Effects of harmonics - Disturbances affecting sensitive loads

Effects of distortion in the supply voltage

Distortion of the supply voltage can disturb the operation of sensitive devices:

• Regulation devices (temperature)
• Computer hardware
• Control and monitoring devices (protection relays)

Distortion of telephone signals

Harmonics cause disturbances in control circuits (low current levels). The level of distortion depends on the distance that the power and control cables run in parallel, the distance between the cables and the frequency of the harmonics.