How to Improve Power Quality

It is fundamental to have access to power, be it for a business enterprise or a home. Power plays a pivotal role in every business’ operations daily. Unfortunately, despite of the importance of power only a small section of users understands their power quality. For business organizations, poor power quality is a nuisance that brings about immense damage. Not only does it strain the power network but it also affects the efficiency and reliability of the company, which in turn affects its profitability!

Today, both the domestic as well as the commercial or industrial sectors have increased their use of electrical devices and are almost completely dependent on them. So, what are the things that can be done to improve the power quality? Well, the good news is that there are many solutions or options in this regard. What’s more, these solutions or steps do not require someone with an expert understanding of electricity and power. In other words, even beginners and novices would find this easy to carry out. While it is possible to use surge strips and power conditioners for correcting the power problems, it is important to note that these are temporary solutions. For a more ‘wholesome’ solution it is necessary to identify the power abnormalities and then eliminate the problem from its roots.

Voltage surge, sags and interruptions

Selecting and installing the right/appropriate device is the way to go when it comes to improving one’s power. Electronic appliances and machines generally have their own individual ideal power threshold or voltage tolerance. When the power supplied exceeds this threshold or tolerance limit then it may cause certain damages. Thus, to ensure reliable operation it is advisable to install a power conditioning unit or a stabilizer. This type of device ensures supply of clean and stable power to the electronic appliances. Fluctuation in electrical power is a serious problem and if your neighbourhood happens to be one with unstable electrical power supply then a surge protection or a power conditioning unit is a must.

Right Wiring

Another tip to keep in mind here is that it is important to know how to wire the electrical connections right. For this purpose, it is recommended to hire a professional electrician and inspect the wiring or setup in your house. Something as simple as a loose neutral can cause severe damage to the equipment and maybe even blow it up (in certain cases)!

Harmonics

With harmonic issues arising due to poor power quality, sensitive equipment and the network are affected adversely. Thus, it is of utmost importance that one should mitigate these harmonic issues and improve one’s power quality. This way one would be able to enhance the company’s environmental, social and economic bottom line!

There is also a very popular and effective solution that people are adopting these days, i.e. active harmonic filters. This type of filtering solution works best for phase imbalance correction, variable load power factor correction, harmonic mitigation and so on. The device can help in reducing voltage waveform distortion, eliminating harmonic current, maintaining the temperature in cables and transformers, reducing voltage drops and so on.

An active harmonic filter is used in a wide variety of industries such as water and wastewater treatment, oil & gas, motor control centre, printing, office building, steel, chemical and automotive to name a few.

Power Factor

Reducing the power factor is another effective way of improving the power quality. It is important to produce reactive energy that is as close to the connected loads as possible. For achieving this, the best solution would be to install capacitors.

Conclusion

Improving one’s power quality is extremely essential because it reduces the burden on the local network as well as the neighbouring establishments. There is a wide variety of power quality products to choose from, most which can be conveniently integrated into existing buildings. When you improve your power quality you will not just be giving yourself peace of mind but you’ll also be able to save a lot of money on energy bills. Thus, it is recommended to use a systematic approach to this problem.