A system for the measurement of the starting instant of impulsive transients [power systems]

There is a search for investigation techniques capable of characterizing voltage transients, which are one of the main causes of power quality degradation, and classifying them depending on their origin. In a previous paper, the use of a distributed measurement system for power quality monitoring in parallel with a lightning location system was proposed to assess whether a lightning event is responsible for a voltage transient. An accurate estimate of the transient's starting instant is required to tackle that task. In this paper, a system for the measurement of the starting instant of impulsive voltage transients is proposed and the procedures for its metrological characterization are described. The results of the characterization tests are also reported and discussed.