IEEE and international harmonic standards impact on power electronic equipment design

Standards limiting harmonics in end user and utility power systems will influence the selection of power electronic equipment design. Harmonic standards from the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) and the 1992 IEEE Standard 519 impose specific limits on levels of current harmonics and voltage notching. Many end user's procurement specifications reference these standards limits. Consequently these standards will dictate different power electronic circuits and some system interface magnetic designs. In most applications it is not difficult to meet these standards, however, the most economic choices are still being developed. This paper outlines the different standard's requirements and reviews how power electronics design options measure up to the limits. To accomplish this the most popular harmonic reduction methods for both single and three-phase equipment is described. Simulation results are used to verify performance in a typical power system.