Digital techniques for flicker measurement: Algorithms and implementations analysis

All types of fluctuations of the r.m.s. voltage in power systems may be assessed by using a flickermeter which complies with the specifications given in IEC 61000-4-15. In this paper, various approaches to a digital flickermeter implementation are analyzed and some of them experimentally compared by means of a "Virtual Instrumentation" (VI). The instrument, implemented with an acquisition board inserted on a PC and with a software developed with the LabView tools, samples the voltage and furnishes the instantaneous flicker level and other severity coefficients. Results of simulated and actual data are reported to validate the performances of the developed flickermeter according to the latest standard specifications.