Experimental Apparatus, Testing Results, and Interpretation of the Impact of Voltage Distortion on the Current Distortion of Typical Single-Phase Loads

This paper examines the effect that voltage distortion has on the current distortion of eleven common 120 V single-phase loads. The study is conducted with a specially developed harmonics testing station in which feedback is applied to drive the load voltage to the desired target waveform. The results of 550 individual tests show that depending on load type, current distortion can vary dramatically with voltage distortion and depends on the individual voltage harmonic magnitudes and phase angles.