Power Quality Audit

In today’s modern world of microcomputers and electronic control, the need for a “clean” power system has never been so great.

A Transfield Worley Solutions (TWS) power quality audit will analyse your electrical system and provide the solutions required to correct the problems caused by unacceptable power quality.

It can be specific to:

• power transmission
• distribution at substation
• factory or office level
• specific equipment

The ultimate price of poor power quality is a loss in production that is accompanied by costly repairs.

Poor power quality can affect your business through:

• equipment components overheating
• premature equipment or component failure
• unexpected or unexplained tripping of circuit breakers
• transformers overheating
• motors overheating, cogging, operating noisily or failing prematurely
• intermittent lockups of PCs and office equipment
• data becoming corrupt
• cables overheating
• lights flickering / blowing prematurely

This can result in:

• production downtime
• expensive repairs
• unnecessary component replacement
• investigation and administrative costs
• liability to the utility provider for backfeeding noise and other problems on to the feed supply
• higher utility cost tariffs

The TWS power quality audit provides you with:

• a full, easy-to-understand power quality report
• identified problems, their reasons and effects
• recommended corrective solutions for those problems
• cost and benefits of implementing corrective solutions

The TWS power quality audit is conducted using:

• modern, hi-tech power analysing and monitoring equipment and software
• proven troubleshooting techniques
• power quality-experienced engineers
• no equipment or plant shutdown
• minimal input from your personnel

Your power distribution system may be experiencing:

• harmonic problems
• imbalanced loading
• overloaded neutrals
• voltage sags and swells
• voltage surges (transients/spikes/impulses)
• poor power factor
• power interruptions
• noise
• notching
• flicker

all of which contribute to an unacceptable level of power quality.

In most cases, power quality problems are caused by the user loading, or incorrect system wiring and/or grounding.

Common sources of power quality problems:

• variable speed drives
• bad wiring design and installation
• grounding errors
• load interactions
• electric arc furnaces
• UPS systems
• 3-phase inverters
• static power convertors
• effects from other users
• inductive noise from cable routing
• increase in office electronic equipment – PCs, printers, faxes, air conditioning
• fluorescent lighting
• imbalanced loading
• all switch mode electronic equipment power supplies
• large use of inductive loads ie: induction motors, inductive lighting