Effect of interactions between voltage and current harmonics on the net harmonic current produced by single phase non-linear loads

The effect of the interaction between both load voltage and current harmonics on the net harmonic current produced by different types of single phase non-linear loads is investigated. Two types of loads are considered: the fluorescent lamps' load and single phase diode bridge rectifiers' load. Studies are done on each load alone and then on the combination of both. The electromagnetic transient program has been used to model these loads. The computer simulations are supported by laboratory testing. The main conclusion of this work is that neglecting the interactions between both voltage and current harmonics will result in incorrect estimation of the harmonic current produced by these loads. Also it is concluded that using a combination of different types of loads can result in a reduction of the current and voltage distortions.