POWER QUALITY ANALYSIS

UNIVERSITY OF STO. TOMAS – HOSPITAL

ESPAÑA BLVD, SAMPALOC MANILA

SEPTEMBER 2020

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1 INTRODUCTION

Power Quality Analysis or Audit is performed to assess and determine the power quality of
customer’s electrical system by recording and analyzing actual electrical parameters such as voltage,
current, frequency, voltage and current unbalance, active power, reactive power, apparent power,
power factor, harmonics and possible occurrences of voltage dip/sag and swell, over and under
voltage, transient voltage, inrush current, and power interruptions.

1.1 WHAT IS POWER QUALITY ANALYSIS?

Power Quality is the concept of powering and grounding electronic equipment

in a manner that is suitable to the operation of that equipment and compatible with
the premise wiring system and other connected equipment.

The term electric power quality broadly refers to maintaining a nearly

sinusoidal power distribution bus voltage at rated magnitude and frequency. In
addition, the energy supplied to a consumer must be uninterrupted from reliability
point of view. With the ever-increasing use of sophisticated controls and equipment
in industrial, commercial, institutional, and governmental facilities, the continuity,
reliability, and quality of electrical service has become extremely crucial to many
power users.

1.2 EFFECTS OF POOR POWER QUALITY

 Power Interruptions
 Nuisance tripping of protective devices
 High utility bills
 Flickering lights
 Premature aging and equipment failure
 Overheating of machines leading to reduced useful life
 Damage to sensitive equipment
 Poor performance and unexpected shutdowns
 Operational efficiency decreases

1.3 CAUSE OF POOR POWER QUALITY

 Voltage Dip and Swell

 Transient Voltage
 Harmonic Distortion
 Under voltage, over voltage, under current and under current
 Voltage unbalance
 Changes in the type of electrical load
 Increase of electronic loads

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2 METHODOLOGY

 Client coordination prior to the installation of the Power Quality Analyzer.

 Site inspection and assessment of the monitoring point/s.
 Installation and set-up of Power Quality Analyzer to the identified monitoring
point/s.
 Recommended duration of power quality analysis is seven (7) days per point of
coupling. Actual monitoring point/s shall be identified by the client and must be
agreed upon by both parties.
 Profiling and monitoring of the client’s electrical system for one (1) week.
 Presentation and submission of Power Quality Assessment Report.

3 DEFINITION OF TERMS

Active Power – the time average of the instantaneous power over one period of the electrical
wave, measured in Watts (W) or multiples thereof. This is the power which is actually
consumed or utilized in an AC Circuit is called True Power or Active Power or Real Power. It is
the actual outcomes of the electrical system which runs the electric circuits or load.

ANSI – American National Standards Institute, is a private non-profit organization that

oversees the development of voluntary consensus standards for products, services,
processes, systems and personnel in the United States.

Apparent Power – is the power supplied to the electric circuit – typical from a power supplier
to the grid, to cover the real and reactive power consumption in the loads. This is the product
of the root-mean-square (RMS) or effective value of the current and the root-mean-square
value of the voltage.

Flicker – is a periodically repeated voltage fluctuations caused by a furnace, arc welding or

thyristor controlled load, and might cause lights to flicker or equipment to malfunction.
When the flicker value is high, most people feel uncomfortable because of the flickering
lights. Flicker severity is measured using two parameters: Short Term Flicker Severity (PST)
and Long Term Flicker Severity (PLT). The Philippine Distribution Code requires that Flicker
Severity at the connection point shall not exceed 1.0 unit for short term flicker and 0.8 units
for long term flicker.

Frequency – the number of complete cycles of a sinusoidal variation per unit time, usually
measured in cycle per second or Hertz.

Harmonics – are generated by semiconductor control devices in the power supply of

equipment as a result of distorted voltage and current waveforms. When the harmonic

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Component is large, it may cause serious accidents such as overheating or noise on motors
and transformers.

IEEE – Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineer

NEMA – National Electric Manufacturers Association

Power Factor – is defined as the ratio of the real power absorbed by the load to the apparent
power flowing in the circuit.

Reactive Power – reactive power exists in an AC circuit when the current and voltage are not
in phase. It is the part of complex power that corresponds to storage and retrieval of energy
rather than consumption.

Voltage Variation – Root-mean-square (RMS) deviations at power frequencies. At the

equipment utilization level, the recommended limits of the Information Technology Industry
Council (ITIC) and the National Electric Manufacturers Association (NEMA) MG-1 are ±10%.

Voltage Swell – an instantaneous voltage increase caused by lightning strikes, opening or

closing of a power supply circuit, high capacitor bank switching, ground short circuit, or
cutting a heavy load. A sudden increase in voltage may damage or reset the power supply of
the equipment.

Voltage Sag / Dip – most sags are caused by natural phenomena like thunder and lightning,
and are represented by instantaneous voltage drops caused by the cutting off of the power
supply circuit due to a short circuit to the ground or high inrush current when starting a large
motor. Voltage drop may cause a stop or reset of equipment, turn off lighting, speed change
or stop of motor, and synchronization error of synchronous motors or generators.

Voltage Unbalance – sometimes defined as the maximum deviation from the average of the
three-phase voltages, divided by the average three-phase voltages expressed in percent. This
is often caused by uneven distribution of single-phase loads. At the equipment utilization
level, the recommended limit of the National Electric Manufacturers Association (NEMA) and
ANSI C84.1 is 3%.

Voltage Total Harmonic Distortion – measure of the effective value of harmonic distortion for
voltage. This is the ratio of the Root-Mean-Square (RMS) of the harmonic content to the RMS
value of the fundamental quantity, expressed in percent. IEEE Standard 519-1992 limits
Voltage THD not to exceed five percent (5%).

Interruption – a power outage over an instantaneous, short or long period. It is caused by

accidents such as a lightning strikes or tripping of circuit breaker because of a short circuit.

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4 RESULTS / PROFILING

CUSTOMER: Daikin Philippines

LOCATION: UST – Hospital, España Blvd, Sampaloc Manila
POINT OF MONITORING: LVSG 4 (Load Side)
DATE OF MONITORING: September 24, 2020 (7:00PM) to September 25, 2020 (7:00PM)

Parameters Channel Min Ave Max Limit Remarks

AB 1.59 2.08 2.82

IEEE Standard 519-1992

THDv BC 1.08 1.60 2.28 Within limits
(5.00%)

CA 1.34 1.74 2.30

AB 48.10 52.96 58.98

Must be mitigated
THDi BC 36.49 39.95 43.75
due to high values

CA 39.56 43.07 47.21

4.1 THD voltage (THDv) and THD current (THDi)

This is the ratio of the Root-Mean-Square (RMS) value of the harmonic

content to the RMS value of the fundamental quantity, expressed in percent. IEEE
Standard 519-1992 states that THD must be less than 5% to prevent electrical
systems problems.

Base on the data gathered within 24 hours of monitoring, the THDv measured
on the common point of coupling is less than the standard limit which is (5.00%). But
THDi registered in the Power Quality Analyzer has an average THD of 45.33%,
Harmonic current at 3rd, 5th and 7th order. THDi must be mitigated to prevent future
problems to the electrical system due to harmonics.

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4.2 Total Current Harmonic Distortion – Peak Level

I1 I2 I3
Order
AVG Peak MAX Peak AVG Peak MAX Peak AVG Peak MAX Peak
THD 68.08% 93.37% 51.20% 65.44% 49.56% 73.58%
2 1.24A 2.58A 1.37A 2.96A 1.22A 2.77A
3 27.64A 32.83A 49.33A 55.21A 39.28A 47.53A
4 0.32A 1.15A 0.33A 1.38A 0.21A 0.87A
5 53.06A 58.97A 44.02A 48.28A 51.56A 56.15A
6 0.52A 1.39A 0.29A 1.25A 0.28A 0.81A
7 23.71A 26.54A 20.27A 21.45A 32.69A 34.70A
8 0.14A 0.44A 0.17A 0.52A 0.13A 0.62A
9 4.66A 7.03A 10.74A 12.03A 7.62A 9.37A
10 0.19A 0.41A 0.17A 0.55A 0.15A 0.43A
11 16.18A 18.32A 10.58A 12.05A 11.60A 12.72A
12 0.23A 0.55A 0.10A 0.43A 0.15A 0.49A
13 9.33A 11.02A 5.68A 6.97A 10.32A 11.73A

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 14 0.10A 0.29A 0.11A 0.44A 0.08A 0.46A
15 3.14A 5.23A 5.94A 6.63A 4.89A 5.75A
16 0.14A 0.27A 0.13A 0.42A 0.11A 0.41A
17 9.99A 11.47A 6.00A 7.21A 5.75A 6.27A
18 0.18A 0.35A 0.09A 0.44A 0.11A 0.46A
19 5.93A 7.07A 3.75A 4.92A 6.18A 7.36A
20 0.09A 0.31A 0.10A 0.43A 0.07A 0.44A
21 3.01A 4.68A 4.51A 5.09A 4.25A 4.83A
22 0.12A 0.26A 0.10A 0.41A 0.08A 0.38A
23 7.19A 8.24A 4.26A 5.13A 3.55A 4.01A
24 0.15A 0.33A 0.09A 0.43A 0.09A 0.39A
25 4.69A 5.43A 2.86A 3.69A 4.91A 5.79A
26 0.09A 0.31A 0.09A 0.41A 0.06A 0.41A
27 3.04A 4.40A 3.96A 4.62A 3.94A 4.55A
28 0.15A 0.29A 0.11A 0.41A 0.07A 0.39A
29 5.82A 6.47A 3.41A 3.86A 2.54A 2.64A
30 0.14A 0.34A 0.08A 0.37A 0.09A 0.35A
31 3.82A 4.15A 2.48A 3.31A 3.88A 4.50A
32 0.09A 0.30A 0.09A 0.36A 0.07A 0.36A
33 3.56A 4.66A 3.68A 4.27A 4.02A 4.69A
34 0.16A 0.35A 0.10A 0.33A 0.08A 0.36A
35 5.54A 6.14A 3.21A 3.69A 2.76A 3.05A
36 0.16A 0.36A 0.10A 0.33A 0.10A 0.40A
37 3.72A 4.13A 2.38A 2.68A 4.01A 4.36A
38 0.11A 0.36A 0.13A 0.34A 0.07A 0.40A
39 4.47A 5.20A 3.93A 4.25A 3.86A 4.16A
40 0.21A 0.42A 0.13A 0.33A 0.12A 0.53A
41 5.45A 6.20A 4.17A 4.74A 4.44A 4.96A
42 0.21A 0.44A 0.14A 0.41A 0.19A 0.54A
43 3.50A 4.00A 2.08A 2.58A 4.70A 5.43A
44 0.16A 0.44A 0.19A 0.49A 0.13A 0.56A
45 3.91A 4.46A 4.25A 5.10A 4.74A 5.27A
46 0.22A 0.40A 0.14A 0.34A 0.27A 0.55A
47 4.44A 5.01A 4.31A 4.75A 6.55A 7.15A
48 0.16A 0.29A 0.14A 0.38A 0.20A 0.44A
49 1.80A 2.35A 1.20A 1.78A 2.64A 3.02A
50 0.08A 0.28A 0.09A 0.30A 0.09A 0.34A

NOTE: Highlighted are the order of the fundamental harmonics with its corresponding
average and maximum peak value shown in the graph above.

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4.3 Total Voltage Harmonic Distortion – Peak Level

V1 V2 V3
Order
AVG Peak MAX Peak AVG Peak MAX Peak AVG Peak MAX Peak
THD 2.82% 2.95% 2.28% 2.40% 2.30% 2.48%
2 0.09V 0.38V 0.09V 0.40V 0.09V 0.40V
3 1.36V 1.51V 2.02V 2.24V 1.12V 2.26V
4 0.08V 0.31V 0.06V 0.28V 0.10V 0.23V
5 4.25V 4.50V 3.28V 3.70V 2.90V 3.18V
6 0.09V 0.49V 0.06V 0.57V 0.09V 0.28V
7 1.86V 2.12V 1.82V 2.10V 1.88V 2.16V
8 0.07V 0.25V 0.09V 0.26V 0.05V 0.25V
9 1.08V 1.16V 1.27V 1.32V 0.80V 0.90V
10 0.04V 0.25V 0.04V 0.26V 0.04V 0.31V
11 1.60V 1.84V 0.92V 1.44V 1.01V 1.23V
12 0.04V 0.12V 0.03V 0.16V 0.02V 0.12V
13 0.84V 0.99V 0.71V 0.86V 0.72V 0.92V

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 14 0.01V 0.11V 0.02V 0.14V 0.02V 0.09V
15 0.38V 0.77V 0.74V 0.83V 0.59V 0.64V
16 0.02V 0.12V 0.02V 0.15V 0.02V 0.09V
17 1.36V 1.53V 0.63V 0.77V 0.69V 0.78V
18 0.03V 0.10V 0.02V 0.15V 0.02V 0.09V
19 0.97V 1.15V 0.69V 0.82V 0.97V 1.11V
20 0.01V 0.12V 0.02V 0.15V 0.01V 0.09V
21 0.52V 0.84V 0.75V 0.82V 0.66V 0.77V
22 0.02V 0.11V 0.02V 0.14V 0.02V 0.09V
23 1.34V 1.52V 0.75V 0.89V 0.71V 0.77V
24 0.03V 0.13V 0.02V 0.14V 0.02V 0.09V
25 0.98V 1.15V 0.56V 0.75V 0.86V 1.02V
26 0.02V 0.12V 0.03V 0.14V 0.01V 0.09V
27 0.69V 0.99V 0.82V 0.96V 0.74V 0.86V
28 0.03V 0.11V 0.03V 0.11V 0.02V 0.09V
29 1.35V 1.49V 0.66V 0.76V 0.57V 0.59V
30 0.03V 0.10V 0.02V 0.13V 0.02V 0.09V
31 0.94V 1.07V 0.63V 0.82V 0.88V 0.96V
32 0.02V 0.10V 0.02V 0.12V 0.01V 0.08V
33 0.99V 1.29V 0.95V 1.08V 0.94V 1.10V
34 0.04V 0.16V 0.02V 0.14V 0.02V 0.09V
35 1.53V 1.68V 0.82V 0.94V 0.73V 0.80V
36 0.04V 0.11V 0.03V 0.14V 0.02V 0.10V
37 1.21V 1.34V 0.74V 0.82V 1.05V 1.13V
38 0.03V 0.12V 0.04V 0.17V 0.02V 0.11V
39 1.43V 1.67V 1.19V 1.29V 1.06V 1.18V
40 0.07V 0.14V 0.04V 0.18V 0.04V 0.16V
41 1.71V 1.93V 1.37V 1.57V 1.43V 1.59V
42 0.06V 0.19V 0.05V 0.19V 0.06V 0.18V
43 1.08V 1.26V 0.69V 0.79V 1.60V 1.85V
44 0.05V 0.16V 0.05V 0.20V 0.05V 0.19V
45 1.34V 1.52V 1.24V 1.50V 1.65V 1.82V
46 0.07V 0.13V 0.05V 0.14V 0.10V 0.19V
47 1.49V 1.68V 1.46V 1.59V 2.34V 2.57V
48 0.06V 0.11V 0.04V 0.15V 0.07V 0.16V
49 0.66V 0.85V 0.41V 0.60V 0.99V 1.15V
50 0.03V 0.11V 0.03V 0.10V 0.03V 0.13V

NOTE: Highlighted are the order of the fundamental harmonics with its corresponding
average and maximum peak value shown in the graph above.

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 4.4 Voltage and Current Harmonic Distortion – Trend

5 ANALYSIS, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

Recorded power parameters (from September 24, 2020 – 07:00 PM to September 25,
2020 – 07:00 PM) at the load side of the LVSG 4 of University of Sto. Tomas – Hospital at
España Blvd, Sampaloc, Manila yielded some values that are within industry standard expect
the Total Current Harmonic Distortion (THDi).

Also, there were no other power disturbances registered on the Power Quality
Analyzer within the duration of the data gathering on the common point of coupling.

Total Voltage Harmonic Distortion registered on the Power Quality Analyzer within 24
hours of data gathering is within the IEEE Standard 519-1992 Harmonic Voltage Limits which
is 5.00%. But the values gathered during the data gathering for the Total Current Harmonic
Distortion is alarming to the system because of its significant valuation.

We therefore conclude that the Total Current Harmonic Distortion must be mitigated
and lowered to its acceptable industry standard so that it would not impose operational
problem within the system. In addition, we recommend to install an active harmonic filter to
mitigate the THDi to its acceptable value and this will help prevent serious problem within
the existing system.

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