A REVIEW OF HARMONICS IN THE

POWER SYSTEM
Guided by, Presented by,
Prof.SANIL K DANIEL PRIYANKA O
Asst.Professor NO: 13
 CONTENTS

 Introduction
 What are harmonics.?
 Classification of harmonics
 Causes and effects.
 Types of equipments that generates harmonics.?
 Problem caused by harmonics.
 Harmonic migration measures
 Conclusion
 INTRODUCTION
 Various methodologies and techniques were proposed to improve the
power quality.

 Any deviation from the perfect sinusoidal waveform is nothing but

distortion and hence harmonic distortion

 One of the parameters which affect the quality of power is harmonics

current are supplied by the non-linear equipment.

 Common risks of harmonics include potential fire hazard, excessive

heat, false tripping of branch circuit breakers and consequently
increases maintenance cost.
 WHAT ARE HARMONICS ?
 “Harmonics” is the term which means waves having frequencies of
integer multiples of one another.
 It can be given as: fh= n*fundamental frequency

Figure 1 – Fundamental Frequency with third and fifth harmonics.

 If a system has the fundamental frequency as 60Hz then its 2nd and 3rd
harmonic would have frequencies of 120Hz and 180Hz respectively.

 Figure 2 shows a fundamental with 70 % third order and 50 % fifth order

harmonics added.

 In practice, most distorted waveforms will be much more complex than this
example, containing many more harmonics.

Figure 2 – Distorted Composite current waveform.

 CLASSIFICATION OF
HARMONICS
 Harmonics which are nothing but distorted waveforms have two types namely
voltage and current harmonics.
 The orders of harmonics and symmetrical components, these are two concepts
which are used commonly to describe harmonics.
 Regarding the harmonics, words odd and even harmonics are used usually but
the term triplen harmonics is not much known.
 Power Quality Indices under
Harmonic Distortion
 Generally, representation of harmonic components is given with equation:

 Total Harmonic Distortion (THD) It is given as the ratio of the power of all
harmonic components to the power of fundamental frequency.

 Total Harmonic Current (THC) Usually, distorted current waveform is caused by

the contribution of current orders 2 to 40.

 Total Harmonic Distortion Current (THDi) This value can be calculated by taking
the ratio of THC to the Fundamental current. It can be given as:

Where 𝐼1= fundamental current

 Total Harmonic Distortion of Voltage (THDv) It shows the total magnitude
of the distortion in voltage. It can be calculated by calculating ratio of distorted
or harmonic voltage to the non-harmonic or fundamental voltage.

 Total Demand Distortion (TDD) This concept is used widely used in North
America regarding harmonics. It is the ratio of harmonic current to the full load
fundamental current

𝐼𝑛 = current amplitude of nth order harmonic,

Il= total load current consumed by system
 Partial Weighted Harmonic Distortion (PWHD) It is the ratio of current or
voltage with selected group of higher order harmonics from 14 to 40 to the
fundamental value of voltage or current
 Sources of harmonic Distortion
 Static Compensators: Compensator which are controlled by Thyristor will produce
near about 1% of the 11th harmonic current.

 Power Converters Rectifiers. Hence the dc current is almost constant and then
converter starts acting as a harmonic voltage source on the dc side where as the
harmonics current source on the ac side.

 Transformer Because of saturation and hysteresis characteristics, a small level of

harmonic current will get produce by transformers when they are in steady state.

 Rotating Machines In the rotating machines, harmonic currents can be produced due
to asymmetries in the winding pattern.

 Electric Arc Furnace As the arc feed material varies, the harmonics rise up and their
value cannot be predicted certainly

 Switched Mode Power Supplies (SMPS) SMPS unit draws current pulses contain
large amount of harmonics of third and above higher order harmonics.
 CAUSES AND EFFECTS
 Harmonic currents and voltages cause many problems in electrical
installations, including

* Overheating of equipment and cabling,

* Reduced energy efficiency,
* Reduced functionality due to loss of electromagnetic
compatibility.
 Harmonic currents from installations flow back into the network and
propagate as voltage harmonics.

 Designers and specifiers must now consider harmonics and their side
effects very carefully to ensure the safety and resilience.
 TYPES OF EQUIPMENTS THAT
GENERATES HARMONICS
 Harmonic load currents are generated by all non-linear loads.
These include:

*Single phase loads

1.Switched mode power supplies (SMPS) – all electronic
MN devices
2. Electronic fluorescent lighting ballasts
3.Small uninterruptible power supplies (UPS) units

*Three phase loads

1.Variable speed drives
2. Large UPS units
 SINGLE PHASE LOADS
SWITCHED MODE POWER SUPPLIES

 The majority of modern electronic units use SMPS.

 These differ from older units in that the traditional step-down
transformer and rectifier.
 The advantage is that the size, cost and weight is significantly reduced.

FLUORESCENT LIGHTING BALLASTS

 Electronic lighting ballasts have become popular in recent years

claiming improved efficiency
 Their great disadvantage is that they generate harmonics in the supply
current
 THREE PHASE LOADS
 In general are usually based on the three-phase bridge, also known as
the six-pulse bridge .
 The six pulse bridge produces harmonics at 6n +/- 1 .
 The magnitude of each harmonic is the reciprocal of the harmonic
number .
Why Harmonics should get detected?

 Basically, harmonics are difficult to reduce.

 But the power quality gets reduced because of harmonics.
 They show economic impacts such as earlier failure of
equipments, losses in distribution systems.
 So, they should be detected at early stage.
 PROBLEMS CAUSED BY
HARMONICS
There are several common problem areas caused by harmonics: -

 Problems caused by harmonic currents:

o Overloading of neutrals
o Overheating of transformers
o Nuisance tripping of circuit breakers
o Over-stressing of power factor correction capacitors
o Skin effect
 Problems caused by harmonic voltages:
o Voltage distortion
o Induction motors
o Zero-crossing noise
 Problems caused when harmonic currents reach the supply
EFFECTS ON TRANSFORMERS
 Transformers are affected in two ways by harmonics.
1.Firstly, the eddy current losses
2.Second effect concerns the triple-N harmonics
NUISANCE TRIPPING OF CIRCUIT BREAKER
 Nuisance tripping can occur in the presence of harmonics for two reasons .

*Firstly, the RCCB, being an electromechanical device, may not sum the
higher frequency components correctly

*Secondly, the equipment that generates harmonics also generates

switching noise

*The situation is easily overcome by providing more circuits, each

supplying fewer loads
SKIN EFFECT
 Skin effect is normally ignored because it has very little effect at power
supply frequencies but above about 350 Hz.
 Skin effect will become significant, causing additional loss and heating.
 Multiple cable cores or laminated busbars can be used to help
overcome this problem.
PROBLEMS CAUSED BY HARMONIC VOLTAGES
 Because the supply has source impedance, harmonic load currents give
rise to harmonic voltage distortion on the voltage waveform .
INDUCTION MOTORS
 Harmonic voltage distortion causes increased eddy current losses in
motors in the same way as in transformers.
 Additional losses arise due to the generation of harmonic fields in the
stator.
 Where harmonic voltage distortion is present motors should be de-rated
to take account of the additional losses.

ZERO CROSSING NOISE

 When harmonics are present on the supply the rate of change of voltage
at the crossing becomes faster and more difficult to identify.
 There may in fact be several zero-crossings per half cycle.
 HARMONIC PROBLEMS AFFECTING THE
SUPPLY

 When a harmonic current is drawn from the supply it gives rise to a

harmonic voltage drop.
 Which proportional to the source impedance at the point of common
coupling (PCC) and the current.
 Since the supply network is generally inductive, the source impedance
is higher at higher frequencies.
 The voltage at the PCC is already distorted by the harmonic currents
drawn by other consumers and by the distortion inherent in
transformers, and each consumer makes an additional contribution.
 HARMONIC MITIGATION METHODS
Harmonic mitigation measures are required to:

 Meet local harmonic emission limits

 Reduce overloading of, e.g., cables and transformers
 Improve resilience of equipment by reducing voltage waveform
distortion

Mitigation methods fall broadly into three groups;

 Passive filters,
 Isolation and harmonic reduction transformers
 And active solutions
 PASSIVE SHUNT FILTERS
 Passive filters are used to provide a low impedance path for harmonic
currents so that they flow in the filter and not the supply .

 The filter may be designed for a single harmonic or for a broad band
depending on requirements.

PASSIVE SERIES FILTERS

 A series filter is intended to block harmonic currents rather than provide a
controlled path for them so there is a large harmonic voltage drop across it.

 This harmonic voltage appears across the supply on the load side.

 Series filters can be useful in certain circumstances, but should be carefully

applied; they cannot be recommended as a general purpose solution.
 ISOLATION TRANSFORMERS
 Triple-N currents circulate in the delta windings of transformers, are a
problem for transformer manufacturers and specifiers .
 The extra load has to be taken into account – it is beneficial to systems
designers because it isolates triple-N harmonics from the supply.

ACTIVE HARMONIC CONDITIONERS

 A current transformer measures the harmonic content of the load
current .
 Since the harmonic current is sourced from the active conditioner, only
fundamental current is drawn from the supply .
 Harmonic current magnitudes can be reduced by 90 % and, because the
source impedance at harmonic frequencies is reduced, voltage
distortion is reduced.
 CONCLUSION
 Virtually all modern electrical and electronic equipment involves
some form of power control and so is a non-linear load.

 Linear loads are comparatively rare – undimmed filament bulbs and

uncontrolled heaters being the only common examples.

 A range of design strategies and mitigation techniques are available

to mitigate the effects of harmonics in installations and to comply
with any harmonic pollution regulations.

 Each successful strategy to prevent future problems will be a

combination of good design practice, the right electrical equipment,
and good maintenance.
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THANK YOU