Making energy cleaner with harmonic filters

The REOWAVE passive plus allows electrical engineers to ensure better power quality of networks featuring a lot of high frequency electrical noise, which subsequently creates harmonic distortion.

This makes the filters particularly useful in the renewables and industrial sectors. In the renewable sector, power converters can generate high frequencies during conversion and in industrial environments, the use of Variable Speed Drives (VSDs) can lead to harmonic currents.

While the new unit provides effective attenuation of high frequency electrical noise to remove harmonic currents from electrical networks, it is also designed to reduce the additional energy costs associated with reactive power. The product’s reactive power optimisation feature ensures the filter circuit is only activated at certain currents, which prevents reactive currents through the filter choke.

In addition to the new functionality, the REOWAVE passive plus also includes an overcurrent signal indicator, which monitors current and indicates the percentage of power being consumed based on the filter’s rated current.

“Harmonic currents and reactive power are two of the biggest power quality problems facing modern businesses,” explained Steve Hughes, Managing Director of REO UK. “While shrinking component sizes and the rise of VSDs in industrial environments allow for more efficient products, these non-linear loads also create issues that make overall electrical networks less energy efficient.

“This is particularly true for reactive power, which is the part of the AC waveform that is out of phase with the voltage and therefore leads to system losses, energy wastage and higher carbon emissions. It’s therefore essential that electrical engineers ensure that reactive power is minimised and networks are free from electrical distortion.

“As the UK Government has set a target of cutting carbon emissions by 20% by 2020, reducing wasted energy will play a pivotal role in meeting that target while also saving businesses unnecessary expenses in the process. The increased uptake of renewable energies is bringing us closer to that goal, but these energies must be brought into the electrical grid efficiently and without issues. Harmonic filters will help electrical engineers achieve that.”

The use of the REOWAVE passive plus in renewable networks is the latest move by REO UK to facilitate the UK’s renewable industry. The company recently released a whitepaper, which is available for download from the REO UK website, outlining the current state of the renewables market and providing an overview of the associated challenges.