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Carelabs

IEEE 1584 · Engineering

Harmonic Study & Analysis

Carelabs delivers harmonic study and analysis for industrial and commercial facilities across Greece, measuring total harmonic distortion with a harmonics analyser and modelling system impedance versus frequency to identify resonance risk. Where levels exceed applicable limits, we recommend mitigation — harmonic filters, relocated power-factor correction capacitance, or higher-pulse-number rectifiers — and verify compliance with ELOT HD 384.

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Choosing the right remedy

There are five common ways to treat harmonic distortion and they are not interchangeable. Fitting the wrong one is expensive, ineffective, and occasionally makes the problem worse.

What We Deliver

Line reactors and DC link chokes

Fitted at the drive, these reduce injected current at source. The cheapest option where a small number of identified drives are responsible, and usually the first thing to assess, because treating emission at origin avoids filtering the whole busbar.

WHY IT MATTERS

The filter that solved nothing

Mitigation fitted without measurement is a guess with hardware attached. A tuned filter aimed at the wrong order, or a capacitor bank added to a resonant network, spends capital and leaves the original failures continuing.

  • Measurement taken before any recommendation, since the correct remedy depends on which orders are present and where they originate.
  • A frequency scan of the modelled network performed before any capacitive device is recommended, because adding capacitance to a resonant system amplifies distortion.
  • Attribution established by feeder, so treatment is directed at responsible loads instead of applied across the whole installation.
  • Load stability assessed, since a passive filter suits a steady spectrum while a varying load profile generally requires an active solution.
  • Future load changes considered, because a filter tuned to the present installation can be undermined by the next production line.
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DELIVERABLES

What you receive

Issued against ELOT HD 384 and the applicable distortion limits, with the measurement basis and any uncertainty stated.

  1. 1Measured voltage and current distortion with the full harmonic spectrum
  2. 2Attribution by feeder showing which loads produce which orders
  3. 3Frequency scan identifying resonance points and the margin to each
  4. 4A comparison of mitigation options, each with what it addresses and what it does not
  5. 5A recommended solution with the expected resulting distortion stated
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How the study runs

01

Establish the problem

We agree whether the work is establishing a compliance position, resolving recurring failures, or clearing a planned load addition before purchase.

02

Measure before recommending

Distortion is recorded at the point of supply and at feeders, over a period covering real operation rather than a convenient window.

03

Model and scan

The network is built in ETAP and a frequency scan locates resonance, which determines which remedies are safe and which would worsen the situation.

04

Attribute the emission

The spectrum at each feeder identifies responsible loads, which decides whether treatment belongs at source or at the busbar.

05

Compare the options

Candidate remedies are evaluated against the measured spectrum and the load profile, with the expected result of each stated rather than asserted.

06

Recommend and specify

A solution is recommended with its expected performance, its limitations, and what would undermine it if the installation changes later.

Frequently asked questions

Line reactors or DC link chokes at the drives responsible, where emission from a small number of identified loads is the problem. Treating distortion at source is almost always cheaper than filtering an entire busbar. Where resonance rather than emission is the issue, detuning reactors on the existing capacitor bank are cheaper still.
Not necessarily. A passive filter is tuned to a specific order and assumes a reasonably stable load profile. Adding production capacity changes the spectrum and the network impedance, which can leave the filter ineffective or drawing harmonic current from elsewhere on the network. Planned growth should be modelled before a passive solution is selected.
Not without modelling first. Capacitors present low impedance at harmonic frequencies and form a resonant circuit with the supply transformer. Adding capacitance to a network that already has distortion can move the resonant point onto an order you produce, which amplifies the problem and destroys the capacitors.
That is a useful and reasonably common result. It prevents spending on mitigation that would have achieved nothing and redirects the investigation toward the real cause of the recurring fault, which is frequently a protection setting, an equipment immunity limitation or a mechanical issue.

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