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Profitability of filtering harmonics by passive filters for tertiary buildings: Application to a university of higher education

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Abstract

Harmonic filtering is becoming necessary given the growth of harmonic pollution in distribution networks. Passive filters are widely used and offer several advantages. This article studies the profitability of harmonic filtering by passive filters for the case of tertiary buildings. We studied a real case of a higher education building. The installation of a network analyzer for seven continuous days at the level of the main circuit breaker showed the existence of significant harmonic pollution. We studied the possibility of filtering these harmonics by passive filters while basing ourselves on data measured by the analyzer, analysis of electricity bills and the ETAP software. The results of this study revealed energy savings and reductions in kVA power demands. These power reductions make it possible to reduce the power subscribed, which makes it possible to generate a second significant indirect financial gain. The calculated total gain was 1265$ and the investment 3160$ giving a payback period of 2.5 years.

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Abbreviations

AES:

Annual energy saving (kWh/year)

CF:

Consumption fee ($)

DPF:

Displacement power factor (–)

ECx :

Electrical consumption associated to the time slice x (kWh)

EPx :

Electricity prices for the time slice x ($/kWh)

FEPC:

Fee of the excess of subscribed power ($)

I DPF :

Increase for a displacement power factor below 0.8 ($)

P :

Active power (kW)

Q f,h :

Capacity of the hth harmonic filter (kVAr)

Q c,h :

Capacity of capacitor of the hth harmonic filter (kVAr)

Q L,h :

Capacity of inductor of the hth harmonic filter (kVAr)

V L :

RMS value of the line voltage (Volt)

Pf:

Power fee ($)

P max :

Monthly maximum active power (kW)

PSP:

Subscribed power price ($/kVA)

R :

Resistance (mΩ)

L :

Inductance (mH)

C :

Capacitance (mF)

Q :

Reactive power (kVAr)

Q f :

Quality factor (–)

S :

Apparent power (kVA)

S max :

Monthly maximal apparent power (kVA)

h :

Order of harmonic h (–)

I h :

H-order harmonic current (A)

D :

Distortion power

RMS:

Root mean square (–)

SP:

Subscribed power (kVA)

TEC:

Total energy consumption (kWh)

THDI :

Total harmonic current distortion (%)

THDV :

Total harmonic voltage distortion (%)

TPF:

True Power factor (–)

V h :

H-order harmonic voltage

Vi RMS:

RMS value of the voltage of phase i (V)

y:

Years (–)

AVG:

Average (–)

$:

American dollar (–)

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Intelligent Systems, Geo-Resources and Renewable Energies SIGER, Faculty of Science and Technology, U.S.M.B.A, Road Imouzzer, 2202, Fez, Morocco

    Ali Boharb, Hassane El Markhi, Hassan El Moussaoui & Tijani Lamhamdi

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  1. Ali Boharb
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  2. Hassane El Markhi
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  3. Hassan El Moussaoui
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  4. Tijani Lamhamdi
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Correspondence to Ali Boharb.

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Boharb, A., El Markhi, H., El Moussaoui, H. et al. Profitability of filtering harmonics by passive filters for tertiary buildings: Application to a university of higher education. Electr Eng 106, 353–367 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00202-023-01970-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00202-023-01970-9

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