A novel method for current harmonic reduction of CFLs in large number usage

This paper proposes a method to achieve the harmonic cancellation of compact fluorescent lamps (CFL) in large number usage. As the adoption of CFLs shows no sign of slowing down, utilities are increasingly concerned with the harmonic impact of these lamps. However it is obvious that traditional incandescent lamps will be replaced with energy efficient lamps only if they stay in a reasonable price. This paper presents a novel cost effective power quality correction method. The implemented method is based on the effect of capacitor-filter size on current THD in CFLs, used in large numbers. With this aim, we have simulated 120 CFLs in parallel to discuss the impact of capacitor filter size on harmonics when the CFLs are integrated and also some experiments have been done in laboratory to show the cancellation effect. The experimental results reveal that more attenuation will occur in higher harmonic orders. To capture harmonic characteristics of sample lamps, a power recorder compatible with personal computer had been used and the data had been analyzed in MATLAB program. Both simulation and laboratory test results verify the theoretical analysis.