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Harmonics – a costly problem easily solved

Have you ever wondered how harmonic distortion occurs? 
Are you worried whether it will affect your installation?
 

What is meant by harmonics?
 

​​​​​​In an ideal situation, an electrical AC power network provides a voltage with as basic frequency a sinusoidal waveform of 50 or 60 Hz. All electrical equipment is designed for optimum performance on an ideal power supply source. Harmonics are voltages and currents containing whole multiples of the basic frequency. Harmonics distort the pure sinusoidal waveform. Power electronics as used in rectifiers, frequency converters, UPS, lighting dimmers, televisions and many other devices, absorb non-sinusoidal power. This non-sinusoidal current affects power and distorts voltage to a greater or lesser extent, depending on the strength or weakness (short-circuit power) of the power supply network. In general: the more switching power electronics at a location, the greater the harmonic distortion.       
Harmonics lower reliability, cause downtime, affect production quality, increase operating costs and lead to a lower productivity. Danfoss has solutions that offer you the opportunity to connect big loads to your network without the risk of unacceptable distortion levels. Under certain circumstances our solutions can “eliminate” existing harmonics, resulting in an improvement of the existing situation.  

Optimise energy efficiency by reducing harmonics
 

Danfoss Drives’ wide range of solutions offers you support to repair weak networks, increase network capacity, attain retrofit requirements and protect sensitive environments. 

Monitor your network disruptions with digital tools

Realise your savings potential with MyDrive® Harmonics! Discover your potential savings on harmonic distortion in just a few minutes with Danfoss' free online tool.
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If you want to know more about harmonics and how to avoid it, please contact your itsme office.

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