Consumption and power quality

Consumption and power quality are essential to prolonging the useful life of your installation, avoiding production outages and indirect costs.

The use of devices to convert current from AC to DC has spread to industrial applications. The appearance of this type of technology has brought with it significant advances in the industry, improving industrial production and control systems. However, this technology is a source of harmonics that can directly affect consumption quality in your installation.

Poor power quality can directly affect the proper operation of industry. One of the most relevant aspects to assess is the voltage level delivered, as this directly affects the correct functioning of production loads and systems. Poor quality in this regard leads to a direct reduction in productivity rates and increases the indirect costs associated with production.

Discover all our solutions to improve consumption quality and identify any problem caused by poor power quality.

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Consumption quality

Avoid the problems caused by harmonics

Reduce the presence of harmonics in your installation by installing active filters, and prevent production outages or any problems involving your loads, thus enhancing the efficiency of your installation.

Active filters AFQm
Power quality

Analyze the power quality of your installation

Record the quality of the power supplied by the electric company and detect any incidents related to the voltage level supplied to ensure the proper operation of your production processes, as per the IEC 61000-4-30 and EN 50160 standards.

Power quality analyzers
Consumption quality

Avoid the problems caused by harmonics

The use of devices to convert current from AC to DC has spread to industrial applications. The industry has become a regular user of this type of solution for applications such as variable speed and frequency drives, automation and control systems, HVAC machinery, cold storage rooms, forklifts, pumping systems, LED lighting and, nowadays, electric vehicle charging systems. This technology is a source of harmonics that causes a number of problems in industrial facilities.

These harmonics are circulating currents that are multiples of the base 50- or 60-Hz current, which can cause a series of issues in the electrical installation itself.

The most common effects they produce in industrial facilities are:

- Overheating of conductors, transformers and motors, affecting their performance.
- Trips of protective devices, causing unwanted outages.
- Degradation of insulation in equipment and wiring, leading to premature ageing.
- Damage to circuit boards or communications interference, affecting the production rate.

The installation of active filters solves the problems resulting from harmonic currents. This type of technology uses power electronics to inject currents upstream of the installation that are out of phase with the various harmonics that are measured in real time, thus mitigating their effects.

If the problem is caused by one or more loads connected in the same switchboard, the active filter would be installed just before this point, avoiding the circulation of harmful harmonics upstream and their adverse effects on the switchboard, protecting the rest of the installation.

Active filters AFQm
Industry

Poor power quality directly affects your productivity rates, whether due to service outages or broken or malfunctioning electronic components.

Power quality

Set up your installation to prevent service outages

If the utility supplies poor voltage quality, this can directly affect the proper operation of a facility. One of the most relevant aspects to assess is the voltage level delivered, as this directly affects the correct functioning of production loads and systems. Poor voltage quality leads to a direct reduction in productivity rates and increases the indirect costs associated with production.

The distance between your installation and the transformer station can be a handicap in terms of the voltage level supplied. Installations located very close to the substation can be affected by sustained high voltages, which can damage your electronic equipment. However, installations far from the substation may be affected by constant low voltage, which can cause production systems to shut down and reset. These two aspects negatively affect production rates and increase manufacturing costs.

Another interesting point to evaluate is the impact of a power quality event, such as overvoltages, dips or interruptions. These events are defined as one-time faults caused by a problem in the distribution grid.

Circutor has a wide range of both fixed and portable power quality analyzers for detecting and recording power quality and transient events.

You can use this information to draw conclusions on the quality of the voltage in your installation and mitigate its impact or solve any problems resulting from poor power quality.

Power quality analyzers

REGULATIONS

EN 50160

By installing power quality analyzers, you can prepare statistical reports, normally based on the EN 50160 quality standard, to ensure that the quality of the waveform supplied by the electric company complies with the minimum requirements. This way, you can be sure that the electric supply will always meet the quality standards, and not affect the performance of the installation.

IEC 61000-4-30

By installing power quality analyzers, you can identify sporadic quality events, as defined in IEC 61000-4-30, such as overvoltages, dips or interruptions, and quantify the type of event and its duration. You can use these devices to implement solutions that can mitigate the impact of poor power quality on production, as well as file claims with insurance companies for any associated damage.