Power Quality and Your Business

June, 2012

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Mike Carter, Senior Engineer

Business Energy Service

Meet your moderator

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Meet your panelists

Lee Weaver, Senior Engineer

Florida Power & Light Company

John McComb, Principal Engineer

Florida Power & Light Company

Idania Gonzalez, Business Account Manager

Florida Power & Light Company

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• Power quality defined

• Types and effects of disturbances

• FPL’s power quality initiatives

• Protecting your infrastructure and equipment

• Working together

Agenda

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• Any power problem that results in failure or incorrect

operation of customer equipment

• Equipment that needs to be protected

– Computers

– Network servers

– Energy management systems

– Machinery

– Food processing and medical equipment

• Meeting National Electrical Code (NEC)

requirements does not ensure

good power quality!

Reliable power is critical to your business operations, so it is important to understand the sources of power interruption

Power Quality Defined

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• Economic value

• Productivity

• Consumer confidence

Optimal power quality is a necessity, so investing time to identify the sources of power quality issues can reap significant rewards

Benefits of Improved Power Quality

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• FPL strives to provide highly reliable and consistent electric power

• In the course of normal utility operations, voltage will inevitably fluctuate

– Loads come onto or leave the power system

– Utility switches clear faults on the line

When identifying the source of electrical disturbances, utilities are the logical first place to turn to for assistance

Electrical Disturbances

It is not possible for utilities to maintain perfectly

consistent voltage 100 percent of the time.

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Many power quality problems can result from an event in the facility

• The vast majority of power quality

problems originate within

the utility customer’s facility

• You share a power grid with

neighboring companies

• Your neighbor’s power disturbance

can affect your facility

• Problems far upstream can affect

your power quality

• Other causes include lightning

strikes and dense vegetation

Electrical Disturbances

Transmission Lines

Power Plant

Substation

Distribution Lines

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• Momentary

– Interruption of your feeder for one-half second to clear a fault

• Sympathetic Relay

– Reduction of voltage due to a fault on an adjacent feeder

– Causes a voltage reduction on your feeder lasting about 1/10 of a second

• Transient (Surge)

– High voltage lasting less than 1/1000 of a second

• Sag

– Short-term voltage reduction

• Over Voltage

– Long-term voltage exceeding defined limit

• Under Voltage

– Long-term under voltage exceeding defined limit

Power quality events are defined by duration

Electrical Disturbances

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The first steps in improving power quality are to identify the type and source of a disturbance

Types of Disturbances

Disturbance Description Sample Sources

Transients • Temporary excess of voltage and/or current

• Short duration events • Found on all types of electrical, data

and communications circuits

• Switching things on and

off

• Lightning

Sags • Voltage drops below what normally

reaches your business

• Heavy loads on/off

• Weather

• Trees

• Public Interference

• System faults

Swells • Voltage rises above what normally

reaches your business

• Lightning

Momentaries/

Sympathetics

• Utility system shuts down for a few

seconds to eliminate a problem

• Electrical system automatically resets

itself once the problem clears

• Prevents longer outages

• Lightning

• Tree branches

• Small animals

• Vehicles

• Sea spray

Voltage

Imbalance

• One phase is far different than

average

• Single-phase load

• Loose connections

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Types of Disturbances

Adding surge suppressors on your facility or the utility power lines will not protect equipment from direct lightning strikes

transformer meter can

There is little protection from direct lightning strikes

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Voltage Imbalance

Voltage imbalances (from average) will overheat the motor and at least requires derating the motor capacity

208 volt service (average)

216 V

201 V

207 V

3.8%

Imbalance Derating

1% None

2% 95%

3% 88%

4% 82%

5% 75%

Goal

Do Not Operate

100 HP 88 HP

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• Utility voltage is normally

supplied within plus or minus

7.5 percent of nominal voltage

– Motor voltage +/- 10%

– Equipment -12.1% to +7.5%

• You can tell where most

symptoms originate by

observing the speed at which

they appear and recover

• On average, only a few

interruptions per year originate

from the utility side

Available data helps identify the source of the electrical disturbance for short-term repair and long-term solutions

Evaluating Electrical Disturbances

FPL Requirements for Voltage Regulation

Base Range A

+7.5% -7.5%

120 V 111 129

208 V 192 224

240 V 222 258

480 V 444 516

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• Most equipment has built-in tolerance (green zone) to many power quality problems

• Three criteria

– Time (cycles or seconds)

– Magnitude of voltage

– Distortion of shape

Utilities use three criteria to evaluate power quality disturbances

Evaluating the Impact of Power Quality Disturbances

Source: ITIC

FPL power +/- 7.5%

Voltage Swell

Voltage Sag

Power quality symptoms can have numerous

combinations of time and magnitude

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• Tripped circuit breakers

• Tree limbs on power lines

• Transformer issues

– Blown fuses on the transformer that serves your business

– Damage to the primary line feeding the transformer

– Improper wiring

• Broken connector or wire at one of the service leads to your business

Equipment or wiring issues could cause you to be the only business on the block without power or can allow electricity in one part of your building, but not another

Other Common Types of Electrical Disturbances

If one main power line on your street is affected, it does not

necessarily mean that all main power lines are being affected

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• Protecting your company against power quality related damage is important

– Loss of data

– Loss of productive time

– Cost of replacing failed equipment

• Range in severity

Brief malfunctions Immediate equipment failure

• Do not ignore small fluctuations

– Can lead to equipment degradation over time

Once the source of an electrical disturbance is identified, the next step is to understand the present and potential future effects on your facility and equipment

Effects of Disturbances

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Effects can be minor annoyances or have significant impact depending upon the disturbance type

Sample Effects

Disturbance Type Potential Effects on Operations,

Equipment, and Systems

Voltage Fluctuation

(Sag or Swell)

• Lights dim (sag)

• Air conditioning interrupted (sag)

• Computer monitor images shrink (sag)

• Electronics can be damaged (swell)

Momentary • Lights flickering

• Air conditioning interrupted

• Blinking digital display

• Computer turns off

Transient • Electronic equipment damaged

Power Outage • All electricity shuts off

Electrical

Interference

• Static on telephone

• Data loss

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• Why does it seem like I’m constantly replacing my ballasts and / or bulbs?

– Possible causes: heat, voltage transients, vibration or bad electrical connection

– Ways to prevent: point-of-entry surge protection device (SPD)

• Why did my 3-ph motor fail even though it is up to code?

– Possible causes: NEC does not protect equipment; bearings/insulation breakdown from spikes, single-phasing or imbalance

– Ways to prevent: local SPD and monitors/alarms for single-phasing/imbalance

• Why isn’t my transformer working?

– Possible causes: heat/oxidation, workmanship, loose connections or swells/lightning

– Ways to prevent: thermal infrared imaging and point-of-entry protection

• How can I conduct business if my computers or cash registers go out?

– Possible causes: power outage

– Ways to prevent: uninterrupted power supply (UPS) – NOTE: UPS only lasts about 15 minutes without backup generation

The good news is that most common power quality-related issues can easily be fixed. The key is identifying the source and providing adequate protection.

Frequently Asked Questions

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Hardening Projects

FPL works every day to improve the infrastructure and technology responsible for delivering power and to minimize inconvenience

FPL customers enjoy more than 99.98 percent service

reliability

Pole Inspections

Vegetation Management Advanced Infrared Technology

Inspections

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• Outage prevention

– By analyzing data from the grid, we will be able to perform predictive maintenance

• Confining disruptions

– Advanced sensors and switches

Will Identify an outage and re-route power

Confining the outage and preventing cascading failure

Smart grid technologies will improve the service we provide customers, offering real benefits today while paving the way for substantial future benefits

Smart Technology Initiatives

FPL performance and diagnostic center

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• Restoring service faster

– Advanced monitoring equipment

Intelligent sensors will notify FPL of service issues and their locations

Dispatch crews, if needed, to head off the problem

Re-route power

– Smart meters, an essential component of the smart grid, will verify outages

Preventative maintenance and the fastest possible restoration are top priorities

Smart Technology Initiatives

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• Computers, laptops and computer monitors

• Printers

• Copy machines

• External zip drives, CD ROM drives, external modems

• Networking equipment

• Telephone systems

• Fire/security system

• Gas pump controls

• Credit approval systems

• Cash registers / point-of-sale terminals

• Bar code scanners

• Motor-driven equipment

In addition to FPL’s initiatives, there are things you can do to protect your equipment. For example, all electronic equipment needs surge protection.

Equipment Requiring Surge Protection

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1. At the point-of-entry

– Electrical panel

– Meter

2. At the point-of-use

– Plug-in surge suppressors

Power and data together

– Uninterruptible power supplies (UPS)

Selecting the right surge protection for your business can minimize down time

Two Ways to Protect Your Equipment from Surges

A combination of point-of-entry and point-of-use devices

will provide the greatest level of protection

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• Traps surges

• Device is mounted behind the meter

Meter-based devices prevent the surge from entering your lines in the first place

Point-of-Entry Protection: Meter-based Devices

Arrestor

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FPL SurgeShield

• Point-of-entry protection

– Installed at your meter

– Diverts power surges

– Designed for single and three-phase applications

– Visual indicator that the surge protector is functioning

• Heavy duty protector

– Air conditioning systems, electric cooking equipment, elevator and escalator motors, fan motors, pumps, manufacturing equipment and motor-driven and hard-wired equipment

• Check with FPL for eligibility

FPL offers point-of-entry protection services

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• Installed in or adjacent to your facility’s electrical panel(s)

• Keep surges that originate on one of your facility’s electrical circuits from spreading to other circuits

Panel-mount suppressors protect against surges, such as lightning, that come through utility power lines

Point-of-Entry Protection: Panel-mount Suppressors

A qualified electrician should install all

hard-wired surge suppressors

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• Only protects devices that are plugged in

– Low-end options = limited protection

– Some high-end options = excellent protection

• Models available for phone jacks and cable lines

• UL-1449 listed

• Purchase from computer, hardware and office supply stores

– A higher price doesn’t ensure a higher level of protection

Surge protectors act like electrical sponges, absorbing excess energy and preventing most of it from reaching your equipment

Point-of-Use Protection: Plug-in Surge Suppressors

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Do not leave any paths open for the surge to enter your system.

Point-of-Use Protection: Plug-in Surge Suppressors

HUB

FILE SERVER

power cord

computer AC/data line

Surge Suppressor

data line

power cord

computer

data line

power cord

computer

data line

AC/data line

Surge Suppressor

AC/data line

Surge Suppressor

UPS

Note: All PCs should be protected by an AC power/data line surge

suppressor. In addition, the network file server and data hub

should be plugged into an uninterruptible power supply

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When purchasing a surge protector, look for these features

Surge Protector Features

Feature to Look

For

Why This Matters

UL listed Insures that your surge protector meets industry standards

Clamping voltage The amount of voltage the unit passes through to your equipment

before diverting voltage to the ground. The lower the number, the

better. The lowest clamping voltage recognized by UL is 330 volts or

.33 kilovolts.

Amperage Rating Represents the amount of energy the unit absorbs. The higher, the

better.

Alarm or Light Lets you know when your surge protector no longer works. Make sure

they are on.

EMI/RFI Protection Guards against data loss, audio static, video interference and possible

computer memory loss from electromagnetic and radio frequency

interference.

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• Provides back-up power from batteries

• Some power quality protection – Handles voltage sags to any level

– Some level of surge suppression

– Some harmonics protection

• Three types – Stand by

– Line-interactive

– On-line

• May be purchased from many retailers

Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPS) provides reliable back-up for equipment critical to your business operations

Point-of-Use Protection:

Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPS)

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Point-of-Use Protection:

Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPS)

UPS

UPS

UPS battery energy storage supplies power to your loads even when utility power is not available

A UPS stands between your utility power and the loads

Interruption

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• What is the problem?

• What have you observed?

• How often does it occur?

• What is happening to the equipment?

• Where is the problem?

• What is the measured voltage?

• What diagnostics or data do you have?

When contacting FPL regarding a power disturbance, the more specific information that you can provide, the faster we can offer a solution

Sample Checklist

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• Are other businesses in your area affected?

• Does the problem come and go?

• Is all of your equipment running at the same time?

• Has recent work been performed on your business’ or location’s electrical system?

• Have you recently added new equipment to your business?

• Is the problem happening with only one specific piece of equipment or electronic device?

• Are lights in your facility going dim and staying dim for an extended period of time?

Solving the problem can simply be a matter of tracking when problems occur and which equipment is affected

Troubleshooting Power Disturbances

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• Plug electronic equipment into Surge Protection Devices such as FPL’s SurgeShield

• Check operation of surge protectors

• Protect data and power lines together

• Add Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPS) to avoid data loss and downtime

• Report a power quality problem on www.FPL.com or 1-800-375-5566

• Report a power outage on 1-800-4OUTAGE (1-800-468-8243)

• Visit www.FPL.com/business/powerquality for help with troubleshooting power disturbances

If you have power quality related questions or issues, FPL is here to help

Next Steps