What Hazards are created by Harmonics?
– Amplification of harmonic levels resulting from series and parallel resonance; – Reduction of efficiency of power generation, transmission, and utilization; – Aging of the installation of electrical plant components and as a consequence the shortening of their useful life; – Plant mal-operation; – Malfunctioning and failure of electronic equipment; – Overheating and failure of electric motors; – Overloading, overheating and failure of power factor correction capacitors. Resonance due to interaction of capacitors with harmonics; – Overloading and overheating of distribution transformers and neutral conductors; – Excessive measurement errors in metering equipment; – Spurious operation of fuses, circuit-breakers and other protective equipment; – Voltage glitches in computers systems resulting in lost data. Excessive flicker on VDU’s; – Electromagnetic interference with TV, radio, communication & telephone systems; – Damage and disruption to standby generators and associated AVR control
