Please see Electrical Contractor magazine for referenced Figures. -------------------------------------------------- A periodic voltage sag on a single-phase line occurring approximately every 30 to 60 seconds, accompanied by a sharp increase in resistive current and/or a sharp increase in the neutral-to-ground voltage, is probably due to a laser printer, copy machine or similar type load. READ MORE
Richard P. Bingham
Power Quality Columnist
Richard P. Bingham, a contributing editor for power quality. He can be reached at 732.287.3680.
Articles by Richard P. Bingham
July 2002
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A voltage sag originates at the startup of a motor. if the voltage drops quickly and steadily increases, you have sag. Some signatures of power quality (PQ) phenomena are difficult to discern from the megabytes of data that PQ monitors can produce in a relatively short time. Motor starts, fortunately, are easy to determine, and quite common. READ MORE
June 2002
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(Please refer to ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR magazine for referenced figures). On a single-phase circuit, the origin of a voltage sag is usually downstream if the neutral-to-ground voltage significantly increased during the sag. READ MORE
May 2002
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For the past three years, this column has covered a different power quality-related topic each month. Now that most of the major areas have been covered, it seems as though it is time to use a different approach. The forthcoming months will each feature a “PQ Rule” or a single concept that can be used in many applications to solve or interpret the data gathered from a power quality monitor. READ MORE
April 2002
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Today’s power quality (PQ) monitors are capable of capturing more data in a second than could be humanly processed in a day. Techniques employed, such as “report by exception,” can help to minimize data, but it still doesn’t answer the question, “Is this meaningful information?” This doesn’t prevent the user from applying the “test of reasonableness” to the data collected. READ MORE
March 2002
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In a recent discussion about the virtues of power quality (PQ) monitoring with some less-than-knowledgeable business people, the point was raised that, “Why bother to figure out whose fault it is if you can’t fix it?” I responded to this comment by showing them some of the latest software tools available that can determine the likely source of a PQ disturbance and the direction from which it origi READ MORE
February 2002
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(Refer to ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR magazine for tables and graphs.) Two invaluable tools for solving power quality problems have been Ohm’s Law and and Kirchoff’s Laws. They provide the basis to make a fundamental calculation that helps to analyze many types of PQ phenomena, from transients to sags to harmonics to voltage fluctuations. This column discusses a certain power quality phenomenon. READ MORE