Heard a flash! Saw a Boom! Power quality monitoring defined in P1159

A new Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Recommended Practice entitled ``Monitoring Electric Power Quality,`` which will have beneficial implications to ASHRAE members, is in the final stages of approval. The document, known by its IEEE project number, P1159, is designed to define electromagnetic phenomena that can cause power quality problems and recommend methods by which to measure and record those phenomena. ASHRAE members are increasingly concerned with power quality problems because of the proliferation of power electronic devices among conventional HVAC equipment. Some equipment, in fact, can serve as both victim and villain in power quality problems. This paper summarizes the definitions presented in P1159 and describes how the document can contribute to improved operation by measuring power quality phenomena. It also gives examples of common electromagnetic phenomena that trouble ASHRAE engineers.