Harmonic Survey

A Harmonic survey from IDS is designed to establish if your site is experiencing harmonic distortion and from there compile solutions to counter these damaging voltage sine wave distortions.

Harmonic SurveyThe signs you may need a harmonic survey

  • Lights flickering or failure
  • Insulation failure
  • PC Monitors and TV Screens strobe effect and power supply failure
  • Circuit breaker tripping
  • Motor torque pulsations
  • Conductors overheat
  • Capacitor failure
  • Fuse Ruptures
  • Generator network voltage distortion
  • Linear devices to draw nonlinear current
  • Capacitor dielectric failure
  • Microprocessor equipment failure
  • Power factor reduction

 

Why you need a Harmonic Survey

Energy Networks Association Document G5/4-1 2005, details the maximum levels of harmonic distortion that electricity consumers (that includes commercial and industrial users) are permitted to export onto the distribution network. Adding non-linear loads causes quality deterioration. To comply with this legislation a harmonic survey should be conducted and distortions rectified.

What is an IDS Harmonic Survey

We attend your site and monitor for a period of a week, the quality of the mains where it is connected to the rest of the network. From this monitoring we produce an in-depth Harmonic Distortion report – you can see an example of a harmonic survey here as you can see the report also includes an action plan.

How to solve Harmonic Distortions

Whilst reducing energy consumption inverters can cause harmonic distortion, however there are solutions we can suggest mitigating the effects:

  • Fitting of low harmonics inverters rather than the standard ones.
  • Addition of power quality filters (PQFs) which monitor and cancel out unwanted harmonics.

 

Harmonics can be reduced at source. IDS supply and install low harmonic drives which reduces the harmonics produced to practically zero.

If this is impractical, then we can fit Active Filters. These Filters measure the harmonics on a system and ‘squirt in’ anti-phase currents at the correct harmonic frequency to cancel out the harmonics, working in a similar manner to noise cancelling headphones.

How to book a Harmonic Survey

A harmonic survey can be booked by completing the form below, or by contacting us on 0115 944 1036 or emailing [email protected]