3 Reasons Why Equipment Oversizing Is Ineffective For Tackling Harmonics

Harmonic mitigation is a major cause of concern for most electrical systems. This is because the presence of harmonic distortion is well-documented. It can lead to some major consequences, such as overheating of equipment, and even burning out of capacitor terminals and transformers. To tackle this, many opt for oversizing their equipment, such as transformers. However, this is an ineffective strategy for harmonic mitigation. This blog explains why and offers the best solutions for mitigating harmonics.

Why Oversizing Equipment Doesn’t Offer Harmonic Mitigation?

Ineffective For Handling Harmonics

By oversizing equipment, the only benefit is that they can handle more current flow. Therefore, if the equipment is being overheated, then it can last a bit longer if it is oversized. However, harmonic distortion is a voltage issue and not a current issue. Thus, it won’t tackle the harmonics present in the system, but instead, will only increase the ability to handle them. For this, it is key to have proper solutions, such as active harmonic filters.

Increase In Inefficiency

While oversizing equipment can reduce damage in the long term, it still does not address the inefficiencies in the system caused by harmonics. The reason behind overheating is the energy inefficiency caused by harmonic distortion. Therefore, the root problem of overheating will still persist.

Does Not Address Power Factor

Power factor determines how effectively a system is using the input current. Oversized equipment will not cause any significant improvement in power factor. Therefore, the system will continue to have a high total harmonic distortion level (THD), which can potentially incur penalties from utility companies for non-compliance with international standards such as IEEE-519.

The Solution

The best solution in this case is adding the appropriate harmonic filter to the system to tackle the harmonics. By addressing and eliminating harmonics, the problem of overheating and energy inefficiency is solved in one go. So it is no longer necessary to oversize equipment and waste resources. While active harmonic filters are considered the top choice due to their dynamic functioning, some applications can also benefit from passive harmonic filters, or even hybrid harmonic filters, which embody the traits of both active and passive filters.

Want to learn more about harmonic filters? Reach out to us at ADM Engineering Inc. today. As one of the leading distributors of harmonic mitigation solutions, we offer a wide range of harmonic filters, such as active, passive, and hybrid filters. Contact us today at 877-236-8337 for more details.