Harmonic filtering
Harmonics have a negative effect on the life of machines and equipment, household appliances, cables and power lines, motors or transformers. The neutral conductor and the protective conductor can also be heavily overloaded by harmonic currents.
Harmonics are created by so-called “non-linear” loads, such as electronic speed controllers, inverters, LED lighting, welding machines, etc., which distort the sinusoidal electric current.
Our harmonic filtering solutions
Harmonic filtering solutions are selected and sized with consideration to existing reactive energy compensation, where harmonic distortion can be significantly amplified.
The solutions adopted can be very different, depending on the case:
Filtering at the global level (at the head of the installation)
- Active filters to “process” a wide range of frequencies
- LC type passive filters connected to a specific frequency
- Untuned passive filters. These are reactive energy compensation batteries equipped with anti-harmonic chokes “tuned” to intermediate frequencies. This solution is used when the resonance phenomenon is present.
- Grouping of pollutant loads at the same outlet
- Use of transformers with a specific coupling
Local filtering
- Active filters connected in parallel to the terminals of the large polluting loads
- Passive LCL filters upstream of high power static converters
- Line inductances in series with polluting loads, especially static converters,
- Etc.
Economic impact of disturbances due to harmonics
Harmonics have an important economic impact:
- Premature aging of equipment leads to earlier replacement, unless initially oversized
- The network overloads force to increase the subscribed power, and imply, unless the installations are oversized, additional losses
- Current distortions causing nuisance tripping and shutdown of production facilities
Benefits of Harmonic Filtering
- Increases the life of transformers by reducing excessive heating due to iron losses caused by the flow of harmonic currents
- Increases the life of motors and generators by reducing excessive heating and vibration causing premature bearing fatigue
- Improves the power factor of the installation and allows energy savings thanks to the reduction of the effective current (RMS) and thus of the joule losses in the installation
- Improves continuity of service by avoiding unwanted tripping of circuit breakers and differential protections
- Preserves cable life, avoids overloads in phase, neutral and protective conductors (PEN) by reducing the current flowing through them and improving the “skin thickness
- Prevents breakdowns and malfunctions of electronic and telecom devices by reducing noise and interference due to harmonic currents
- the material
Our approach
Thanks to an expertise acquired after several years spent helping industrial customers and building managers to fight against the scourge of harmonics, ELEXPERT is able to take charge of your problem whatever its level of complexity. And with the support of our partners, we are able to provide the best solutions at the best possible cost.
The realization of a study of compensation and filtering of harmonics (code SE-RH003) is an essential prerequisite to the design of the appropriate solution of harmonic filtering. An estimate is then given to you, which if accepted, gives rise to the turnkey realization of the solution, with a total commitment on our part on the result.