Lab # 1Fluke 125b Scope Meter

Joshua Imboden 200429027 & Connor McCormick 200255146

ELEC3006

Power Quality and Distribution

John McCluskey

July 4th, 2022

Lab 3 - 1
ELEC 3006 – Power Quality and Distribution

Lab 3 – Fluke 125B ScopeMeter.

Pre-lab readings:

Fluke Corporation. (2007). The cost of poor power quality. Everett, WA: Author.

Fluke Corporation. (2004). Troubleshooting power harmonics. Everett, WA: Author.

Purpose: Set up and use the Fluke 125B to capture Harmonic and other Power Quality
information.

Recently the Ontario government, as a conservation measure, ordered that incandescent light
bulbs be phased out of sale by 2017 as they are wasteful. This lab will discover the power quality
effects that incandescent, CFL bulbs and LED bulbs have on the power system.

Incandescent bulbs are purely resistive devices. Current flowing in the filament results in heat
and the filament glows white hot in an inert atmosphere giving the light we see. Most of the
energy used in these bulbs is wasted as heat. Compact fluorescent bulbs use a ballast to initiate
the arc in the bulbs mercury vapour. These ballasts use capacitors, as the number of bulbs
increase in a circuit, the value of harmonics increase, the Fluke 125B will measure and display
the harmonic components of the voltage and current. LED bulbs are the latest low energy bulbs;
we expect their power consumption to be low and assume that few PQ issues will arise.

Safety:

With any work and learning being done in the Lab rooms safety boots and glasses should be
worn while close to live systems / systems with the potential to be live. We will be using
isolating clamps with the Fluke 125B which increases our level of safety by being disconnected
from the system. Additionally, make sure not to place anything close to the Incandescent light
bulb as they get really hot and potentially catch something on fire/burns. Mercury gas/fumes in
CFL bulbs is minimal, though still poses potential for hazard through repeated exposure if
broken in proximity.

Lab 3 - 2
Equipment:

-Fluke 125B Meter and clamp leads

-Computer with Fluke view 2 Scopemeter software
- 4 bulbs: 60W incandescent, 13W and 23W CFL, equivalent LED
-pre-built lighting circuit

Objective:

In this lab we will be looking to test and observe the electrical behaviour of three types of
lighting loads, with one variation on wiring setup having two bulbs in parallel. While observing
our measured quantities we will attempt to discern which of these methods of lighting is the most
efficient and desirable in modern lighting systems. Given legislation which has been previously
mandated for the adoption of LED lights, the ease of application of LED’s, their cost
effectiveness and small size I believe it is safe to assume this makes them ideal candidates for
optimizing the solutions we use to light our environments. It is common knowledge by now that
LED’s consume far less power, as evident by their heat dissipation (see incandescent bulbs in
microwave ovens); I hope to see something around a single order of magnitude in difference at
the very least.

Procedure:

1. Retrieve four different light bulbs of three different types: 60W incandescent, 13W and

23W CFL, as well as an equivalent LED light.

2. Wire the lights to a 120V receptacle with all loads wired in parallel.

3. Connect the Fluke 125B to a nearby computer terminal and utilize the “Fluke view 2

Scopemeter” software.

4. Connect the Fluke 125B as each load separately in order to measure current, voltage, and

power consumed by each load.

5. As you record values for each load capture screenshots representing voltage, current, and

harmonics of each load type. Discern the appropriate values from these recordings and

enter them into the appropriate table.

Lab 3 - 3
Table 1 – Voltage Measurements
Bulb Measur Measured 3rd 5th 7th 9th Crest
Combinati ed RMS 1st Harmon Harmon Harmon Harmon Factor
on Voltage (fundament ic ic ic ic
(V) al) Voltage Voltage Voltage Voltage
Voltage % % % %
%
60 W 120.4 100 0.41 0.75 0.5 0.33 1.4
incande
scent
13W CFL 121 100 0.50 0.58 0.58 0.25 1.4
13W CFL 121.1 100 0.58 0.58 0.58 0.25 1.4
+ 23W
CFL
LED bulb 121 100 0.41 0.74 0.58 0.25 1.4

Table 2 – Current Measurements

Bulb Measur Measur 3rd 5th 7th 9th Crest %
Combinatio ed RMS ed 1st Harmon Harmon Harmon Harm. Facto THD
n Current (fund.) ic ic ic Curre r -F
(A) Current Current Current Current nt %
% % % %
60 W 0.471 100 0.98 0.45 0.75 0.43 1.4 2
incandesce
nt
13W CFL 0.1665A 63.6 58.9 37.6 20 14.8 3.7 80

13W CFL + 0.493 63.7 55.8 37.9 22.1 15.2 3.3 77.6
23W CFL
LED bulb 0.0655 97.3 22.7 7.6 3.85 2.47 1.9 25.4

Table 3 – Power Measurements

Bulb Measure
Combinatio d RMS
n Power
W
60 W 55.5
incandescent
13W CFL 9.6
13W CFL + 30.7
23W CFL
LED bulb 5.3

Lab 3 - 4
Submit the lab report to Blackboard before the beginning of the next lab session.
Report Questions:

1. Include tables 1, 2 & 3 in the report and comment on which harmonic type, voltage or current
was more distorted. Research and explain why this may be the case?

With our test results / findings the larger distorted harmonic type was the 13W CFL light bulb.
This ballast of the CFLs is non-linear which is why the wave form has many/rich in the number
of harmonics we see.

2. For effective comparison group the graphical waveforms for each load together with a title and
appropriate information such as Vrms, Irms, Current %THD.
For each bulb combination include:

i. Screenshot of L-N voltage & current waveform together. (4 shots)

60W Incandescent

13W CFL

Lab 3 - 5
13W + 23W CFL

LED

Lab 3 - 6
ii. Screenshot of current harmonic bar chart only. (4 shots)

3. Which load has the most PQ issues present and which has the least? Explain why?

The load that had the least power quality issues was of course the incandescent bulb as it
is a purely resistive load and this is shown to be true with its Total Harmonic Distortion being
measured at roughly 2%.

The load which presented the greatest amount of power quality issues was the CFL bulbs
as the electronic ballasts with capacitors used by this form of lighting produce a current
waveform with a lot of harmonics due to the fact they are non-linear loads. This is proven with
our measurements of 80% and 78% THD for our two CFL tests. We see reduced THD by the
CFL’s used in combination as they are wired in parallel and thereby the magnitude of the non-
linear load impedance is reduced.

4. Place the bulbs in order of power consumption and comment on the government decision to
eliminate incandescent bulbs.

1. 55.5W -> Incandescent

2. 30.7W -> 13W + 23W CFL in parallel

3. 9.6W -> 13W CFL

Lab 3 - 7
 4. 5.3W -> LED

Based on our collected measured results on power consumption you can see that for the amount
of visible light they produce, LED’s prove far more efficient using just a tenth (1/10) of the
power required to light an area to similar levels of satisfaction using an incandescent bulb which
clocks in at 55.5W. Deciding to phase out incandescent lights means that while we have more
harmonics created by using LED’s, roughly 23%; the savings on equipment and system
infrastructure by using equipment that does not need to be able to handle such high current loads.
The additional benefits come from the more effective use of our available pool of power, which
is a constant battle to sustain ever increasing demands on the distribution system.

5. Of all the load combinations which load was the least linear? On a graph similar to the one
below, draw a waveform representing voltage and current of the non-linear load.

Though it is difficult to say for sure which was truly the least linear using our limited
understanding and relying on our visual acuity, I would say that the least linear load would be the
two CFL bulbs run in parallel. Though this seems to logically contradict the data we recorded
where this combination did not have the highest THD % (see tables) but was the second worst.
This is due to the load impedance being reduced since they are run in parallel.

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Lab 3 - 8
Reference waveform

Conclusion:

From our collected measurements we can see that the efficiency data much more clearly, and the
potential issues that may arise from using each different type of lighting. It was interesting
certainly to see the use of wiring the CFL’s in parallel to reduce their overall harmonic
distortion, though it was nearly negligible. As we had expected, the LED’s turned out to be most
efficient when one considers the combined aspects of power consumption and the effects a
system may have on the distribution grid it is easy to recognize that they represent a superior
alternative. They operate with a relatively low THD %, consume a fraction of the power of

Lab 3 - 9
incandescent or CFL bulbs, are cost effective, and able to be put into small form factor spaces
with ease.

Lab 3 - 10