Implementation and Characterization of a System for the Evaluation of the Starting Instant of Lightning-Induced Transients

Voltage transients are one of the main causes of power quality (PQ) degradation. There is a search for investigation techniques that are capable of characterizing and classifying them depending on their origin. A distributed measurement system for PQ monitoring can be used in parallel with a lightning location system (LLS) to assess whether a lightning event is responsible for a voltage transient. This involves the accurate estimate of the transient's starting instant. In this paper, a system for the measurement of the starting instant of voltage transients is described. It is hosted in each remote unit of a distributed system, which was built in our laboratory, for PQ monitoring. The results of the characterization tests are also reported and discussed. They lead us to conclude that our system for PQ monitoring can be used in parallel with an LLS to assess whether an impulsive voltage transient was induced by lightning.