Estimation of Economic Losses in the Electricity Distribution Network Using Fourier Analysis

Abstract

One of the primary requirements of modern electric power systems is the supply of high-quality electricity to consumers. Ideally, the voltage and current in an electrical network should exhibit a pure sinusoidal waveform. However, the widespread use of modern electronic devices, inverters, LED lighting, computer equipment, and other non-linear loads leads to harmonic distortion within the network. Fourier series analysis is one of the most effective mathematical methods for addressing this issue, enabling the representation of any periodic signal as a sum of sinusoidal components at various frequencies. In this study, current harmonics were measured at a transformer substation using a power quality analyzer, and the Total Harmonic Distortion (THD) factor - a widely used metric in the power industry - was evaluated. The obtained result of 24.6% indicates that the total harmonic distortion is quite high, leading to additional technical and economic losses. It is worth noting that international standards set a target range of 5-8% for low-voltage networks. The paper calculates the economic effect- the annual savings achieved through the use of harmonic filters