Multiple Tones in Power Calibration

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Multiple Tones in Power Calibration (50.38 KB)

Over the last several years much has been made of the increasing need for high quality AC line power and of the increasing challenges faced by suppliers in delivering it. Of the many types of events that plague today’s power systems, harmonic distortion presents a unique and difficult problem for providers of electric power, customers, and manufacturers of the test tools used to analyze this problem. Inaccurate measurements from this equipment can lead to improper billing, misdiagnosis of problems, and may have other financial and legal ramifications. With an ever-increasing number of these instruments being deployed, and the critical nature of their application, it seems inevitable that this instrumentation would be maintained on a regular calibration cycle with traceability to a national standards institution. Surprisingly, this is not typically the case. This paper explains why this equipment should be calibrated and why a convenient path of traceability must be provided. Finally it discusses where we are today and what may be done in the future to achieve these goals.