Determining harmonic characteristics of typical single phase non-linear loads

Harmonic distortion in typical commercial office buildings is growing due to the widespread use of single phase nonlinear loads. This paper presents a method for developing various non-linear load models so as to analyze the current harmonic waveform characteristics of these loads. The electromagnetic transient simulation program (PSCAD/EMTDC) was used in modeling some of the non-linear loads such as personal computers, uninterruptible power supply and fluorescent lamp with electronic ballast. Simulation results provide the estimate of the harmonic currents in terms of the total harmonic distortion and the individual harmonic current components. The results obtained from simulations are then verified by the experimental results.