Electric Distribution Systems, similar to any power or energy distribution system – water, compressed air, natural gas – are subject to a variety of loading and usage conditions. The more complex and dynamic these conditions are, the more the system undergoes fluctuations and deviations from optimally designed quantity and quality of the power being supplied to loads which require it. There are many factors which lead to inefficiencies and poor power quality within electric distribution systems and attached loads.
Motors experiencing high variability and suddenly changing work loads require highly variable or sudden amounts of reactive power. Digital devices and controls, ubiquitous in today’s networks, cause harmonics and other distortions in both current and voltage. Voltage levels sagging below or swelling above the recommended tolerances around the nominally specified supply voltage cause motor load stress, inadequate torque, and distribution losses; transients of various characteristics, voltage and current imbalance across phases, and the like, can be extremely damaging to VFDs, slow-starts, and other dogotal controls and components, increasing downtime and repair costs.
Our Power Quality (PQ) Solutions are a class of single-point-in-network solutions rectifying all of these behaviors in real time. The many sophisticated aspects of these PQ Enhancement solutions can be found through the links below. The fundamental technique is based upon the principals of VAR Volt Optimization. Combined with VVAR are extremely rapid response times; electronic thyristor based component switching; and other techniques are integrated into this state of the art solution, all of which allow a facility to realize significant dollar savings in terms of energy consumption and demand.
Additionally there are myriad operational benefits – increased production capability; reduced expenditure on maintenance/repair; decrease in unplanned down time and failures; longer equipment life; cooler operation throughout the plant.
A photo of a custom designed, real time Power Quality
solution.
Contact Us to learn more details about inefficiencies in electric distribution networks and attached load operation. This powerful technology for rectifying often substantially overlooked power losses and inconsistencies will vastly improve power quality in your system, rectifying a host of electrical parameters in real time and
As just one illustration of the many ways in which poor power quality adversely affects performance, we consider voltage imbalance across the phases in your distribution system, a fairly common phenomenon –
An important effect of voltage and current unbalance is motor damage from excessive heat. Voltage unbalance can create a current unbalance 6 to 10 times the magnitude of voltage unbalance. This current unbalance creates heat in the motor windings that breaks down motor insulation causing cumulative and permanent damage to the motor. The figure below shows the percentage of temperature rise as related to the voltage unbalance. The relationship is exponential, and approximately increases by twice the square of the percent of voltage unbalance. Increased current also causes increased distribution losses, motor inefficiency since a proportion of the current will be ineffective, and the like.
