Analysis of Power Quality Monitoring Methods in Industrial Distribution Systems: Understanding Different Monitoring Tools for Efficient and Proper Operation

Measuring and monitoring power quality are becoming increasingly important across industrial plants. There are various parameters that are used to quantify power quality and different methods for monitoring these parameters to ensure efficient and proper operation of equipment connected to the industrial distribution system. As industrial distribution networks are becoming increasingly complex, with loads from variable speed drives fed by pulsewidth modulation (PWM) inverters along with local generation from inverter-based distributed energy resources (DERs), the need for power quality monitoring is essential to maintaining operational resilience. This article analyzes some types of power quality disturbances, such as harmonics, flicker, etc., and how they affect industrial distribution systems. This article also analyzes different techniques and methods used to measure power quality, such as Computer Business Manufacturers Association (CBEMA) curves, EN 50160 reporting, total harmonic distortion (THD) monitoring, total demand distortion (TDD) monitoring, waveform capture, and other web-based methods. The article explains how each method focuses on specific areas of power quality. Power quality monitoring can be taken a step further with analytics and identification of specific circuits or devices that are the source of these disturbances to the distribution system. This allows for corrective actions to be taken effectively without hampering the overall efficiency and functionality of the system. It is important to understand how the different monitoring methods provide varying levels of visibility into the system’s operation and efficiency, which will then allow preemptive action to be taken.