Harmonic Balance Method Used for Harmonics Calculation and Prediction in Power Systems

Abstract

In power systems harmonic distortion is mainly caused by non-linear loads and power electronics used in different devices and distributed renewable energy systems. In recent years, the presence of non-linear loads and the increasing number of distributed energy resource (DER) units in electrical grids contribute significantly to change the characteristics of voltage and current waveforms in power systems. This paper proposes a novel accurate and effective harmonic analysis method entitled: Harmonic Balance Method (HBM) for power system and distributed energy system (DES). This method can calculate all forms of harmonics generated from nonlinear inductive loads, DER units and saturated transformers; therefore it can provide accurate prediction of harmonic components for active power filters (APFs) and control systems.