5 Steps to Improved Power Quality

Are you experiencing power quality issues? Take power reliability to the next level with this step-by-step process.

1.    Diagnose the Issue

Identify power quality symptoms
There are several issues that could be a sign of poor power quality. These include poorly operating equipment, nuisance tripping of circuit breakers, flickering lights, overheating motors, shut down of equipment controllers, data errors or circuit board failure.

2.    Determine the Cause

Use power quality monitoring tools
Use tools like simple power quality relays, more advanced data recorders or sag generators to determine what’s causing the symptoms. It could be voltage transients, voltage sags, harmonics, or voltage imbalance.

3.    Fix the Problem

Repair immediate power quality issues
Right-size or replace aging motors to reduce start-up power surges. Put electrically noisy equipment on a different circuit. Shorten the length of feeder runs to subpanels. Install additional grounding or bonding. Install lightning arrestors and stagger-start large loads.

4.    Ensure Survival

Strengthen ride-through capability
Replace AC relays with DC relays. Modify power supply settings to increase voltage headroom. Change motor drive reset trip settings. Increase the size (mass) of contractor hold-in coils. Use K-rated transformers with high ratings.

5.    Compensate

Condition the power
Use surge protection devices, inductive chokes, dip-proofing inverters, harmonic filters and coil hold-in devices to counter disturbances. Use uninterruptible power supplies (UPS) and isolation transformers to isolate equipment from the utility power supply. Have properly sized backup generators for prolonged outages.

By taking a systematic approach, you can eliminate power quality issues and increase reliability—one step at a time.