Fuji Electric Blogs

POWER QUALITY CAN MAKE OR BREAK YOUR BUSINESS

Written by Rajesh.G | Nov 21, 2018 9:17:07 AM

When it comes to the industrial sector, there is a lot of talk about ‘availability of power’, but very little talk on ‘quality of power’. Both these can cause major setbacks. However, the availability of power is often given more focus. Over the last 5 years in India, the importance given to power availability has brought about major advances and improvements on a large scale. While there have been improvements in power availability, there are still power cuts occurring (though reduced to a large extent)with a concentration of this issue in a few pockets of the country.

Power quality is a silent issue. At times there is a constant supply of power. However, in power quality, there are a lot of shades of grey that manifest in the form of harmonics, sags, surges, etc., which all affect the machinery. These can play havoc with the machines, circuits, and re-starting machines.

The All-Important Quality Of Power

India is a country known for its voltage and frequency discrepancies over the board. This Power Quality (or PQ) is of monumental importance to industrial, manufacturing, and commercial sectors.

In commercial establishments like data centers and such, the increased use of semiconductor-based electronic equipment and non-linear loads (like computers, data servers, adjustable speed drivers, etc.) along with the accelerated introduction of non-conventional sources of energy into the power grid networks creates new challenges for the PQ environment.

The industrial and manufacturing sector problems come due to changes of load, disturbances generated by certain equipment, and the occurrence of faults that are not always in the control of the people managing the plant. The sources of disturbances can be linked to the power generating plants, grid, and other users. At times, the way or method in which equipment is installed at the site of an electricity user can be the cause of disturbances in the distribution networks.

Power quality can be affected by many tangible factors

  • Power Outage – A total loss of utility power
    • Power Sag – Short term low voltage
    • Power Surges – Short term high voltage
    • Brown Out/Under Voltages – Reduced line voltage for extended periods of a few minutes to a few days
    • High Voltage Spike – Instant dramatic increase in line voltage
    • Electrical Line Noise – High-frequency waveform that piggybacks on the line waveform
    • Frequency Variation – A change in frequency stability
    • Switching Transient – instantaneous high voltage increase impressed on the power line waveform
    • Harmonic Distortion – Distortion to the normal line, waveform, generally transmitted by non-linear roads

PQ issues can affect the equipment and system manufacturer, designers of plants and installations, electricity distributors, public authorities and the public. In surveys that have been done regarding this, it has been revealed that significant losses were faced solely due to power quality issues. These losses can include Automatic Resets, Data Errors, Equipment Failure, PCB Failure, Memory Loss, Power Supply Problems, False Alarms, Software Corruption, Poor Lighting and Overheating of Motor and Electrical Distribution systems, etc.

Better To Be Safe Than Sorry

These PQ problems can be mitigated by installing the appropriate power conditioning or power backup device to protect equipment and machinery. Fuji Electric range of UPS systems from 600VA to 6400kVA, Servo Voltage Stabilizers, Isolation Transformers and Active Harmonic filters can improve the life and quality of all your machines and devices by acting as a buffer.

Fuji Electric has made a name for itself as the No. 1 leading UPS Manufacturer in India, providing every requirement with the right power solution and matching global standards while we are at it. 

Contact our experts for all your Power backup and Power conditioning needs.