A metrological comparison between different methods for harmonic pollution metering

Several proposals can be found, in literature, to split the responsibility for the injection of harmonic pollution between the different loads and between loads and source. The methods have been tested mainly by means of simulations performed on an industrial test system identified by the IEEE Task Force on Harmonic modeling and simulation. The main problem of simulation results is that they tend to disregard measurement uncertainty that, if not properly considered, might lead to an incorrect, or even impossible assessment of responsibility. This paper is therefore aimed at comparing the different available methods from a metrological point of view, in order to provide a wider and more complete basis for evaluating their performances.

I. introduction

The diffusion and power of distorting electrical loads has constantly increased over the last decades, due to the high flexibility and efficiency of power electronics. A further diffusion is expected in the future, in the new smart-grid scenario, based on distributed generation, where almost every load can become virtually a generator.