Power Quality Fundamentals and Monitoring

Ross M. Ignall
Systems Applications Manager,
Dranetz-BMI
rignall@dranetz-bmi.com
 What We Will Cover…

- Defining Power Quality and Reliability

- PQ References & Fundamentals

- Monitoring, Measuring High Reliability

Facilities

- Case Studies
 WPT
Power
Monitoring
Hardware
Devices
•measure and
monitor power
Data Software and
Acquisition Consulting
Devices Services
•measures •power quality and
physical processes distributed generation

Aggregation of
Distributed
Generation
•load curtailment
of power sales
Defining Power Quality & Reliability
What is a Power Quality Problem?

“Any occurrence manifested in voltage,

current, or frequency deviations that

results in failure or mis-operation

of end-use equipment.”
 What Does That Mean?

Given the quality of supply do I have

to worry about problems with my

equipment or systems?

It’s dependant on your susceptibility.

What You Should Be Asking…

What is my susceptibility
to power problems?

What is my economic exposure

to such problems?

$$$$
Types Of Power Quality Problems

Voltage
Swells Spikes
29% 8%

Interruptions
3%

Voltage
Sags
60%
 Who’s Problem Is It?

Customer’s Perspective*

Neighbor
8% Other
3%
Customer 12%

Utility Natural
17% 60%

* Georgia Power Survey

 Who’s Problem Is It?

Utility Perspective*
Neighbor
Customer
8% Other
25%
0%

Utility Natural
1% 66%

* Georgia Power Survey

 The Big Picture

It’s the complete

electrical environment,
not just the
quality of supply
What You Should Be Asking…

Does my power system have the

capacity for my present needs?

How about future growth?

Be Proactive!
 An Analogy…

“Just because I have blank checks

doesn’t mean that I have money in
the bank to cash them”
Ron Rainville, COO, US Data Centers
Some Factoids
 Power Quality Factoids

$50 billion per year in the USA is lost as a result of power

quality breakdown.
SOURCE: EPRI, 2000

Half of all computer problems and one-third of all data loss can
be traced back to the power line.
SOURCE: Contingency Planning Research, LAN Times

Sandia National Laboratories estimates power quality and

reliability problems cost US businesses approx. $150 billion
annually in lost data, materials and productivity—60% are sags

In 1999, the amount lost as a result of power quality in the US

was five times the amount spent on power quality worldwide
…The data center houses 45,000 square-feet of computer floor
space. In one database, the company has consolidated $1.6
trillion of life insurance information.
Energy Decisions, June 2001

During power supply shortages, utilities are generally permitted

to have line voltage reductions, so-called “brown outs,” to cope
with seasonal power demands…But if equipment is already
operating on the low end of nominal voltage then the brown-out
may cause excessive heat dissipation in motors and electronic
equipment.
Building Operation and Management, May 2000
 Power Density Factoids

Traditional data center or large office building – 20-30 W/sq. ft.,

Internet Data Center, on-line brokers, web hosts – 100-150
W/sq. ft.

A web-enabled Palm Pilot requires as much electricity as a

refrigerator
Mark Mills

Transformation: Former 16 story Macy’s building used to

consume 10 W/sq. ft. Now a telecommunications hotel that
according to the utility could require 50 W/sq. ft.
NY Times, July 3, 2000
 Costly Downtime!

Industry Avg cost of downtime ($/hr)

Brokerage $6,450,000
Credit Card $2,600,000
Pay Per View $150,000
Home Shopping $113,000
Catalog Sales $90,000
Airline Reservations $90,000
Tele-Ticket $69,000
Package Shipping $28,000
ATM Fees $14,400

Source: 7x24 Exchange

Introduction to Power
Quality
 Power Grid Review

L
O
A
D
DISTRIBUTION
GENERATOR 34.5k-138kV
13.8kV-24kV 4k-34.5kV
TRANSMISSION 12,470Y/7200V CONSUMER
115k-765kV 4160Y/2400
480Y/277V
208Y/120V
240/120V
 Generation

 50/60hz ‘Pure’ Sine Wave

 Various Voltages

 Types

 Chemical
 Mechanical
 Nuclear
 Solar
 Transmission

 Those big towers

 Voltage High

 Current Small

 Efficiency of Transmission

Power Delivered to the Load

Power Supplied From Generator
 Distribution

 Typically 13kV
 Commercial/Industrial - Three Phase, 480/277V

 Residential - Split Phase

480V
13kV 480V
480V
Single Phase Circuit Diagram

Is V line
L
O
A
Vn D
Can Wiring and Grounding Affect
Power Quality?

“That’s one of the things about living in an old

house that drives me nuts. Never enough outlets!”
ACTUAL SINGLE PHASE CIRCUIT DIAGRAM

Vpcc Is Vdp V line

L
L1 R1 L2 R2 O
A
l n2 I n1 Vn D
L3 R3 L4 R4
Vg

L5 R5 L6 R6

I g2 l g1
 Sources Of Power Problems

Referenced at the utility PCC (point of common

coupling)

Utility
 lightning, PF correction caps, faults,
switching, other customers

Internal to the facility

 individual load characteristics
 wiring
 changing loads
 Power Quality
References & Terms
 IEEE Standards Coordinating
Committee

• SCC-22
• Oversees development of all PQ standards in the
IEEE
• Meet at both Summer and Winter Power
Engineering Society meetings
• Coordinate standards activities
• Progress reports
• Avoid overlap and conflicts
• Sponsors task forces to develop standards
 1433 Task Force to pull together terms. IEEE & IEC
IEEE Standard 1159-1995

Definition of Terms
Monitoring Objectives
Instruments
Applications
Thresholds
Interpreting Results
 IEEE 1159

• 1159.x Task Force

 Data Acquisition & Recorder Requirements for 1159-1995
 Combination of 1159.1 & 1159.2
 Coordination with IEC standards (61000-4-30 and revisions)
 New recommended practice to be developed by July 2001
• 1159.3 Task Force
 Power Quality Data Interchange Format (PQDIF)
 Format for the exchange of PQ and other information between
applications
 Developed by Electrotek Concepts
 IEEE 519-1992

 Recommended Practice For Harmonics

 Recommends Limits at the PCC
 Voltage Harmonics
 Current Harmonics
 Ongoing work to modify IEEE 519-1992
 Limits for within a facility
 Frequency dependant
 International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC)

 International standards for all electrical, electronic and

related technologies.
 IEC Study Committee 77A – Electromagnetic
Compatibility, presently 5 Working groups
 SC77A/WG 1: Harmonics and other low-frequency

disturbances
 SC77A/WG 2 : Voltage fluctuations and other low-

frequency disturbances
 SC77A/WG 6 : Low frequency immunity tests

 SC77A/WG 8: Electromagnetic interference related

to the network frequency

 SC77A/WG 9: Power Quality measurement

methods
Types Of Power Quality Disturbances
(as per IEEE 1159)

Transients
RMS Variations
Short Duration Variations
Long Duration Variations
Sustained
Waveform Distortion
DC Offset
Harmonics
Interharmonics
Notching
Voltage Fluctuations
Power Frequency Variations
 Transient Characteristics

High frequency "event"

 also called Spike, Impulse
 Rise time (dv/dt)
 Ring frequency
 Point-on-wave
 Relative versus Absolute amplitude
 Multiple zero crossings
 Transients

Unipolar Bipolar Oscillatory

Positive Notching
200

100

-100

-200
Negative Multiple Zero Crossings
 Transients


Possible Causes Possible Effects

• PF cap energization • Data corruption

• Lightning • Equipment damage

• Loose connection • Data transmission errors

• Load or source switching • Intermittent equipment operation

• RF burst • Reduced equipment life

• Irreproducible problems
 Power Factor Correction Capacitor Transient

A transient power quality event has occurred on DataNode H09_5530. The

event occurred at 10-16-2001 05:03:36 on phase A. Characteristics were
Mag = 478.V (1.22pu), Max Deviation (Peak-to-Peak) = 271.V (0.69pu),
Dur = 0.006 s (0.35 cyc.), Frequency = 1,568. Hz, Category = 3 Upstream
Capacitor Switching
 RMS Voltage Variations

 Instantaneous (0.5 - 30 cycles)

 Sag (0.1 - 0.9 pu)
 Swell (1.1 - 1.8 pu)

 Momentary (30 cycles - 3 sec)

 Interruption (< 0.1 pu, 0.5 cycles - 3s)
 Sag
 Swell

 Temporary (3 sec - 1 minute)

 RMS Voltage Variations

Sag Swell Interruption

200

150

100

50

-50

-100

-150

-200
 SAG
SOURCE GENERATED

 DURATION
 fault clearing schemes
 may be series of sags (3-4)

 MAGNITUDE
 distance from source
 feeder topology
 cause

 LOAD CURRENT
 usually slightly higher, decrease,
 or zero
 PQ Rule

For a source generated Sag, the current

usually decreases or goes to zero
 PQ Rule

For a source generated Sag, the current

usually decreases or goes to zero
 SAG
LOAD GENERATED

 DURATION
 type & size of load
 usually single event per device

 MAGNITUDE
 type & size of load
 wiring & source impedance

 LOAD CURRENT
 usually significantly higher
 PQ Rule
For a load generated Sag, the current
usually increases significantly.
4000

3000

2000

1000
Volts

-1000

-2000

-3000

-4000
2000

1500

1000

500

0
Amps

-500

-1000

-1500

-2000

-2500
12:09:54.40 12:09:54.45 12:09:54.50 12:09:54.55 12:09:54.60 12:09:54.65
CH A Vo lts CH B Vo lts CH C Vo lts CH D Vo lts CH A A m ps CH B A m ps CH C A m ps
CH D A m ps

09/24/00 12:09:54Threshold crossed: 2280.0 V

CATEGORY: Short Duration Momentary Sag
Magnitude: 2160.0 V
Duration: 2.901 sec.
 Motor Starting - Another Cause of Sags
Timeplot Chart
Volts Amps
222.5 900
Min Max Median
CHA Vrms 206.11 222.25 219.19
CHA Irms 1.40 847.71 207.16

800
220.0

700

217.5

600

215.0
500

400
212.5

300

210.0

200

207.5
100

205.0 0
09:49:00.5 09:49:01.0 09:49:01.5 09:49:02.0 09:49:02.5 09:49:03.0 09:49:03.5 09:49:04.0
CHA Vrms CHA Irms

09/13/96 09:49:00.50 - 09/13/96 09:49:04.00

 Motor Starting – Inrush Current with decay
Waveforms
Vo lts Amps
400 1500

300
1000

200

500

100

0
0

-100
-500

-200

-1000

-300

-1500
-400

-500 -2000
09:49:00.8 09:49:01.0 09:49:01.2 09:49:01.4 09:49:01.6 09:49:01.8 09:49:02.0 09:49:02.2
CHA Vo lts CHA Amps

AI RMS Norm to Hi at 09/13/96 09:49:00.967

 SWELLS

 Sudden change in load

 Line-to-ground fault on another phase

 Often precede a sag

 SWELLS when Load Drops Off
750

500

250
Volts

-250

-500

-750
3000

2000

1000
Amps

-1000

-2000

-3000
14:44:04.20 14:44:04.25 14:44:04.30 14:44:04.35 14:44:04.40 14:44:04.45 14:44:04.50
CH A Vo lts CH B Vo lts CH C Vo lts CH D Vo lts CH A A m ps CH B A m ps
CH C A m ps CH D A m ps
 Voltage Variations Sags/Swells

Possible Causes
 Possible Effects
• Sudden change in load current • Process interruption
• Fault on feeder • Data loss
• Fault on parallel feeder • Data transmission errors
• PLC or computer misoperation
• Damaged Product
 Magnitude & Duration Visualization

• CBEMA
• ITIC
• Equipment Susceptibility
• 3-D Mag-Dur
• DISDIP
IEEE 446 - 1995 Limits
Information Technology Industry Council (ITIC) Curve
 Another Use of ITIC Curve
but vendor had tighter tolerances for outputs
Another Perspective – 3D Mag-Dur Histogram
 Frequency

• Usually not the utility

• Sources of frequency problems
 Co-gen
 UPS
 Engine generator systems
• Clocks run fast 11 12 1
10 2
9 3
8 4
7 6 5
 Harmonics

Event waveform/detail Event waveform/detail

Amps % o f FND
4
250

200
2

1
150

-1
100

-2

50

-3

-4 0
11:19:27.84 11:19:27.86 11:19:27.88 11:19:27.90 11:19:27.92 11:19:27.94
Thd H02 H04 H06 H08 H10 H12 H14 H16
CHD Amps
CH D Am ps

Waveform event at 10/14/93 11:19:27.75

Total RMS: 1.44 Amps

DC Level : -0.04 Amps
Fundamental(H1) RMS: 0.48 Amps
Total Harmonic Distortion (H02-H50): 246.72 % of FND
Even contribution (H02-H50): 73.96 % of FND
Odd contribution (H03-H49): 235.38 % of FND

Waveform event at 10/14/93 11:19:27.75

 What is a harmonic?

An integer multiple of the

fundamental frequency
Fundamental (1st harmonic) = 60hz
2nd = 120hz
3rd = 180hz
4th = 240hz
5th = 300hz
…
Linear Voltage / Current
No Harmonic Content

voltage

current
Non-Linear Voltage / Current
Harmonic Content

voltage

current
 NEC 1996: Non - Linear Load

"A load where the waveshape of the

steady-state current does not follow the
waveshape of the applied voltage."
voltage

current
 Harmonics

Steady state distortion

Periodic or continuous in nature
 IEEE-519-1992 / US harmonics
 IEC 61000-3-2&3 European harmonic limits
Transformer Magnetizing Current

1.50

1.00

0.50

Amps 0.00

-0.50

-1.00

-1.50
0.02 0.03 0.05 0.07 0.08
Time (Sec)
 Harmonic Measurements

Total Harmonic Distortion (THD)

 Ratio, expressed as % of sum of all harmonics to:
 Fundamental (THD)
 Total RMS
 Load Current (I TDD only)
Individual Harmonics
 2, 3, 4, 5, 6…50+
 Fourier Transform, FFT, DFT
Interharmonics
 Content between integer harmonics
 Composite Waveform
Event waveform/detail
Vo lts
50000

40000

30000

20000

10000

-10000

-20000

-30000

-40000

-50000
05:35:31.26 05:35:31.28 05:35:31.30 05:35:31.32 05:35:31.34 05:35:31.36 05:35:31.38 05:35:31.40
CH A Vo lts
 Harmonic Spectrum
Event waveform/detail
% o f FND
12.5

10.0

7.5

5.0

2.5

0.0
Thd H05 H10 H15 H20 H25 H30
CH A Vo lts

T otal RMS: 24882.56 Volts

DC Lev el : 880.46 Volts
Fundamental(H1) RMS: 24725.89 Volts
T otal Harmonic Distortion (H02-H50): 10.60 % of FND
Ev en contribution (H02-H50): 7.97 % of FND
Odd contribution (H03-H49): 6.99 % of FND
 PQ Rule

Even harmonics usually do not appear

in a properly operating power system.

Symmetry
Positive & Negative halves the same:
Only odd harmonics.
If they are different: Even & Odd
harmonics
 Harmonics (sustained)

Possible Causes
 Possible Effects
• Rectified inputs of • Overload of neutral conductors
power supplies • Overload of power sources
• Non-symmetrical current
• Low power factor
• Intermittent electrical noise
• Reduced ride-through
from loose connections
Electronic Loads Cause Excessive Neutral Currents

Electronic
Loads
Phase A (50 Amps)

Phase B (50 Amps)

Phase C (57 Amps)

Neutral (82 Amps)

Additive Triplen Harmonics
 Equipment Susceptibility

 Least Susceptible
 Electrical Heating
 Oven
 Furnaces
 Most Susceptible
 Communications
 Data Processing
 Zero crossing Clock Circuits
 Transformers, Motors, other inductive loads
 IEEE 519 Harmonic Limits

Limits depend on ratio of Short Circuit

Current (SCC) at PCC to average Load
Current of maximum demand over 1 year

For example,
 Isc/IL < 20, odd harm <11 = 4.0%
 Isc/IL 20<50, odd harm < 11 = 7.0%
 Isc/IL >1000, odd harm > 35 = 1.4%
 IEEE 519 Harmonic Limits

 Voltage Harmonic Limits depend on Bus V

 For example,
 69Kv and below, ind. harm = 3.0%
 69Kv and below, THD= 5.0%

 161kv and above, ind.harm = 1.0%

 161kv and above, THD = 1.5%
 Harmonics Demo Tool
150

100

50

-50

-100

-150
0 50 100 150 200 250
CH A CH B CH C Neutral
 Voltage Unbalance

 Several ways to calculate

 Small unbalance can cause motor
overheating (3% results in 10% derating)
 Caused by
 Unequal loading
 Unequal source impedance
 Unequal source voltage
 Unbalanced fault
Voltage Fluctuation
 Voltage Fluctuation

 Amplitude variation 1-30 Hz

 Extent of light flicker depends on
 type of lights
 amplitude and frequency of variation
 person's perception
 Typical causes
 High current loads, like arc furnaces
 Windmill-generated power
 Voltage Flicker
Timeplot

3.5

3.0

2.5

2.0

1.5

1.0

0.5

0.0
02/06/2002 02/08/2002 02/10/2002 02/12/2002 02/14/2002 02/16/2002 02/18/2002 02/20/2002
CHA VPst() CHB VPst() CHC VPst()

02/07/2002 00:05:00
How Many Can You Find?
 Suggested References
[1] Electrical Power Systems Quality, R.C. Dugan et al, McGraw-Hill,
1996

[2] Handbook of Power Signatures, BMI, 2nd Edition, 1993

[3] IEEE Standard 1159-1995, IEEE Recommended Practice for

Monitoring Electric Power Quality

[4] IEEE Standard 519-1992, IEEE Recommended Practices and

Requirements for Harmonic Control in Electrical Power Systems

[5] IEEE Standard 1250-1995, IEEE Guide for Service to Equipment

Sensitive to Momentary Voltage Disturbances

[6] IEEE Standard 446-1995, IEEE Recommended Practice for

Emergency and Standby Power Systems for Industrial and
Commercial Applications

[7] IEEE Standard 142-1991, IEEE Recommended Practice for

Grounding of Industrial and Commercial Power Systems

[8] Federal Information Processing Standards Publication (FIPS PUB

94) Guideline on Electrical Power for ADP Installations
Case Study

Laser Printer
TIMEPLOT - LINE VOLTAGE vrs NEUTRAL-GND VOLTAGE

Vl-n= 120 --> 108

45 seconds

Vn-g = 0 --> 6V
SAG when heater turns on

V l-n

I load

V n-g
Overlay Waveforms - Heater turn on
Current Waveform - heater on
 HARMONIC DISTORTION - heater on

2.3%

Harmonics V l-n

4.4%

Harmonics I load

Harmonics V n-g
Waveforms when heater turns off

V l-n

I load

V n-g
 Harmonic Distortion - Idle

2.3%

Harmonics V l-n

94%

Harmonics I load

Harmonics V n-g
Current With Printer Idle
 EQUIVALENT CIRCUIT

I Load
V Load
0.47 ohms
Source Impedance +
0.6A @ 121V 10.4A @ 117V

121 Vac Idle Load

202 ohms
Heater Load
11.9 ohms

+ -
V n-g
-
 OBSERVATIONS and PARAMETERS

 Nearly Sinusoidal Current

– Low Harmonic Distortion (4%)
 Voltage and Current In-phase
– Power Factor Near One
 Flat-topping of Voltage when Idle
 Corresponds with Current Pulse
 OBSERVATIONS and PARAMETERS

 Line Voltage Negative Transient on Turn on

– Corresponds with Vn-g Positive Transient
 Nearly Constant Repetition Rate
SIMILAR SITUATIONS

• Coffee Pot
• Coke Machine
• Heat Pump
Monitoring, Measuring & Managing
High Reliability Facilities
Why Monitor Your Electrical Supply?
 Paradigm Shift?

You may no longer be able to rely

on the utility to be your primary
source of power!

Be Prepared
Why Monitor Your Electrical Supply?

• Quality of supply is of paramount importance

• Huge investment in protection & mitigation is
not a guarantee!
• You have a high economic exposure
• Your facility is core to your business or maybe
is your business
• You already monitor other critical items
• Your electrical environment is just as important
• You need to balance your needs with available
supply
• Loading, cost allocation, etc
You May Already Monitor Your Facility

• Traditional Data Center

• Building Management Systems (BMS), Human
Machine Interface Software (HMI)
• Wonderware, Sitescan, ALC, Datatrax, etc
• Via Bacnet, Lonworks, Incomm, modbus, etc
• Internet Data Center
• Network Operations Center (NOC)
• HP Open View, etc
• Via SNMP
What You May Already Monitor

• Traditional Data Center

• UPS - On Bypass, other alarms
• Traditionally do not measure quality
• Sub Metering
• HVAC, Fire, Security

• Internet Data Center

• Network/System Health
• HVAC, Fire, Security

• Electrical Supply is often overlooked

• Quality of supply, Energy/cost allocation
• Power monitoring can interface with existing
systems for single point alarming, logging, etc…
Approaches to Power Monitoring

Reactive — Forensic, after the fact.

Proactive — Anticipate system dynamics

Be Proactive!
 Reactive Approach

• Problem Solving, hopefully you’ll find it!

• Portable instrumentation typically used

 Proactive Approach

• Permanently installed monitoring systems

• Anticipate the future – on-line when
trouble occurs

• Monitor system dynamics

• Preventive Maintenance, Trending, identify
equipment deterioration

Be Proactive!
 Power Quality vs. Power Flow

• Power Quality Monitoring - Quality of Supply

• Monitor for harmful disturbances, harmonics, etc
• Microsecond, Sub-Cycle Measurements
• In close accordance with IEEE 1159 & IEC

• Power Flow Monitoring - How much, cost, when & where?

• Energy & Demand, Measured over seconds
• Be Careful! False sense of security
• Blind to common PQ problems

Use a PQ instrument for PQ monitoring!

 Comprehensive Power Monitoring

• Combined Power Quality and Flow

• Monitor PQ at critical locations

• Utility service, UPS, PDU’s, loads
• Energy provided along with PQ

• Monitor Energy at less critical locations

& individual loads
• Loading
• Sub Metering
• Cost Allocation, etc…
 Emerging Technologies

• Reduced Cost

• Web monitoring
• Networked systems
• Native web access

• Maximize Assets
• Sharing of information among systems
and groups within the organization

• Expert Systems

• Enterprise Systems
• Pull together various separate systems
 Enterprise Systems

• Traditional Facilities
• Power monitoring system interfacing with
building management, HMI or other systems
• Notification, metering, trending
• OPC. Modbus, e-mail

• Internet Data Center

• Interface with Network Operations Center (NOC)
• Notification, metering, trending
• Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP)
 Expert Systems

• Reduced budgets means less people!

• Less expertise
• Analysis of Data in order to Identify Problems
• Automatic, no user intervention, results
embedded in data

• Identify certain disturbances and directivity.

• Upstream or downstream

• Answers Questions Such As…

• Was that Sag from the utility or within my facility?
 Expert Systems

• UPS Performance Verification

• Correlation of Input vs. Output
• Verify continued performance over time
• Proactively identify downstream problems
• Monitor UPS status via analog/contact inputs

• Remotely access UPS status signals

• Compare recorded data to UPS status
Expert Systems
 Expert Systems

Automatically Identifies the Transient as a Capacitor Switching

Operation
Where To Monitor?

• Utility Service Entrance

• Evaluate your energy provider
• Monitor redundant feeds

• UPS Output
• Is your UPS working as designed?
• Evaluates critical bus as problems could be
downstream

• PDU/Distribution
• Provides the ability to identify the source of a
problem. Why did that breaker trip?
• Loading/Cost allocation

• Actual loads
Case Study
DHL Airways Call Center

• Tempe AZ
• Services DHL customers nationwide
• Newly Constructed, went online in June 2000
• Toshiba 7000 Series UPS
• Three 300KVA parallel redundant units

• Facility manager has nationwide responsibilities

• Current Expansion Plans

 DHL Objectives

• Benchmark performance
• Ensure future reliability

• Easily troubleshoot any problems that may occur

• Automatic notification

• Remotely monitor over DHL network

• Since the facility is new and due to its critical

nature, monitoring approach was very proactive
 DHL Monitoring System

• Monitoring Points
• UPS Input (Utility Supply)
• UPS Output (Critical bus)
• Connected to DHL Intranet

• Dial-up modem connection

• Web browser access from anywhere within DHL

• Automatic E-mail notification

• Web browser access from anywhere with a dial-up

connection
 Known Problems?

• None!
• Facility operating as planned
• No Outages or other major
problems identified
• No UPS Alarms
 Utility Supply

50+ Disturbances in the first few months

UPS Output

No disturbances
Utility Monitoring Summary

• Uncovered problems with the utility supply

• 50+ disturbances recorded over a 2 month period.
• Sags, transients, waveshape distortion

• Results reported to the utility, they did not know

• Utility investigation
• Faulty relay caused the majority of the
disturbances. Corrected
UPS Output Monitoring Summary

• No disturbances on the conditioned UPS output

• Output regulated to within manufacturers

specifications

• UPS mitigated many disturbances on the utility feed

• Did what they paid for

• Justified the investment

 Conclusion

• Being proactive uncovered problems with the utility

supply that required correction

• Continuous monitoring proved power conditioning

equipment worked as design and to manufacturer’s
specifications. Protected loads were unaffected

• Provided justification to management for power

monitoring systems at other key facilities

• Load profiling helping to determine power requirements

of a planned expansion
Case Study
Major Financial Institution

• New York City

• Worldwide company with several facilities in NY
& NJ
• 3 UPS Modules
•2 static, 1 rotary
 Problem

• Utility Sag
• Damaged elevator controls
• No UPS alarms
• No reported problems with critical systems

02/19/2002 PMODULE Temporary Rms Voltage Mag = 366.V (0.76pu), Dur = 3.300 s, Category = 2, Upstream
00:29:29.26 INPUT Sag AB Sag

02/19/2002 Temporary Rms Voltage Mag = 353.V (0.73pu), Dur = 3.300 s, Category = 2, Upstream
SYSA Input
00:29:29.26 Sag AB Sag

02/19/2002 Temporary Rms Voltage Mag = 372.V (0.78pu), Dur = 3.300 s, Category = 2, Upstream
SYSB Input
00:29:29.26 Sag AB Sag
Utility Sag

Utility Supply RMS Trend

Utility Supply Waveforms

Corresponding UPS Swell

Utility Supply

UPS Swell
UPS Output
 Conclusion

• Utility sags damaged elevator controls.

• Corresponding UPS Swell coincident with Utility return
to normal.
• Cause of Swell being investigated…
• Possible effects of Swells:
• Damaged power supplies and other devices.
• Without monitoring would have never seen this. The
next time it could be worse.
Case Study
Federal Aviation Administration

Air Route Traffic Control Center

(ARTCC)
Monitoring System
 Simplified Air Traffic Flow

ARTCC ARTCC ARTCC

TRACON TRACON

Tower Tower

Your Flight
 FAA’s Objectives

• Monitor critical points throughout each ARTCC

• Determine present status of each ARTCC Facility
• Is the electrical supply operating within design
parameters?

• Catch problems before they occur

• Change approach from Reactive to Proactive

• Correlate power quality to status indicators, panel

meters, transfer switch positions, etc
 FAA’s Objectives

• Benchmark long term performance in order to

improve reliability

• Compare measured parameters to simulations

• Have web browser access from anywhere within the

FAA system
• Local ARTCC personnel
• OKC Airway Operational Support (AOS) personnel
Monitoring System

• Monitor 15 points for quality of supply & energy

• Utility Service
• Generators
• UPS’s
• Key distribution points
• Critical Power Centers

• In parallel monitor other data such as

• Transfer switch & breaker positions
• Panel meters
• Misc indicators

• Web based access to each site via intranet

 Initial Results

• Key points operating out of design specs

• Ex: Adjust transformer taps

• Routine maintenance not always performed

as per procedures

• Wiring inconsistent with drawings

Power Quality Fundamentals and Monitoring

Thank You!
Questions?
Ross M. Ignall
Systems Applications Manager,
Dranetz-BMI
rignall@dranetz-bmi.com