To help electrical engineers and equipment operators mitigate the effects of supraharmonics, power quality specialist CP Automation has announced a new white paper, Assessing the impact of supraharmonic phenomena on distribution transformers: risks and mitigation strategies. Authored by independent power management consultant Steve Young MIET, the white paper explores issues including transformer failure and excessive dissolved gases and offers advice on filtering and mitigation.

Increasingly, many industrial sites are installing renewable energy sources and devices including photovoltaic systems, battery energy storage systems, electric vehicle chargers and active front-end variable speed drives. While these technologies offer significant environmental and functional benefits, they can also introduce risks to distribution transformers and other surrounding electrical equipment. One of these issues is supraharmonics — voltage and current waveform distortions in the frequency range of 2-150 kHz.

The new white paper explores how engineers can identify and manage these high-frequency disturbances before they snowball and cause lasting damage. Specifically, it explains how supraharmonics can induce stress on distribution transformers, which can accelerate aging and may lead to premature failure.

It also discusses filtering techniques, including using high-harmonic passive filters to target specific frequency ranges and attenuate supraharmonics before they propagate further.

“As we see an increasing proportion of supraharmonic loads being connected to the grid, this presents a significant challenge to designers, engineers and asset owners/operators,” explained Steve Young MIET, of Independent Power Management Consultants.

“The new white paper is designed to shine a light on the detrimental effects of these high-frequency disturbances and provide practical solutions that can  help engineers to increase the resilience of their networks and the stability of the connected loads.”

“As many of us install renewable and distributed energy resources, we need a way of safeguarding our network and filtering out this noise,” added John Michell, global sales and marketing director at CP Automation.

“We’re excited to see this new white paper and the fact that it comes from an independent voice in the power and electrical industry demonstrates how much of a concern supraharmonics is becoming — and why we must act now.”

You can download the white paper for free on the CP Automation website here. If you’re worried about the effects of supraharmonics and other disturbances on your site, contact the company’s power quality team.

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