Development of an Embedded System for Monitoring of Voltage and Current Harmonics

Abstract

Power quality has gained significant importance in the power industry over the past two decades. The increasing use of power electronic converters and various dynamic and nonlinear loads has adversely affected the quality of power, resulting in harmonic pollution. This pollution results in increased plant downtimes, reduced system efficiency, and elevated power losses. Harmonics refer to the frequency components of an electrical signal that are integer multiples of the fundamental frequency. In power systems, harmonic analysis is crucial for assessing the impact of harmonic-producing loads, and it plays a vital role in system planning, equipment design, and troubleshooting. Harmonics can cause detrimental effects such as conductor overheating, accelerated ageing of electrical insulation, and overall reduction in power efficiency. Among several techniques available for harmonic analysis, the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) is the most used due to its computational efficiency. FFT is an algorithm that computes the Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT), which converts a finite set of discrete-time samples into their corresponding frequency-domain representation. This paper focuses on the voltage and current harmonics monitoring using a low-cost embedded processor. The proposed low-cost solution enables industries and utilities to implement harmonic monitoring systems cost-effectively, facilitating timely corrective actions to maintain power quality and system reliability.