Appliances in the residential sector: Economic impact of harmonic losses

In this work, the energy losses and the economic impact associated with the harmonic pollution of various frequently used appliances in the residential sector were estimated for Spanish dwellings. Most of the current residential devices, which contain power electronics (PE), produce harmonic emissions whose presence in the distribution system originates an increase of the losses in the wiring as well as a higher apparent power demand. The Time Use Survey (2009–10) conducted by the National Statistical Institute in Spain was used to obtain information about the activities taking place at the Spanish dwellings and directly related to the usage of some common residential appliances. Based on this information, as well as models of different types of household appliances, the active and non-active power annually demanded by this equipment in the Spanish residential sector were determined. Despite the negligible contribution of a single appliance, the aggregated effect of them, with a total annual energy demand greater than 19,000 GWh, can be significant enough to be considered in any energy efficiency program. Moreover, the research depicts that a reduction from 20% to 5% in the distribution system of the total harmonic distortion (THD
i
) can lead to a significant reduction of energy losses, as well as more than one thousand million Euros in energy savings. Single-phase power electronic loads, harmonics, economic impact, residential sector.