Light flicker test in the United States

Home appliances, like washers, dryers, refrigerators, etc., can cause voltage fluctuations and light flicker. A standardized flicker test has been established in Europe (IEC 1000-3-3). However, the European test is designed for 230-V 50-Hz power and needs to be modified for a 115-V 60-Hz supply. In this paper, the reference impedance and the limits of flicker tests for 115 V/60 Hz systems are proposed. A high-performance power analysis system, the Xitron 2803AH power analyzer, was used to study the voltage fluctuations and flicker caused by some washing machines. The analysis and test results provided in this paper can serve as a proposal for establishing a US light flicker testing standard for 115 V/60 Hz.