Laboratory Replication of Low Power Quality Conditions Observed on the Field for Testing Active Energy Meters

This paper reports about a new proposed methodology, where active energy meters are tested under conditions directly recorded at installation sites. This allows for the reproduction of specific, not only realistic, low power quality as observed on the field. A portable instrument is employed to sample on-field voltage and current waveforms, which are then replicated in a laboratory setting using a phantom power generator with a bandwidth covering up to the 40th harmonic. The recording site chosen is the coupling section between the distribution grid and a photovoltaic energy production facility with a nominal power of 50 kW. Laboratory recreated waveforms are used to tested three-phase commercial static energy meters. The selected models encompass those utilized by energy providers at the point of common coupling, as well as meters typically employed for in-line monitoring by end users. The key focus is on the reading error of the measured active energy when subjected to conditions mimicked from on-field measurements, in comparison with a reference meter.