What is the impact of power electronics on static electricity meters?

Professor Gert Rietveld of VSL will give an interactive presentation on Tuesday 8 June at 16:00 at the Power Electronics event. In his session he will delve deeper into the impact of power electronics on statistical electricity meters. Rietveld will also share the results of a recent international study on the pollution of electricity grids by these electronics.

By Frank van de Ven

Power electronics are increasingly used in household appliances and when connecting solar panels and charging stations to the grid. “The impact of power electronics is great, because this application is becoming more common. This means that there is a greater chance of contamination. It is important to use the right filters to prevent this contamination. In the presentation 'Impact of power electronics on static electricity meters' we will delve deeper into this subject and its impact on households”, says Rietveld.

Skimping on filter components can cause malfunctions, which can cause household appliances to stop working properly. “These malfunctions can cause major damage that can run into billions of euros,” says the professor. “Pollution of the electricity grid, poor 'power quality', is the downside of the rise of electronic asset management.”

Follow-up research
Professor Frank Leferink of the University of Twente is conducting research into the pollution caused by power electronics. One of his studies showed that some smart electricity meters could not handle this pollution. Based on Leferink's research, VSL was called in to conduct a follow-up study.

The follow-up study lasted three years and was conducted at European level. “In our study, we examined the influence of pollution on the accuracy of smart electricity meters,” Rietveld explains. “Pollution by power electronics can become a European problem if measures are not taken in time. We also investigated whether there were indications when pollution occurs. Normally, currents in households have a reasonably clean sinusoidal form, but extreme peaks were seen in the event of pollution. We also investigated which current forms caused problems with which equipment and type of electricity meters. Not every fault signal causes deviations and not all electricity meters respond to them in the same way.”

Necessary attention
In his presentation, Rietveld will go into more detail about the research results. It is a complex subject that deserves the necessary attention. “Based on the results of our research, we propose, for example, to adjust the European test standards. The aim of this is to ensure that smart electricity meters can deal well with malfunctions caused by pollution of power electronics. We want to be able to respond to this pollution in time before it turns into a real problem.”

The Power Electronics event will take place online from Tuesday 8 to Thursday 10 June. The interactive presentation by Gert Rietveld and Helko van den Brom will start on Tuesday 8 June at 4:00 PM. You can register via this link register for this webinar. click here to see an overview of all presentations.