Digital measurement station for power quality analysis in distributed environments

Nowadays there are wide applications of different electronic apparatus that both produce electromagnetic disturbances in the power supply system and are sensitive to them. Power disturbances present on typical electric utility distribution systems degrade product quality, increase process downtime and dissatisfy commercial customers. For these reasons the monitoring of the quality of the supply networks has become an issue of international interest. To monitor power quality we propose a digital measurement station. Its main features are reduced cost and remote data transmission capability. It is a PC-based virtual instrument that offers flexibility due to the high level programming language, the familiar working environment of Windows and the low-cost of a widely used computer. A LAN or a modem card allows the measurement system to be controlled via a TCP/IP network, implementing in this way a distributed power quality evaluation system