Low and high order harmonic distortion in the presence of fast charging stations

The aim of this paper is to assess the harmonic emission from fast charging stations at both the low-order and high-order harmonics. New three-phase effective power quantities are developed at both the low-order (harmonics below 40th order) and high order (harmonics above 40th order) and are used to quantify such harmonic impact. Chargers from two different manufacturers are used in this study and the real measurement are performed at fast charging stations in Canada. The results have shown that chargers from different manufacturers may contribute differently in terms of the harmonic current distortion levels reaching 18% at the system level. Furthermore, the time-frequency spectrum of the current obtained from chargers of different manufacturers are different at both the low-order and high-order harmonic current distortion. The results have also shown that the new three-phase power quantities defined in this work are useful in identifying the chargers with high contribution to both the low-order and the high-order harmonics distortion/interference by separating the power quantities defined in the IEEE Standard 1459-2010 into several power quantities at the low-order harmonic (ranging from 2nd to 39th harmonic order or below 2.4 kHz) and the high-order harmonics (beyond 40th harmonic order or beyond 2.4 kHz).

Automated summary

This study assesses the harmonic emission from fast charging stations, showing that chargers from different manufacturers may have different contributions to harmonic current distortion levels, along with differences in time-frequency spectra. The new three-phase power quantities developed in this study are useful in identifying chargers with high contributions to both low-order and high-order harmonics distortion.