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Juergen Schlabbach
Index terms – PV-generators, Harmonic currents, generation; the THDI will remain below 10% in case the
ENS-signal, EN 50160, Test conditions loading of the inverter exceeds 18% of the rated power [2],
[3]. Some measurements are significantly lower for low load
Abstract—Harmonic currents of PV-inverters show a conditions, which is the effect of the ENS-signal generated by
significant dependency on the harmonic voltage content of the inverter to detect and to prevent islanding operation [4].
the AC-system voltage. Measurements of harmonic For increasing generating conditions, the ENS-signal is
currents were carried out in LV-systems and under increasing the variety of the THDI only to a comparatively
laboratory test conditions with adjustable harmonic small extend, as can be seen in Fig. 1.
content of the AV-voltage. Two PV-inverters, one with
coupling transformer and one without transformer were International standards [5] and [6] define standard test
tested. The results indicated that the emitted harmonic conditions with respect to the harmonic voltages of the
currents depend strongly on the harmonic voltages voltage source, in order to measure the emitted harmonic
prevailing in the AC-voltage. PV-inverters without currents of any equipment; the standards have to be applied to
transformer show significant lower harmonic currents PV-inverters as well, as special standards are missing up to
than inverters with coupling transformer. The standard now. The defined maximal harmonic voltages, e.g. for the
test conditions as defined in international standards does 5th harmonic equal 0.4%, are comparatively lower than the
not consider real system conditions with respect to the expected values of harmonic voltages of power systems [7].
harmonic voltages in system voltage. The measured
currents as documented in data sheets are therefore
comparatively lower than under the condition of real
system operation.
1. INTRODUCTION
Grid-connected photovoltaic systems (PV-systems) with
DC/AC-converters are subject to harmonic current emission
which depend on the type of technology used, on the control
strategy of the DC/AC-inverter, on the existence of high- or
low-frequency coupling transformer and on the harmonic
voltages prevailing in the AC-power system. A dominant role
on the harmonic current emission is also given by the
performance of the AC/DC-inverter under partial generating
conditions [1].
Fig. 1 indicates the total harmonic current THDI of a PV- Figure 1. THDI of current of a PV-inverter without transformer
(PAC = 5 kW) for different loading conditions
generator (Pn = 5 kW; PWM-frequency 16 kHz; without
transformer) under different generating condition (ratio P/Pn),
measured for the period of one week. The shape of the THDI
is characterised by a comparative high value under low
2. MEASUREMENTS IN POWER SYSTEMS
_________________________________________________
2.1 PV-Inverter under Investigation
978-1-4244-1744-5/08/$25.00 ©2008 IEEE
Measurements of harmonic currents and voltages in a
generating conditions with a sharp decay for increased
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LV-power system have been carried out for periods between 0,5
four days and one week. The power system consists of cables
I in A
0,5 0-5 % Pr
and overhead-lines supplying mainly domestic load, small 0,4
5-10% Pr
industry and some agricultural load. The system is fed from 0,4
10-15 % Pr
0,3 20-40 % Pr
0,2 >100 % Pr
5 kW, with and without transformer, are installed in the 0,2
system.
0,1
Ih /I1 in %
0-5% Pr
10
through one day in summer. During start- and stop-period of 5-10% Pr
10-15% Pr
the generator in the morning and evening hours, characterised 8 15-20% Pr
50 10000 2
40 9000
0
30 8000
T H D (I) [% ]
3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21
Harmonic order
20 7000
10 6000
Harmonic order
P [W ]
0 5000
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3. LABORATORY MEASUREMENT
300 3.1 Test Equipment
Pn = 5kW
250 rd P =2.35kW- 2.45kW In order to separate the different effects from each other,
3
the emitted harmonic currents of the PV-inverter were
Harmonic current in mA
th
7
200 measured under defined conditions in laboratory tests with a
voltage source having adjustable harmonic voltages in a
150 th
5 suitable range that coincide with harmonic voltages in real
power systems. The effect of the prevailing harmonic
100
th
9
voltages in the power system can be eliminated if a pure
50 th
sinusoidal voltage source is used for the measurement.
11
A waveform generator, harmonic voltages to be adjusted
0 individually up to the 40th order, to represent the AC-system
0,0 0,5 1,0 1,5 2,0 2,5 and a DC-voltage constant with maximal output voltage
Harmonic voltage in% 300 V to represent the DC-voltage source were used. The
AC-load was represented by small electrical heating
Figure 5. Emitted harmonic currents of PV-inverter for different appliances having different power between 200 W and 2 kW,
harmonic voltages, generated power: 2.35kW – 2.45kW to be switched on and off according to the required load.
Measurement of harmonic voltages and currents was carried
out in accordance to IEC 61000-4-7 [8].
This dependency of the harmonic currents from the
harmonic voltages in the power system is typical for all types
of inverters without 50-Hz-transformer. Inverters having a 3.2 Voltage Parameter for Testing
transformer on the AC-side show a slightly different
behaviour of the harmonics, as the 3rd harmonic current as all During the tests, the harmonic voltages of the AC-source
other harmonic currents is increasing with increasing have been modified one by one to different values starting
harmonic voltage. As can be seen from Fig. 5, the range of from zero up to some percent of the nominal system voltage.
the harmonic voltages is comparatively small. The maximal percentage value of the individual harmonic
voltages was taken from EN 50160 [7]. This standard
The assessment of the even order harmonics similar to describes, besides other power system disturbance
those of the odd order could not be carried out, as the number parameters, the expectation values of harmonic voltages
of measurements of harmonics was very small and the results which coincide with the compatibility levels as per IEC
did not show any coincidence. 61000-3-2 and IEC 61000-3-12, details are included in Table
Table I shows the gradient “increase of harmonic current II.
related to the increase of harmonic voltage” obtained from The test voltage, e.g. for the 5th harmonic, was adjusted
Fig. 5. between 0% and 6% in steps of 0.6% each, the power of the
inverter was adjusted for all tests to 50% of the rated power
TABLE I. GRADIENT FOR THE INCREASE OF EMITTED HARMONIC
by adjusting the voltage-constant DC-source and the AC-load
CURRENTS RELATED TO PERCENTAGE HARMONIC VOLTAGE (DATA IN accordingly.
MA/% OF VOLTAGE)
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400,00 4. TEST CONDITIONS AND H ARMONIC ASSESSMENT
3
350,00
5 4.1 Standards for Harmonic Current Emission
7
9
300,00 11 International standards IEC 61000-3-2 and IEC 61000-3-12
13
[5, 6] define voltage test conditions (type test) to carry out
Cu rren t in mA
15
250,00 17
19 measurements of harmonics emitted by power electronics.
200,00 These standards have to be applied to PV-inverters as well, as
far as specific standards for PV-inverters are not available.
150,00
Both standards apply for low-voltage systems, PV-inverters
100,00 with low rating (Ir ≤ 16 A) are allowed to be tested under
more restricted conditions than inverters with higher rated
50,00
power (Ir ≤ 75 A).
.
0,00
Sinus Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Step 4 Step 5 Step 6 Step 7 Step 8 Step 9 Step 10
Voltage step
4.2 Comparison of Standard Test Conditions and Real
Figure 6. Emitted odd order harmonic currents of a PV-inverter System Conditions
for increasing harmonic voltage during laboratory tests
Table III outlines the maximal values of the harmonic
voltages for standard test conditions and the maximal
expected values in real power systems as per EN 50160 [7].
120,00
The values (columns 2 and 3) indicate that the harmonic
2
4
voltages defined in the standard test conditions as per IEC
100,00
6 610000-3- are lower than the harmonic voltages that might be
8
10 expected in the power system (column 4). The standard test
80,00 12
14
conditions as per IEC 61000-3- do not reflect the harmonic
C u rent in m A
60,00
16
18
conditions that are expected in power systems, the harmonic
20 current will be significantly higher than those measured
40,00
during the type test.
20,00
TABLE III. PERMISSIBLE HARMONIC VOLTAGES (IEC 61000-3-2
AND EN 61000-3-12), EXPECTATION VALUES (EN 50160)
0,00
Sinus Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Step 4 Step 5 Step 6 Step 7 Step 8 Step 9 Step 10
Harmonic order Voltage in % of nominal voltage
Voltage step
61000-3-2 61000-3-12 EN 50160
3 0.9 1.25 5.0
Figure 7. Emitted even order harmonic currents of an inverter
5 0.4 1.5 6.0
for increasing harmonic voltage during lab-tests
7 0.3 1.25 5.0
9 0.2 0.6 1.5
The harmonic voltages for minimal harmonic current are 11 - 0.7 3.5
13 - 0.6 3.0
indicated by bold figures in Table II. For comparison the
Even (2 - 10) 0.2 0.4 2.0 - 0.5
expectation values as per EN 50160 are also included in the
Other (11 - 39) 0.1 - 3.5 - 1.5
table. The minimal conditions for the even order harmonics Other (12 - 40) - 0.3 -
are given for harmonic voltages: u2 = 0.4%; u4 = 0.1% and for
higher odd harmonics u6 = 0.05%.
Table IV gives the relation between the minimal harmonic
currents for the maximal permissible harmonic test voltage as
TABLE II. MINIMUM OF EMITTED HARMONIC CURRENT ( ODD per IEC 61000-3-12 and the harmonic currents emitted under
ORDER) AS COMPARED WITH THE HARMONIC VOLTAGE DURING maximal expected harmonic voltage conditions as per EN
LABORATORY TEST 50160.
Harmonic Step of uh [%] uh [%]
Order test voltage of test voltage EN 50160
3 > 10 > 5% 6%
5 4 2.4% 6%
7 2-3 1.2 – 1.5% 5%
9 5 0.75% 1.5%
11 1 0.35% 3.5%
13 1 0.3% 3%
15 4–5 0.02 – 0.025% 0.5%
17 1 0.02% 2%
19 - - 1.5%
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TABLE IV. COMPARISON OF HARMONIC CURRENTS EMITTED UNDER [3] Drees, S.; Kohn, A.; Schlabbach, J.; Strathmann, D.; Vogel, E.:
STANDARD TEST CONDITIONS (EN 61000-3-12) AND IN CASE OF Harmonic current emission of PV-installations (German). ew, Bd. 104
MAXIMAL HARMONIC VOLTAGES (EN 50160) (2005), Heft 02, S. 68-71.
[4] E DIN VDE 0126-1-1 (2005-5): Automatic disconnection device
Harmonic Minimal current; Exp. current Relation between a generator and the public LV-grid (German).
order col. 3 to
Test as per Voltages as per Col.2 [5] IEC 61000-3-2 (2005-11): Electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) - Part
3-2: Limits - Limits for harmonic current emissions (equipment input
IEC 61000-3-12 EN 50160 current <= 16 A per phase).
3 74.3mA 74.3mA 0.0
5 65.8mA 193.8mA 2.9 [6] IEC 61000-3-12 (2004-11): Electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) -
Part 3-12: Limits - Limits for harmonic currents produced by equipment
7 30.4mA 285.9mA 9.4 connected to public low-voltage systems with input current >16 A and
9 15.1mA 69.2mA 4.6 <=75 A per phase.
11 29.6mA 349.9mA 11.8
[7] EN 50160 (2006-8): Voltage characteristic of electricity supplied by
13 31.5mA 365.8mA 11.6 public distribution systems (German).
[8] IEC 61000-4-7 (2004-7): Electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) - Part
Table IV indicates that the emitted harmonic current under 4-7: Testing and measurement techniques - General guide on harmonics
and interharmonics measurements and instrumentation, for power
real system conditions can exceed the harmonic currents of supply systems and equipment connected thereto.
the PV-inverter obtained for standard test conditions as per
IEC 61000-3- by far.
Juergen Schlabbach (b. 1952) studied power system engineering at the
Technical University of Darmstadt, Germany, from where he received the
5. CONCLUSION AND OUTLOOK academic degrees as Dipl.-Ing. in 1977 and as Dr.-Ing. in 1982. He worked
till 1992 in an engineering company. He worked in responsible positions for
The comparison of site measurements and laboratory tests planning and design of public and industrial power systems mainly in
with controlled harmonic voltage conditions indicated that the Arabian and Asian countries.
emitted harmonic currents depend strongly on the harmonic Since 1992 he is Professor at the University of Applied Sciences in
Bielefeld, Germany, responsible for electrical energy systems and renewable
voltages in the AC-voltage. Standard test conditions as energy schemes. He is member IEEE, VDE and VDI.
defined in IEC 61000—3-2 and IEC 61000-3-12 do not take Topics of research include measurement and analysis of harmonics and
account of this characteristic of the PV-inverter. The flicker, connection of renewable energy generation to the power system and
harmonic voltages in the test voltage to be allowed for the optimization of medium voltage cable systems. More information can be
obtained from: www://http.fh-bielefeld.de/fb2/labor-ev
standard test procedure do not reflect the expected harmonic
voltages in AC-systems. The emitted harmonic currents
depend furthermore on the generated power of the PV-
inverter, resulting in high values of the harmonics for low
generation conditions and low values for high generation
conditions.
It is strongly recommended to consider a new approach for
testing of harmonic current emission of PV-inverters. The
special characteristic of the PV-inverters as explained in the
paper shall be taken into account. Tests for harmonic current
emission shall be carried out taking account of:
. maximal expected harmonic voltages in power system as
per EN 50160 to determine the worst conditions,
. partial generation conditions of the PV-inverter.
Assessment of the system connection of PV-inverters shall
be based on the distribution function of the expected
harmonic current emission and shall take account of the
typical daily and seasonal generation. The application of
simulation programmes is highly recommended.
References
[1] Chicco, G.; Schlabbach, J.; Spertino, F.: Characterisation of the
harmonic emission of grid-connected PV-systems. Proc. of IEEE-
Conference St. Petersburg PowerTech 2005. St. Petersburg, Russland
(June, 27-30, 2005), paper 66.
[2] Schlabbach, J.: Simulation of harmonic current emission of grid-
connected photovoltaic generators. Proc. of 8th International Conference
on Electrical Power Quality and Utilisation EPQU’05. Cracow, Poland
(Sept. 21-23, 2005), Paper 23, pp 545-552.
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