Comparison of classic and optimization approach to active power filters sizing and placement

Purpose – In most applications the active power filters (APFs) are used to reduce harmonic distortion of a nonlinear load which is located near the APF installation point. This classic approach allows to reduce the distortion introduced to the power system but do not guarantee that the cost of the APFs installation is optimal. The purpose of this paper is to compare the classic approach to harmonic compensation with an optimization method of sizing and placement of the APFs in an existing distributed power network. Design/methodology/approach – An exemplary real-life power system with distributed nonlinear loads was modeled using PCFLO power analysis software. Next, Matlab was used to implement the classic method and the optimization algorithm. Between Matlab and PCFLO a specially written Java middleware was used to provide a seamless workflow integration. Findings – It was shown that the presented optimization method may lead to superior results in comparison with the classic approach. Simulation results...