Industrial, commercial or public facilities can primarily consist of two kinds of loads which can be categorized as linear or non-linear loads. These loads can display either linear or dynamic behavior. Furthermore, the distribution network to which these industrial or commercial facilities are connected to, can form a strong, moderate or weak network.
Depending on the loads and the network, industrial or commercial facilities may face issues related to poor power quality which can impact profitability, and the reliable operations of the equipment.
The effects of poor power quality may be unexpected and costly as power quality problems can cause:
- Unplanned interruptions in your operations
- Shorten lifetime of investments
- Higher maintenance and operating costs
- Jeopardize the safety of staff or customers
- Compliance failure according to the applicable standards
Without a properly conducted power quality measurements, it is not possible to know the exact power quality status of an industrial or commercial facility. However, poor power quality in an industrial plant can manifest itself with various kind of symptoms such as:
- Premature ageing or breakage of capacitors and electronic cards
- Excessive heating of transformers, motors and wires (phases as well as neutral)
- Excessive vibration of motors and noise from the transformer
- Flickering of light and nuisance tripping
- Measuring and control devices acting inaccurately and unpredictably
- Difficult synchronization and overloading of generators
When a customer faces one or more of the symptoms described above, it is highly recommended to perform a power quality audit at the facility.
Furthermore, power quality audits are also performed for facilities or utilities when there is a need to check the compliance with applicable standards, as IEEE 519, G5/4, EN 50160 and also other power quality standards and recommendations. These power quality measurements are typically performed in facilities with significantly large number of non-linear or dynamic loads, wind or solar farms, large electrical motors and electric arc furnaces. The objective of these studies is to determine the impact of these loads on the feeding network, and to propose mitigation solutions to minimize their impact.
Power quality measurement process typically begins by forming an understanding of the electrical system as well as types and behavior of the installed loads. An offer is made to the customer based on the system that is to be measured. Once measurement plan is agreed, Merus’s service team member or an authorized partner will make a plant visit and install the power quality meter on the selected nodes for an agreed time period and start recording various power quality parameters.
A comprehensive power quality report is prepared based on the measurement data, which shows the results and benchmarks different power quality parameters of the plant, against the limits in applicable standard for the region or applications. The reports are reviewed together with the customer and at the same time the possible mitigation solutions are also recommended.
