Low harmonic drives have a greater worth than simply fulfilling regulations such as IEEE-519 and G5/4. Low harmonic drives have clear effects on delivering both power savings and productivity increases. The following presentation by ABB exemplifies some of their early case studies where active harmonic filters are used to create a low harmonic drive solution indicating savings of up to 10%. Note that these savings are compared to having no harmonic mitigation in place.
The cases illustrated by ABB, clearly demonstrate the great business value of implementing a high power quality standard for your installation and especially specifying low harmonic drives solutions for processes where many operational hours are involved. Complying with IEEE 519 or similar standards further enables the local grid to be dimensioned for less reactive power and harmonic current, leading to further monetary savings through thinner cabling, smaller transformers etc. Low harmonic drives are far more than a cost in the general investment calculation but should be considered as a tool to create direct financial savings.
Low Harmonic Drives 