal only) to extract the various
frequencies and magnitudes found in the data.

• These data would then be compared to a flicker curve.

• Although similar to using the rms strip charts, this method more
accurately quantifies the data measured due to the magnitude and
frequency of the flicker being known.
 Flicker meters

• A flicker meter is essentially a device that demodulates

the flicker signal, weights it according to established
“flicker curves,” and performs statistical analysis on the
processed data.
• In the first section(B1&2) the input waveform is demodulated,
thus removing the carrier signal. As a result of the demodulator, a
dc offset and higher-frequency terms (sidebands) are produced.

• The second section (B3&4) removes these unwanted terms using

filters, thus leaving only the modulating (flicker) signal remaining.
The second section also consists of filters that weight the
modulating signal according to the particular meter specifications.

• The last section (B5) usually consists of a statistical analysis of the

measured flicker.

• The most established method for doing this is described in IEC

Standard 61000-4-15.8. The IEC flicker meter consists of five
blocks, which are shown in Fig.
• Block 1 is an input voltage adapter that scales the input half-cycle
rms value to an internal reference level.

• This allows flicker measurements to be made based upon a percent

ratio rather than be dependent upon the input carrier voltage level
• Block 2 is simply a squaring demodulator that squares the
input to separate the voltage fluctuation (modulating signal)
from the main voltage signal (carrier signal), thus simulating
the behavior of the incandescent lamp.
• Block 3 consists of multiple filters that serve to filter out unwanted
frequencies produced from the demodulator and also to weight the
input signal according to the incandescent lamp eye-brain response.
• The basic transfer function for the weighting filter is
• Block 4 consists of a squaring multiplier and sliding mean filter. The
voltage signal is squared to simulate the nonlinear eye-brain
response, while the sliding mean filter averages the signal to simulate
the short term storage effect of the brain.
• The output of this block is considered to be the instantaneous flicker
level. A level of 1 on the output of this block corresponds to
perceptible flicker.
• Block 5 consists of a statistical analysis of the instantaneous
flicker level. The output of block 4 is divided into suitable
classes, thus creating a histogram. A probability density
function is created based upon each class, and from this a
cumulative distribution function can be formed.
• Short-term evaluation of flicker severity PST is based upon an
observation period of 10 min.

• This period is based upon assessing disturbances with a short

duty cycle or those that produce continuous fluctuations.

• PST can be found using the equation

• where the percentages P0.1, P1s, P3s, P10s, and P50s are the
flicker levels that are exceeded 0.1, 1.0, 3.0, 10.0, and 50.0
percent of the time, respectively
• For cases where the duty cycle is long or variable, such as in arc
furnaces, or disturbances on the system that are caused by multiple
loads operating simultaneously, the need for the long-term
assessment of flicker severity arises.

• Therefore, the long-term flicker severity PLT is derived from PST

using the equation,

where N is the number of PST readings and is determined by the duty

cycle of the flicker-producing load.

• The purpose is to capture one duty cycle of the fluctuating load. If

the duty cycle is unknown, the recommended number of PST
readings is 12.
 Application of Intelligent Systems
• Many advanced power quality monitoring systems are
equipped with either off-line or on-line intelligent systems
to evaluate disturbances and system conditions so as to
make conclusions about the cause of the problem or even
predict problems before they occur.

• The applications of intelligent systems or autonomous

expert systems in monitoring instruments help engineers
determine the system condition rapidly.
 Basic design of an expert system for
monitoring applications
• The development of an autonomous expert system calls for
many approaches such as signal processing and rule-based
techniques along with the knowledge-discovery approach
commonly known as data mining.

• Before the expert system module is designed, the

functionalities or objectives of the module must be clearly
defined.
• The process of turning raw measurement data into
knowledge involves data selection and preparation,
information extraction from selected data, information
assimilation, and report presentation. These steps (illustrated in
Fig) are commonly known as knowledge discovery or data
mining.

• The first step in the knowledge discovery is to select

appropriate measurement quantities and disregard other
types of measurements that do not provide relevant
information.

• In addition, during the data selection process preliminary

analyses are usually carried out to ensure the quality of the
measurement to provide relevant information.
Process of turning raw data into answers or knowledge