Power Quality

438-II

1
 Costs of poor power quality

• Lost production: Each time production is interrupted, your business

loses profit on product that is not manufactured and sold.
• Damaged product: Interruptions can damage a partially complete
product, causing the material to be re-run or scrapped.
• Energy cost: Electric utilities may charge penalties on poor power
factor or high peak demands.
• Maintenance: Premature equipment failures can tie up available
resources and incur cost, involving restoring production, diagnosing and
correcting the problem, clean up and repair.
• Environmental and safety costs: In some cases loss of power can
cause environmental damage or compromise life safety.
• Market impact: The costs of losing repeat sales, product recalls and
negative public relations can be significant, though hard to quantify.

2
Test meter certification
Is the meter independently verified or just
“designed to meet?”

3
Enhance Work Safety

Electrical Measurement Safety

IEC 61010 defines four Category locations
• CAT IV “Origin of installation” - Utility level
and any outside cable run
• CAT III Distribution wiring, including
“mains” bus, feeders and branch circuits;
permanently installed loads.
• CAT II Receptacle outlet circuit; plug-in
loads.
• CAT I Protected electronic circuits

4
Connecting to the power system
• Use appropriately-rated test equipment
Check the voltage and CAT rating of meters, analyzers,
clips, leads, and current clamps
• Wear appropriate personal protective
equipment (PPE)
Follow NFPA 70E guidelines for clothing / other PPE
• Connect to de-energized conductors
whenever possible.
Leave spare breakers for this purpose
• Avoid holding testers in your hands.
Set it up and set it down!
Use clips to secure voltage leads.
• Connect ground leads first
• Connect voltage probes to the load
(protected) side of breakers.

5
Common Facility Problems

Typical facility
Inside the building
problems:
• Loose connections
• Arcing connections
• Overloaded circuits
and transformers
• Unbalanced loads
• Harmonics caused by
modern electronics
• Illegal neutral to
ground bonds
• Ground loops
• Undersized or
shared neutrals

66
Technical lesson

Leading and lagging

Current is in phase with voltage
through a resistor

Current leads voltage through a

capacitor

Current lags voltage through an

inductor

77
You must know the wiring configuration to hook up to the system and
Transformer connections
measure power correctly

Single-phase systems

3-phase, 3-wire systems

3-phase, 4-wire systems

V
Wye (4-wire) voltages are usually measured C A C A
phase-to neutral.
Delta voltages are measured phase-to-phase. V

B B

88
What is electrical energy?
Power, kW
Rate at which ac energy is expended. Watts measure the
energy required to do actual work, such a running a motor.

Demand, kVA
Total voltage and current required from the utility,
regardless of its efficiency or whether it does actual work.

Power factor, PF
When a circuit operates at 100% efficiency, demand =
power. When power is less than demand, the difference,
kW/kVA, is power factor. PF below .95 is inefficient.

Harmonics and unbalance

Other causes of inefficient power usage

To measure power the way the utility bills for it,
a power measurement accounting for volts, amps, watts, and PF is necessary.
To increase efficiency, harmonics and unbalance should be also be assessed.
9
Energy logging: Why and where
Why: You need to map where your consumption is going
• Compare against utility meter/bills
• Evaluate peak demand and any power factor charges

Where: 160

1. Log power at main and

Total kW
140

secondary panels and

major loads
120

2. Record kW, kWh, and

Total ( kW)

100

power factor 80

3. Identify any peak

usage times (below) 60

4. Determine if usage can 40

3/5 4/5 5/5 6/5 7/5 8/5 9/5

be adjusted and how

else to reduce cost

10
Power Quality Issues

Voltage variations,
Dips/Swells
Interruptions

Transients

Harmonics

Frequency
variation
Unbalance

11
Common power disturbances

Symptoms
• Power outages
• Tripping circuit breakers and ASDs
• High utility bills
• Flickering lights
• Equipment running noisy and hot
• Premature equipment failure
• Poor performance & unexpected shutdowns
• Lost data in electronics

Causes
• Voltage dips & swells
• Transients
• Noise interference
• Harmonic distortion
• Under / over voltage or current
• Voltage unbalance

12
Power Quality Trends

• Proliferation of computers and other sensitive devices

• Substantial increase in energy costs
• Need to identify current and potential PQ issues before they get
out of hand
• Provide reliable information about PQ, energy demand and flow

LED Lighting UPS System Data Server Centrifugal Chillers

It saves money by reducing

downtime and equipment damage!
13
What are harmonics?

• In a normal ac power system,

voltage varies sinusoidal
• With non-linear loads such a
rectifiers and switches, the
current draw is not necessarily
sinusoidal
• The waveform is then complex
• The complex waveform can be
decomposed into individual
sinusoidal components
• These harmonic components
impact motors, transformers,
cabling and other electrical
components

14
Harmonics and distortion
Technical lesson

Harmonic currents or voltages are integer multiples of

the fundamental frequency.

Harmonic order F 3rd 5th 7th 9th

Frequency 60 180 300 420 540

15
 3rd Harmonics
• Harmonics are sinusoidal voltages or currents having frequencies that are
whole multiples of the fundamental frequency. Example: 3rd harmonics
frequency is 50Hz x 3 = 150Hz

3rd Harmonics are created

from Non-linear loads:

•Diodes
•Transistors
•Electric motors
•SMPSs (switch-mode
power supply)

• 3rd Harmonics currents are in-phase. They do not cancel out but add up on neutral conductor.
• Neutrals can carry as much current or more current than the phase conductor if there are
many non-linear loads such as inverter drives.
 Increased risk of fire & damaged conductors especially when adding machines, motors,
drives in facility.

16
What is the possible
problem?
L2 L3 N
L1

Temperature rise in neutral conductor.

Harmonic current skin effect accelerate overheating

Insulation
Area of Current Flow

Conductor
Identifying harmonics waste

Harmonics cause:
• unusable power, drawn from
utility but not converted to actual
work
• high current to flow in neutral
conductors
• motors and transformers to run
hot, decreasing efficiency and
shortening lifespan
• increased susceptibility to
voltage sags
• reduced transformer efficiency Power quality analyzers display a spectrum graph
— or, a larger unit is required to of harmonic components present in a system, but
the graph on its own does not quantify the amount
accommodate harmonics. of energy wasted by harmonics.

18
Technical lesson
Distorted waveforms
Harmonic frequencies combine with the fundamental to form distorted
voltage or current waveforms
Total Harmonic Distortion (THD) expresses contribution of all harmonics

a) A 212 A rms sine wave

at the fundamental
frequency

b) A 28 A rms sine wave

at the 3rd harmonic

Combination of (a) and

(b) resulting in a A spectrum display shows a
distorted waveshape breakdown of the components

19
Technical lesson
Voltage distortion on motors

• Less than 5 % voltage THD desired

• Higher frequencies (5th harmonic = 300 Hz) cause heating due to eddy
currents and skin effect
• 5th harmonic on supply system causes counter-torque

• Voltage distortion due to harmonics can be magnified by PF capacitors

20
Main hazards of harmonics
• Harmonic can cause relay protection, safety automatic device failure
to operate.
• Resonance can lead to damage of capacitors, transformers due to
overcurrent or overvoltage.
• Increases harmonic energy loss in the power system.
• Reduces utilization ratio of electric equipment:
― Equipment requires de-rating (rotating machines, capacitors,
transformers) and conductors
― Equipment may overload (heating, vibration, abnormal sound etc.)
― Shorten service life.

21
Why is unbalance important?
Technical lesson

Unbalanced loading Unbalanced current Unbalanced voltage

• Voltage unbalance causes inefficiency in a

3-phase system.
• To maintain voltage balance, each phase
should draw approximately equal current.
• Voltage unbalance causes current to flow
in the neutral in wye systems.
• Motors do not like to see more than 5 %
voltage unbalance

3-phase electrical panels usually alternate phases going down the panel:
L1, L2, L3, L1, L2, L3.... As you add circuits in sequence this tends to
balance the loading.

22
Why is unbalance important?
Technical lesson
Vector display
• Vectors show rms
magnitude and phase angle
for all three phases, voltage
and current

• Unbalance percentages are

ratios calculated using the
Method of Symmetrical
Components

23
Why is unbalance important?
Technical lesson
Harmonic sequences
Positive, negative, zero sequence
Sequence Rotation Effects (from skin effect, eddy currents, etc.)
Positive Forward Heating of conductors, circuit breakers, etc.

Negative Reverse Heating as above + motor problems

Zero None Heating + neutral current in wye systems

Effects of harmonic sequences

Name F 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th

Frequency 60 120 180 240 300 360 420 480 540

Sequence + - 0 + - 0 + - 0

24
Fluke 438 Series II Features

Quick overview of today’s tool.

2525
Independent Certification

• Independent certification
should include a highly
detailed report.
• A short certificate has brief
details of conformity to the
standard.
• It should be signed and dated
by the independent tester.
• The detailed report is
available on request.

Company Confidential Fluke 430 Series II Slide 26

Measurement Multitasking

Access multiple
measurement
screens while
continuously
measuring

Company Confidential Fluke 430 Series II Slide 27

Fluke 438 Series II

3-Phase connections
• Scope functions help verify correct
connections

• For a three-phase system, you

should see something like these two
screens

2828
Fluke 438 Series II

Hands-on: Checking setups

Reference the hands-on exercise in the workbook
• Checking an analyzer for proper connections
• Reading phasor diagrams
• Look out for negative power

2929
Fluke 438 Series II

Hands-on debrief
These connections are incorrect because Phase B and C are swapped and the
current clamp on Phase A is on backwards.

•Voltage goes black, •Voltage goes black, • Currents are bunched

blue, red instead of blue, red instead of together, not distributed
black red, blue. black red, blue. over 360º
•Current on phase A is
pointing opposite the
phase A voltage

3030
Harmonics
• The Fluke 430-II displays the harmonic
spectrums of:
― Voltage, Current and Power
• Display measurements as a bar chart, in
tabular format or as a trend graph.
• THD describes overall distortion present,
• %THD, 1st to 50th Harmonic and K-Factor
• Harmonics are displayed as %r (of total
harmonic voltage), %f (of fundamental
voltage) or rms (voltage)

Company Confidential Fluke 430 Series II Slide 31

Break Through Technology of
Energy Wastage in 438 Series II

32
Energy components

Energy expressed in real, reactive and apparent power

Energy flow is described by

Imaginary
Complex
• Real (P) or active power in watts (W) Power (S)
• Reactive Power (Q) in volt ampere Reactive
reactive (VAR) Power (Q)
• Complex Power (S) in volt ampere
(VA)
• Apparent Power, the magnitude of
complex power (VA) φ

Real
Real
Mathematically expressed by S = P + jQ Power (P)

33
What is voltage and current unbalance?
A
In a balanced 3-phase system, the phase
voltages are very close to equal.
Unbalance is a measurement of the
inequality of the phase voltages. 120° 120°

Voltage unbalance causes stress on B

120°

3-phase loads, leading to inefficient B

consumption and eventual device failure.

34
What you see with Energy Loss

Useful kilowatts
(power) available
Reactive
(unusable) power
Power made
unusable by
unbalance
Unusable distortion
volt amperes
Neutral current
Total cost of
wasted kilowatt
hours per year

35
Dip or Swell?
Dip The DIP event starts when the voltage goes
below the threshold.
Nominal The DIP event ends
voltage when the voltage
reaches the hysteresis
Hysteresis point

Threshold

The SWELL event starts when the voltage

Swell goes above the threshold.

Threshold
Hysteresis
The SWELL event ends
when the voltage
Nominal reaches the hysteresis
voltage point

Company Confidential Fluke 430 Series II Slide 36

Isolating source of disturbance
Technical lesson

Load disturbance:
Downstream current inrush causes voltage sag
Source disturbance:
Upstream voltage sag causes little change or current drop

3737
Transients
• Setting up the Fluke 435-II for transient
capture is really simple.
• The step by step setup simplifies setup.
• The type of capture can be selected from
choices including transients, swells, dips
etc.

Company Confidential Fluke 430 Series II Slide 38

Transients
Technical lesson

Transients
Causes of transients:
• Utility transformer tap switching
• Capacitors switching on
• Lightning
• Motors switching off
• Switch and relay contact “bounce”

Effects of transients:
• Damage semiconductor junctions
• Damage Insulation
• Couple into adjacent circuits because of high
frequency (fast rise times)
• Corrupt data signals

39
Transients
Technical lesson

Transient waveform capture

Most instruments that support transient capture use Envelope Triggering

• Set a tolerance around an

ideal sinewave
• Any event that goes outside
the envelope triggers the
instrument to capture the
waveform
• You get to see voltage (and
sometimes current)
waveforms for all phases at
the exact time of trigger
• Cursors and zoom function
help with the analysis.

40
Transients
Technical lesson
Reading the waveforms
Capacitive transients will exhibit
some ringing
Switching and lightning transients
usually show a single prominent
spike with a fast decay

Example: Narrow switching

transient of -410 V (under the
cursor) and voltage distortion
due to SCR dimmer failure

4141
Transients
Technical lesson

Protecting against transients

• Transient Voltage Surge Suppressors (TVSS)

• Uninterruptible power supply with built-in surge suppression
• Isolation transformer

4242
Traditional method
Evaluating Mechanical Output Power

• Measurement of mechanical power

usually requires a torque sensing system
which requires a sensor, conditioning
electronics and acquisition hardware.
• Installing the torque sensors in to existing
motors is difficult and time consuming.
• The complexity and cost of these systems
is high.
• Systems that also measure electrical
power are even more complex.
• Field testing systems are difficult to
install, understand and costly.

The Fluke 438-II provides a very affordable alternative delivering easy to understand measurement
data on systems that are operating in their typical environment.
Breakthrough Technology
To quickly discover electrical
performance
• Electrical Measurements
– Capture key electrical parameters to compare with
motor nameplate – Voltage, current, power, power
factor etc.
To quickly discover mechanical
performance
• Mechanical Measurements
– Captured without the need to install mechanical
sensors to measure speed torque, mechanical power
Check on the state of power
quality
• Unbalance and harmonics matter
– Ensuring harmonics and unbalance are within
reasonable limits is key to ensuring acceptable motor
performance
– Unique NEMA de-rating information screen shows
impact of poor power quality

Gets to key motor performance parameters quickly and easily

Proving Fluke-438-II Measurement Methods

Using a 355 kW (475 hp) motor, the output

torque from a mechanical sensor was compared
to the Fluke-438-II

While running with stable torque, delta between torque sensor and
Fluke 438-II is < 2%

June 2016
Electrical Measurements
• Three phase measurements
– Electrical Power
– Unbalance
– Power Factor
– Harmonic Distortion
• Motor Electrical Analysis
– Directly on line motors only
(more than 60% of motors are connected direct
on line)
– Measurement as % of rated nameplate
specification
• Measurement Benefits
– Quickly quantify performance relative to design
specification
– Measure and eliminate poor power quality as
source of motor failure
Mechanical Measurements
• Calculated Mechanical Measurements using
advanced analysis of electrical signals
– Power
– Torque
– Speed
– Efficiency
• Motor Mechanical Analysis
– Directly coupled motors only
– Measurement as % of rated nameplate
specification for quick good or bad indication
• Measurement Benefits
– No load sensor required, save cost and
overcome challenges of accessing shaft
– Quickly ascertain load under operating
condition
Motor Rated Load
• Calculated real time load factor
– Operating conditions, load and power quality
impact the rated performance of motors
– To compensate, the motor power must be de-rated
to mitigate temperature rise and stress to windings
and mechanical components
• Motor Mechanical Analysis
– Directly coupled motors only
– De-rating factor calculated according to National
Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA)
standards, taking the impact of poor power quality
into account.
• Measurement Benefits
– Quickly identify motors operating at or beyond
limits, make system adjustments to prevent
failures
– Size the motor to save operating cost and prevent
downtime
Diagnostic benefits

• The 438-II has two important summary screens that show key electrical and mechanical
parameters in terms of ‘state of health’ to provide a quick insight on the status of the
motors as it operates.
• Measuring torque can give a direct insight into the state of health
of the motor, the load and process.
• Reliable operation over time is ensured while minimizing maintenance costs.
Diagnostic benefits

• Analysis of measured data is much simplified by classifying measurements from good

(green) to bad (red).
• Where the black indicators are plotted indicated where the motor is operating with
optimal or expected performance. The expected performance comparison is in line with
the measurement compared to the motor’s rating plate data.
• Indicators falling inside the red bars may be due to poor power quality (unbalance and
harmonics) or under or overloading of the motor.
Derating motors
When harmonics and unbalance are present the motor is likely
to run hotter than the specification, the purpose of the NEMA derating
is to ensure that the motors continue to run within specifications.

• The derating curve shows the

performance of a motor under test.
• Each of the points shows the
performance as the load changes
and the state of the power quality.
• Points in the green zone are within
acceptable performance limits.
• Operation in the yellow zone is
acceptable for short periods.
• Points in the red zone should be
avoided as operation in the area
may potentially damage the motor
Inverter efficiency for solar installations

Recipe for solar installation ROI

1. Solar cells and solar battery
storage output dc current
2. Inverters convert that dc current to
ac (useful power)
3. For optimum performance,
inverter settings need to match
solar cell output, which changes
over time
– or –
A solar installation that isn’t
configured correctly won’t run
efficiently
= need to periodically measure
dc input and ac output
simultaneously
Company Confidential Fluke 430 Series II Slide 52
Power Inverter Efficiency
• The Fluke 430-II models
simultaneously measure dc
output power from solar array
and the ac output power of the
inverter being feed with the dc
current.
• Instrument voltage and current
phases L1/A, L2/B and L3/C Not the final picture
measure ac output power – the
neutral channel (V&I) measure
dc power.
• A Hall Effect probe is required
on the neutral channel for dc Simple solar
current measurement. power system
• By measuring input and output
power efficiency may be
calculated.
• Inverter efficiency will vary
depending on:
– Input energy and output load
conditions.
– Operating
Company Confidential temperature Fluke 430 Series II Slide 53
What is PowerWave?

• A multi-channel high speed data capture system.

• Captures voltage, current and frequency.
• Captures complete, long length waveform detail.
• Simultaneously calculates average values every half
cycle.
• The perfect tools for capturing the complete electrical
detail when starting generators or large motors.
• Correlate the relationship between current, voltage
and frequency on all three phases simultaneously.

Company Confidential Fluke 430 Series II Slide 54

PowerLog 4.0
• PowerLog 4.0 is a revised
version of the software
package that supports a
number of Fluke products.
• The new package support
the new measurements
included in the Fluke 430
series II products.
• There are a number of user
interface improvements,
this is illustrated in the
include statistics mode.

Company Confidential Fluke 430 Series II Slide 55