Power electronics genesis, trends and improvement

The latest buzzword, in energy conscious industries, is the improvement of power quality. Good quality of electric power can not only result in handsome savings in power bills but also helps in avoiding unwarranted breakdowns. This paper aims at analyzing the reasons for poor quality of power and solutions for improving it. The change in magnitude and power factor can be corrected without much of difficulty with only problem being that of maintenance of shape, which is distorted by harmonics. We look at the factors causing in the production of harmonics, what impact these harmonics have on other equipments in the load serenity. We look at the types of harmonics, their effects and problems caused by them. Active filters are the ultimate solution for reduction of harmonics which use the IGBT technology in additions to the pulse width modulation technology (PWM) which combines with control techniques to emerge successfully with improved power quality by fighting with the problems of harmonics to an extent that the THD (total harmonic distortion) is within acceptable limits i.e. <5%, these filters are the ultimate solution and far win over their counter parts i.e. passive filters.