Power quality monitoring. Data relevance and usefulness

Power quality data gathered on-site are referred to specific standards to assess whether the power parameters are within the prescribed limits. In this paper, data resulting from several voltage waveform long-term monitoring campaigns are studied as to highlight their relevance to the steady-state conditions of the distribution grids. Mainly based on half-cycle voltage measurement, this paper presents ways to improve data versatility in power quality investigation. Thanks to the latest technology developments, now it is possible to deal with significant amounts of data that can be used in improving power quality management. After recalling the IEC61000-4-30 requirements for voltage measurement, the paper presents an analysis of the measurement results, including a statistical approach which enables considerations on data stationarity.