Harmonics are the water industry’s silent challenge. We have the solution.

Variable speed drives in water treatment control the speed and torque of motors running pumps, blowers, compressors or mixers, while saving energy. The downside of the traditional drive technology can be harmonic distortion in electrical systems, which causes a variety of problems:  

  • Overheating of DOL (direct-on-line) motors and other equipment 
  • False readings of water flow meters and instrumentation 
  • Generator operation can be unstable, and circuit breakers can trip 
  • Fuses blow and capacitors fail 
  • Flickering lights (including UV lights in the water treatment process) 
  • Fines from power companies due to reactive power in the supply network

Our solution

ACQ580 water and wastewater ultra-low harmonic (ULH) drives by ABB tackle harmonics, keeping networks clean, stable and IEEE519 compliant. It’s a simple solution to a silent problem:   

  • THDi below 3% with no need to install external filters or multi-pulse transformers  
  • Small installation footprint 
  • Output voltage boost feature for weak power networks
  • Built-in pump and blower features for water and wastewater applications
harmonics-in-water-applications-guide

Harmonics in water applications

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active front end technologies in water and wastewater

Active front end technologies in water

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You want to know more about harmonics?

Success stories of reducing harmonic disturbance

Ultra-low harmonic drive for the water industry is proven at Hamburg Wasser in Germany

Testing has shown that the ultra-low harmonic (ULH) variant of the ACQ580 water-dedicated drive greatly reduces harmonic disturbance, giving a total harmonic distortion of current of only 2.73%, compared to 45% for a conventional drive.

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ABB’s drives and motors give Albury City Council water plant energy efficiency and eliminate residential disturbances

The Council succeeds in not only solving the problem of electrical lighting disturbances in nearby dwellings, but also upgrades ageing infrastructure to enable the water supply system to operate more efficiently and cost effectively.

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Portfolio of ACQ580 drives for water and wastewater

 

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Educate yourself on harmonics and benefits of ABB solutions in 5 minutes

 

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