Fifteenth National Power Systems Conference (NPSC), IIT Bombay, December 2008

A case study of Power quality improvement and

energy saving in textile industry using solid state
harmonic filter
M.K.Pradhan, Kamlesh Keharia, Rajesh Darapu, B. Mariappan
pradhan@emcoindia.com; krkeharia@emcoindia.com; rdarapu@emcoindia.com; bmariappan@emcoindia.com
R & D Department, EMCO Limited, Thane, India
x
x
x
x

Demand reduction (kVA)

Improved PF & voltage quality.
Reduction in I2R losses in conductor
Reduction in equipment losses (motors, transformers,
switchyard )
x Operating cost reduction
x Reduction in taxes
Soft savings include:
x Reactive power savings (kVAR)
x Apparent power savings (kVA)
x Increased electrical equipment life.
x Improved performance of equipment
x Protection of sensitive electronic equipment.
x Reduced maintenance, decrease consumption of
spare parts
x Space savings
x Better capacity utilization of transformer & generator
x Less Heating ventilation & Air conditioning (HVAC)
system
The hard savings are the direct financial benefits to the
purchasing company. Each electrical parameter that
contributes to hard saving must be assessed, monitored &
measured accurately to claim the appropriate payback
period.

Abstract - This paper presents a case study of application of

solid-state harmonic filter to improve electric power quality and
reduce energy consumption in textile industries. Detailed studies
were carried out in various textile firms in India and the effects
of poor power quality specially harmonics were analyzed on the
productivity and energy consumption. Harmonic current
generated by nonlinear loads like motors driven by Variable
Frequency Drives (VFD) cause power system heating and add to
user power bills. The harmonic related losses are present in the
power cables, bus bars linking the loads with source, the power
transformer itself. A more serious effect of harmonic loads
served by transformer is due to an increase in winding eddy
current losses. The heat generated due to harmonics must be
removed in order to save electrical energy, thus leading to
savings in the utility bill.
The paper is a case study where a 1.5 MVA transformer used
for powering the spinning section of a textile mill. The current
harmonics is recorded with & without using the Active harmonic
filter (AHF). The power parameters are recorded on both the
primary & secondary side of transformer to demonstrate how
the active harmonic filter can reduce the effects of harmonics and
save energy.

I. Introduction
Machineries which draw non sinusoidal currents when a
sinusoidal voltage is applied create harmonics. These
harmonics are multiple of the fundamental frequency of an
electrical power system. Machineries used in a plant that draw
non sinusoidal currents are also known as non linear load.
Listed below are some of these devices.
1) Adjustable speed drives
2) DC Drives
3) Variable frequency drives
4) 6 pulse converters
5) Power rectifiers
6) Uninterrupted Power Supplies
7) Computers
If a facility has more than 15% non linear load, then a
harmonic study should be performed before applying the
Power Quality (PQ) solutions. Various methods are used in
order to promote the savings involved with applying PQ
solutions. The most important method followed in Textile
mills is to claim significant benefits associated with the cost of
solution equipment related to payback. Many are so called
tangible or hard savings but many are intangible or related to
payback. Many are so called tangible or hard savings but
many are intangible or soft savings that are associated with or
a side benefit of the solution.
Hard savings include:
x Reduced energy (kWH) usage

II. Problems observed in textile industries

Power system apparatus overheating:
It is normally observed that transformer gets overheated. Extra
fans near transformers and at places water sprinkler are
installed to cool the transformers. LT distribution panel doors
are kept open and cooling fans and even air conditioning of
panel room is carried out to cool the switchgears, busbars in
the room. The bursting of PF capacitors due to excessive
harmonics was reported. Over correction of PF leading to
increase of LT voltage has damaged the sensitive components
of VFD used in machineries.
Detailed harmonic measurement study on presence of
harmonics and their effects on more than 20 textile industries
have been carried out. Following table shows the %THD
content present at the PCC of various machineries.
The heating of power transformer in the presence of
harmonics is analyzed. The theoretical calculations of heat
loss along with the measurement were carried out.

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Fifteenth National Power Systems Conference (NPSC), IIT Bombay, December 2008

Table 1 Current THD for textile mill machineries

Sr.
No
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

K-factor is the ratio of eddy current losses due to distorted

current compared to the losses for the same rms fundamental
frequency current.
The K factor is represented by,

% Current
THD
40%
83%
38%
48%
57%
61%
32%
28%
13%

Section
Ring-Frames
Winding/Autoconer
Loom Unit
Speed Frame
Sizing
Warping
Compressor
TFO
Carding

PLL

2
h

PEC

hmax

I  pu h
2

h max

PECR *
h 1

Ih

(4)

* h 2 watts
I R

PEC  pu PECR  pu *

(5 )

h max

I  pu 
h 1

*h 2

(6)

The I2R loss at rated load is one per unit (by definition), but it
will change for non sinusoidal load currents. The rms value of
the load current is given by,

where Rh is the winding resistance for the hth harmonic.

The winding eddy current loss in transformer increases
proportional to the square of the product of harmonic current
and its corresponding frequency. Given the winding eddy
current loss at the fundamental frequency PEC-1,the total eddy
current losses including harmonic frequency component can
be calculated by,

PEC 1

I 2 R  PEC  POSL can be written as,

The above equation can also be written in per unit form,

h 1

PEC

(3)

where POSL is the stray loss in the components other than the
windings.
Given the eddy current loss under rated conditions for
transformer winding or portion of a winding,( PEC-R),the eddy
current loss due to any defined non sinusoidal load current can
be expressed as

(1)

PLL R  pu  =1+ PEC  R  pu  + POSL R  pu 

The load losses are further divided in to two parts that are I2R
losses (PR), the ohmic losses & stray losses. The stray losses
are caused by eddy currents that produce stray electromagnetic
flux in the windings, core, core clamps, magnetic shields, tank
walls & other structural parts. For a transformer feeding
harmonic producing loads, the eddy current loss in the
windings may be the most dominant loss component in the
transformer.
For non sinusoidal load currents, the I2R Power loss (PR) can
be obtained by the sum of the squares of the fundamental and
harmonic currents as shown in below equation.

The Kfactor determines the capability of a transformer to

handle harmonics loads. By providing additional capacity (
large-size or multiple winding conductors), K- factor rated
transformers are capable of safely withstanding additional
winding eddy current losses equal to K times the rated eddy
current loss.
Per unit losses:
Since the greatest concern under harmonic load conditions
will be for over-heating of the windings, it is convenient to
consider loss density in the windings on a per unit basis. (Base
current is rated current & base loss density is the I2R loss
density at rated current in watts per kg of conductor). Now the
transformer loss which is

A) Power Transformer:The transformer loss is divided in to two components:a. No Load loss

b. Load related loss

hmax

I  pu  * h
h 1

III. Harmonic related (kWH) losses in transformer

Two main component areas to get maximum reduction in
energy in a plant are
A. The power transformer supporting
harmonic loads
B. The cables carrying power to the
harmonic load

PR

h f

h max 2
I h 
h 1

amps

(7)

In per unit form this equation will be,

2
h max

I ( pu) I h  pu 
h 1

amps

(8)

The per unit loss density in the region of highest eddy-current

loss can be calculated for the measured harmonic load current
by combining Equations 4, 6,and 8.

(2)

h 1

Where PEC-1 is the fundamental eddy current loss and Ih (pu)

h max

PLL (pu)=

is the per unit harmonic current of hth order.

One of the factors called K factor is ideal to establish the
increase in eddy current losses in a power transformer
supporting non-linear loads.

h max

Ih  pu  PECR  pu Ih ( pu)2 h2
h 1

(9)

h 1

where the first term on the RHS is the winding loss and the
second term is eddy current loss.

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Fifteenth National Power Systems Conference (NPSC), IIT Bombay, December 2008

IV.Case study- 1.5MVA Transformer in the textile mill.

The transformer in the case study is loaded at 70 % of its 1500
kVA rating. Each phase is loaded at 350 KW and Irms is 1487
Amp. At this point the load is compensated, (that is, unity
power factor & no harmonics). The objective here is to
calculate the additional losses caused by harmonics in the load
current after finding out the K- factor.
Fig.1-A, Fig.1-B and Fig.1-C show the secondary current
waveform, the current harmonic Table & the Power & energy
data.

Fig.1-C Power and energy

Table -2 shows the secondary harmonic current and Ih is the
rms current of hth harmonic current, and I1 is the rms value of
the fundamental current. Total Current THD of 13.3% is taken
into calculation. K-factor is calculated using Equation -3 & it
is 1.483 (summation of last row in Table-2).
The eddy current losses will increase by 1.483 times due to
harmonic current in the transformer.
For the transformer used in case study the PEC-R is taken from
the transformer test record. It is 1221 watts.
All of the stray loss is assumed to be winding eddy current
loss. The division of eddy current loss between the windings is
assumed to be as 70% in the inner winding and 30% in the
outer winding of the transformer. Since the transformer turns
ratio exceeds 4:1 & the secondary current exceeds 1000 amps,
the secondary winding eddy current loss is 0.7 times PEC-R
[ref-1]. Eddy current loss distribution within each winding is
assumed to be nonuniform. The maximum eddy current loss
density is assumed to be in the region of the winding hottest
spot and is assumed to be 400% of the average eddy current
loss density for that winding. Taking the assumptions in to
account,
Max PEC-R= 2.8 PEC-R watts / 1.5( I2-R )2 R2 watts. (10)
where I2-R is the secondary (L.V.) rms sine wave line current
under rated frequency and load conditions (amperes) and R2 is
the dc resistance measured between two L.V. terminals
(ohms).

Fig.1-A. Current Waveform

Fig. 1-B Current Harmonics Table

Table-2.Calculation for K Factor
Harmonic
1
3
Ih
Current (Ih) 1487
13.38
Ih (pu )
1.0
0.0089
Ih (pu)2
1.0
0.00007
h2
1.0
9
Ih(pu)2h2
1.0
0.0007

11

13

15

191.81
0.1278
0.0163
25
0.408

57.9
0.0386
0.0014
49
0.073

4.46
0.00297
0.000008
81
0.0007

10.408
0.0069
0.000047
121
0.0005

1.486
0.00099
0.0000009
169
0.0001

1.486
0.00099
0.0000009
225
0.0001

Using equation (10), one can calculate max PEC-R

PLL (pu )= 1.017+ 0.352 X 1.4831=1.539 pu

Max PEC-R= 2.8x 1221 / 1.5x6467 =0.352 pu,

The transformer losses due to harmonic current will increase

by 54% approximately of the tested transformer load losses.
The no load loss increase due to harmonic load current is
assumed less in comparison to the increase in load loss. Hence
it is not taken in to consideration.

where 6467 watts is the L.V. copper loss as per manufacturers

test report on transformer.
The loss density produced by the harmonic current in the
region of highest eddy-current loss using Equation (9) is,
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Fifteenth National Power Systems Conference (NPSC), IIT Bombay, December 2008

The tested load loss given by the transformer manufacturer is

.
Therefore the additional losses calculated due to harmonic
current flowing through transformer is (13.265 x 0.54) =7.16
kW.
This additional loss can easily be mitigated by using a PQ
solution gadget such as ACTIVE HARMONIC FILTER. Here
the loss of 7.16 kW is less than 0.5% of the full load capability
of the transformer.
Hence a high accuracy (below 0.5% class accuracy) revenue
grade meter, CT s and PTs are required to measure the decrease
in losses in transformer with Active harmonic filters in
operation.
V. Experimental details of field test
200 Amp (2x100) EMCOSINE Active Harmonic filter was
installed in power distribution board, PDB 2 feeder of spinning
unit supplied by 1.5 MVA transformer- TX1. This transformer
also supports other linear loads in addition to the VFD loads
connected to PDB 2.
We could measure high current harmonics giving more than
30% of THD in PDB2.The readings were recorded to see the
improvement achieved by eliminating the harmonics in the
feeder line leading
PDB 1

PDB 3

IL

PDB4

LT
PANEL

Utility 1.5 MVA

x'mer TX1

IS

ILh
Ih

PDB 2 (NONLINEAR LOAD)

EMCOSINE
AHF
2 x 100 amps

Figure 5.1 Experimental set-up

Table-3: Test results
Avg.
Avg.
Avg.
Losses in
Losses
Losses
Losses percentage
(Before) (After)
saved
w r t rated
in kW
In kW
(kW)
capacity
12. 7 *
7.5 *
5.2
0.5 %

13.265 kW.
the advent of new technology for improving the eddy current
losses for the transformer.

Acknowledgement
The Authors are grateful to the EMCO Management for
granting permission to publish this paper.
References
[1]

American National Standard- Recommended practice for establishing

transformer capability when supplying non sinusoidal load currents.
ANSI/IEEE C57.110-1986. Volume, Issue, 1 Apr 1988 Page(s): [2] Thomas Key and jih-Sheng Lai Industry Applications Conference, 1995.
Thirtieth IAS Annual Meeting, IAS apos;95., Conference Record of the 1995
IEEEVolume 2, Issue , 8-12 Oct 1995 Page(s):1101 - 1108 vol.2
[3] Robert E. Fuhr Save Energy and Improve Power Quality. A case study75 kVA Transformer., P.E. Power Systems Engineering,

About The Authors

Mr. M. K. Pradhan, born in July 1954,completed his graduation in
Electronics and Communication Engineering from NIT, Kurukshetra in
1976,followed by post graduation in 1978 in Microwave and Radar engineering
from Indian Institute of Technology at Kharagpur . He started his career in
Avionics Design Bureau, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited-Hyderabad and was
involved in design and development of Power amplifiers in Radar systems.
Since1990, Mr. Pradhan has been associated in R&D department of various
private sectors like Elcot Power Controls Ltd, TVS Electronics Ltd,& Numeric
Power System Ltd. Mr. Pradhan is presently the General Manager, EMCOs
R&D unit and is responsible for research & technology development in the area
of Power quality
Mr.Kamlesh Keharia obtained Master of Engineering in Electrical from M.S.
University Vadodara in November 2001 & B.E. in Power Electronics from L.E.
college, Morvi in May 2000. He has 6 years of experience in R&D of Power
Electronics & instrumentation. His area of interest is power electronic &
instrumentation. He has more than eight papers in
Mr. Rajesh Darapu: has done his B.Tech. In Electrical & Electronics from
JNTU, Hyderabad in 2002. Also has done his M.Tech. In Electronics Design &
Technology from CEDT (Centre for Electronics Design and Technology),
Dr.B.A.M.University, Aurangabad in 2006.He is with EMCO Ltd since
November 06. He is working as Executive in Corporate R&D.
Mr.B.Mariappan has graduated as Electrical Engineer from BIT Sathy, and
received M.Tech (Electrical) with second rank, from NIE Mysore in 2005.
Since 2006 he was a research Fellow of CSIO unit of CSIR Labs. Currently he
is working as Design Engineer (R&D), at EMCO LTD, Thane. His research
interests in include Power Quality, Power Electronics application to improve
Power Quality, Digital Signal processing etc.

*Data taken from 12 Hr trend record of PDB with AHF ON

and AHF OFF.
VI. Conclusion
The maximum savings due to cancellation of harmonics from
the power transformer comes from the eddy current loss
component of the total load loss of the transformer. This eddy
current loss increases with the increase in current THD in the
load. Though current distortion of 30% and more are measured
near the harmonic load feeders, the current THD came down to
15% at the secondary of the transformer due to other feeders
supporting linear loads powered by the same transformer. The
saving in energy can be up to 1% of the rated load capacity in
textile mills where variable frequency drives with 6 pulse
rectifiers are used. The savings may further come down with

601