IEC TR 61000-3-6:2008

This Technical Report, which is informative in its nature, provides guidance on principles which can be used as the basis for determining the requirements for the connection of distorting installations to MV, HV and EHV public power systems (LV installations are covered in other IEC documents). For the purposes of this report, a distorting installation means an installation (which may be a load or a generator) that produces harmonics and/or interharmonics. The primary objective is to provide guidance to system operators or owners on engineering practices, which will facilitate the provision of adequate service quality for all connected customers. In addressing installations, this document is not intended to replace equipment standards for emission limits. The report addresses the allocation of the capacity of the system to absorb disturbances. It does not address how to mitigate disturbances, nor does it address how the capacity of the system can be increased. Since the guidelines outlined in this report are necessarily based on certain simplifying assumptions, there is no guarantee that this approach will always provide the optimum solution for all harmonic situations. The recommended approach should be used with flexibility and judgment as far as engineering is concerned, when applying the given assessment procedures in full or in part. The system operator or owner is responsible for specifying requirements for the connection of distorting installations to the system. The distorting installation is to be understood as the customer's complete installation (i.e. including distorting and non-distorting parts). Problems related to harmonics fall into two basic categories:
/ - Harmonic currents that are injected into the supply system by converters and harmonic sources, giving rise to harmonic voltages in the system. Both harmonic currents and resulting voltages can be considered as conducted phenomena.
- Harmonic currents that induce interference into communication systems. This phenomenon is more pronounced at higher order harmonic frequencies because of increased coupling between the circuits and because of the higher sensitivity of the communication circuits in the audible range.
This report gives guidance for the co-ordination of the harmonic voltages between different voltage levels in order to meet the compatibility levels at the point of utilisation. The recommendations in this report do not address harmonic interference phenomena in communication circuits (i.e. only the first of the above categories is addressed). This second edition cancels and replaces the first edition published in 1996 and constitutes a technical revision. This edition is significantly more streamlined than first edition, and it reflects the experiences gained in the application of the first edition. As part of this streamlining process, this second edition of IEC/TR 61000-3-6 does not address communications circuit interference. Clause 9 on this (section 10) was removed, as this did not suitably address emission limits for telephone interference. The scope has been adjusted to point out that IEC/TR 61000-3-6 does not address communications circuit interference. This edition has also been harmonised with IEC/TR 61000-3-7 and IEC/TR 61000-3-13. This Technical Report has the status of a basic EMC publication in accordance with IEC Guide 107.