A single-point approach based on nonactive power factor for the assessment of harmonic distortion sources in power systems

This paper presents a study on the use of power factor indicators for the assessment of harmonic distortion sources in power systems. In detail the analysis is focused on the comparison between the proposed nonactive power factor (Q1/N) and the indicators of the IEEE Std. 1459-2010, and on the indicators feasibility in identifying the presence of harmonic distortion sources. As discussed in the paper, the proposed indicator can be evaluated with good accuracy, by means of typical power quantities measurements at the point of common coupling (PCC). Thus its measurement can be feasibly implemented in commercial platforms used for smart metering applications. To verify the proposal validity, some simulations were carried out on a benchmark test system recently proposed in literature, where the impact of capacitor banks for reactive power compensation is taken into account.

I. Introduction

The evaluation of harmonic emission levels is a topic of primary importance for electrical systems, where the distortion rate is progressively increasing due to the presence of non-linear loads. As consequence, it is important to define not only methods for quantifying harmonic distortion levels, but also methods that provide information about the location of disturbance sources. This assumes considerable importance not only for the aspects related to power quality, but also for the possible attribution of billing responsibilities for the presence of disturbances between the energy producer and the final customer [1], [2].