Measurement of the influence of household power electronics on the power quality

The paper deals with the measurement of the influence of new technology household appliances on the power quality. A virtual instrument for power quality monitoring based on NI LabVIEW™ platform and simultaneous measurements of electrical voltages and currents, as well as powers, frequency, voltage variations, magnitude of rapid voltage changes, flicker severity, voltage unbalance and total harmonic distortion is described. The virtual instrument-power analyser enables measurement of power characteristics in non-sinusoidal conditions. Power measurements (P, Q and D) of household appliances are presented and discussed. The influence of the modern, domestic energy saving lighting and inverter air conditioners, as significant household consumers, on the power quality of the electrical energy is considered.