Power Grid Harmonic Content a Threat?

Propeller Head Plaza

Technical and scientific discussion of amps, cables and other topics.

A story in Bloomberg (link below) is claiming that harmonics on the power grid are exacerbated by large data centers, and when the harmonic content of the AC is 8%, devices attached to the grid can be damaged.

How would harmonics on the AC damage a connected device? Heating of the power supply transformer's primary winding? (I would expect the power supply filtering on the secondary would eliminate noise getting to the device, so all I can think of is some effect on the primary, but I confess I am grasping at straws here.)

The article says the power companies dispute this story, and I am a bit skeptical, too.

Bloomberg Article on Power Grid Harmonics (Open in New Window)

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Kimber Kable

Topic - Power Grid Harmonic Content a Threat? - JonM 08:02:41 01/03/25 (0)

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