A Review of Harmonic Distortion Analysis and Mitigation Strategies for Residential Microgrids
Downloads
The rapid deployment of distributed energy resources (DERs) especially solar photovoltaic (PV) inverters and electric vehicle (EV) charging points into residential distribution systems has given rise to power quality problems in the form of harmonic distortion. This paper critically reviews the theoretical basis, source characterization, modelling and mitigation approaches to harmonic distortion in residential microgrids. Based on an analysis of fifty recent publications, the paper assesses the efficacy of passive harmonic filters (PHFs), active power filters (APFs) and hybrid solutions vis-à-vis international standards, primarily IEEE 519‑2022. Main conclusions confirm that unchecked harmonic current injection from 100 kW EV fast-chargers and pulse-width-modulated (PWM) solar inverters can result in a total harmonic distortion (THD) exceeding the 5.0 % voltage distortion limit, with subsequent transformer derating, increased I²R losses and accelerated insulation ageing. The review further demonstrates that single-tuned passive shunt filters, sized using the Electrical Transient Analyzer Program (ETAP), offer a cost-effective and standards compliant mitigation route for the residential sector where active filter economics are prohibitive. Research gaps, including the lack of integrated PV-EV harmonic characterization at the point of common coupling (PCC) in low volt residential systems, are highlighted with recommendations for future research.
IEEE Standard 519-2022, "IEEE Standard for Harmonic Control in Electric Power Systems," IEEE, New York, NY, USA, 2022.
S. T. Y. Alfalahi, Muhammad Bin Mansor, Aiman Nouh, S. I. Abdrabba, Faisal Mohamed, "Sizing passive filters for mitigation of harmonics in a low voltage network containing solar PV units," Ain Shams Eng. J., vol. 16, no. 1, pp. 1–12, 2025.
S. T. Ishak and M. S. Yahaya, "Harmonic analysis and mitigation of mass adoption for EV charging stations using ETAP," J. Sci. Adv. Tech., vol. 1, no. 2, pp. 57-61, 2021.
S. T. Bhuiyan, "Power system harmonic analysis in the presence of non-linear loads using ETAP," M.S. thesis, Dept. Elect. Eng., Univ. of South Alabama, Mobile, AL, USA, 2011.
J. Arrillaga and N. R. Watson, Power System Harmonics, 2nd ed., Chichester, UK: John Wiley & Sons, 2003.
D. Shrestha, S. Dhital and R. Bhattarai, "Design and analysis of single-tuned passive filters for THD mitigation in residential microgrids," Elect. Power Compon. Syst., vol. 53, no. 2, pp. 201–215, 2025.
M. Hafez, H. El-Eissawi, N. Ayad, "Harmonic enhancement in microgrid with applications on sensitive loads using ETAP," Int. J. Elect. Comput. Eng., vol. 12, no. 3, pp. 2412–2420, 2019.
A. Ramrao, S. Patil and V. Kalkhambkar, "Mitigation of power system harmonics with the incorporation of active filter using sparrow search optimization," IntechOpen book chapter 2023.
Khan, M. Ahmed and S. Rahman, "Power quality management in hybrid microgrids using ETAP modeling and load flow analysis," Int. J. Elect. Power Energy Syst., vol. 145, pp. 1–14, 2025.
Widagdo, I. Robandi and R. S. Wibowo, "Harmonic mitigation using passive filters in 3-phase inverters to improve power quality," in Proc. IEEE Int. Conf. Elect. Eng., 2023, pp. 1–6.
J. C. Das, Power System Harmonics and Passive Filter Designs, Hoboken, NJ, USA: IEEE Press/Wiley, 2015.
M. H. J. Bollen, Understanding Power Quality Problems: Voltage Sags and Interruptions, Piscataway, NJ, USA: IEEE Press, 2000.
S. Andang, A. Munandar and R. Hidayat, "Transformer derating in the presence of non-linear loads: A K-factor analysis approach," Indonesian J. Elect. Eng., vol. 24, no. 2, pp. 145–156, 2024.
W. M. Grady and S. Santoso, Understanding Power System Harmonics, Austin, TX, USA: Univ. of Texas Press, 2012.
M. A. S. Masoum, P. S. Moses and A. S. Masoum, "Impact of balanced and unbalanced direct current charging of electric vehicles on power quality," in Proc. IEEE Power Energy Soc. General Meeting, 2011, pp. 1–7.
M. A. Rahman, S. K. Das and T. N. Bhuiyan, "Resonance detection in microgrids using frequency scan analysis," IEEE Access, vol. 11, pp. 34521–34532, 2023.
S. Mishra, A. Sharma and P. Kumar, "Design and analysis of shunt passive filter for harmonic and reactive power compensation," Int. J. Recent Technol. Eng., vol. 8, no. 6, pp. 4231–4238, 2023.
Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), "Distribution Code for the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry," NERC, Abuja, Nigeria, 2020.
R. Kusuma, H. Prasetijo and M. Toha, "Designing passive harmonic filter of electric propulsion system on tanker ship," J. Mar. Sci. Appl., vol. 17, pp. 575–584, 2018.
T. O. Olowu and A. A. Jimoh, "A review of power quality problems and solutions in the Nigerian power network," IEEE Access, vol. 6, pp. 56664–56676, 2018.
H. Xu and W. Li, "Design of damped high-pass filters for industrial harmonic loads," IEEE Trans. Ind. Appl., vol. 53, no. 6, pp. 5367–5375, 2017.
E. Hernandez-Mayoral, R. Iracheta-Cortez and V. Torres-Garcia, "Power quality analysis of a microgrid-based on renewable energy sources: A simulation approach," Sustainability, vol. 16, no. 3, pp. 1125–1142, 2024.
R. Sierra-Acosta, "Comparative study of active vs. passive filtering in residential low-voltage networks," Elect. Power Syst. Res., vol. 218, pp. 109–120, 2025.
K. Mishra, R. K. Tripathi and A. K. Singh, "Cost-benefit analysis of passive filters for residential harmonic mitigation," in Proc. IEEE Int. Conf. Power Electron., 2020, pp. 1–6.
P. D. Lezhniuk, V. V. Kravchuk and O. B. Burykin, "Photovoltaic microgrid THD mitigation: An analytical approach," Renew. Energy, vol. 143, pp. 1567–1578, 2019.
[26] A. Mahmoud, "Hybrid passive filter for mitigation of distorted distribution system and voltage improvement using ETAP," Ain Shams Eng. J., vol. 12, no. 4, pp. 3803–3813, 2021.
G. J. Padayattil, N. K. C. Nair and A. D. Rajakaruna, "Harmonic analysis of microgrid operation in islanded mode with non-linear loads," in Proc. IEEE PES Asia-Pacific Power Energy Eng. Conf., 2016, pp. 214–219.
M. Al-Sharif, Y. Alsmadi and A. Osman, "Harmonic analysis of large grid-connected PV systems in distribution networks: A Saudi case study," IEEE Access, vol. 10, pp. 125430–125443, 2022.
V. Salehi, S. Afsharnia and S. Kahrobaee, "Protection of DC microgrids based on complex power during faults," IEEE Trans. Power Del., vol. 38, no. 4, pp. 2654–2666, 2023.
R. Gutierrez-Escalona, F. Yanez-Zurita and J. A. Dominguez-Navarro, "AI in the hierarchical control of AC, DC, and hybrid microgrids: A review," Energies, vol. 17, no. 2, pp. 1–32, 2024.
S. K. A. Shezan, A. W. Miah and M. A. Hasan, "Effective dispatch strategies for an islanded hybrid microgrid with optimized harmonic performance," J. Clean. Prod., vol. 434, pp. 1–16, 2024.
A. Koishybay, S. Irmanova and B. Amirgaliyev, "Simultaneous THD minimization and selective harmonic elimination using genetic algorithms," in Proc. Int. Conf. Electron. Elect. Eng., 2016, pp. 52–56.
S. F. Mekhamer, "Design practices in harmonic analysis studies applied to industrial power systems," Eng. Technol. Appl. Sci. Res., vol. 3, no. 4, pp. 467–472, 2013.
R. Ramadhan, "Preliminary study design model for system stability using ETAP," Int. J. Adv. Res., vol. 5, no. 7, pp. 126–133, 2017.
A. Ulinuha, "The impact of harmonic filter locations on distortion suppression in distribution systems," ARPN J. Eng. Appl. Sci., vol. 12, no. 16, pp. 4679–4685, 2017.
L. F. Arranz, A. Garcia and M. P. de Leon, "A review of total harmonic distortion factors for the measurement of harmonic pollution," Measurement, vol. 168, pp. 108–431, 2021.
G. Carpinelli, F. Mottola and D. Proto, "Optimal allocation of passive filters in distribution networks using multi-objective optimization," Elect. Power Syst. Res., vol. 115, pp. 27–36, 2014.
M. M. Abd Elazim, S. F. Mekhamer and A. Y. Abdelaziz, "Enhancing stability and power quality in EV charging stations powered by hybrid energy sources using ETAP," Sustainability, vol. 17, no. 1, pp. 1–18, 2025.
A. Al-Saadi, T. Khatib and W. Khamees, "Passive filters for grid-tied PV systems: Sizing and resonance analysis using ETAP," Sol. Energy, vol. 267, pp. 1–12, 2025.
P. Li, X. Zhang and Y. Wang, "Performance evaluation of passive filters in residential microgrid using ETAP HLF simulations," Elect. Power Syst. Res., vol. 229, pp. 1–10, 2025.
A. Jamal and D. Wolff, "Optimized filter placement using genetic algorithms for residential microgrids," Eng. Appl. Artif. Intell., vol. 138, pp. 1–14, 2025.
L. Al-Saedi, T. K. Saha and S. P. Ghosh, "Impact of high-speed railway associated with high-speed trains on power quality," IEEE Trans. Transp. Electrif., vol. 9, no. 3, pp. 4521–4535, 2023.
M. Patel, "Harmonic mitigation strategies for residential EV charging hubs: An ETAP and field benchmarking study," J. Elect. Eng., vol. 75, no. 2, pp. 113–126, 2024.
R. V. Bansal, A. Chandra and K. Singh, "Harmonic injection analysis of Level 2 EV chargers using ETAP," IEEE Trans. Smart Grid, vol. 16, no. 1, pp. 445–458, 2025.
D. Kumar, R. Jha and M. Singh, "Current harmonics in wireless electric vehicle charging systems: A state-space approach," IEEE Trans. Veh. Technol., vol. 74, no. 3, pp. 3012–3025, 2025.
Lopez, M. Fernandez and A. Rodriguez, "Harmonic effects on cable insulation: Laboratory testing and analysis," IEEE Trans. Dielectr. Elect. Insul., vol. 30, no. 5, pp. 2234–2245, 2023.
H. J. Su and C. C. Hong, "Design of passive harmonic filters to enhance power quality and energy efficiency in distribution systems," IEEE Trans. Ind. Appl., vol. 49, no. 4, pp. 1890–1897, 2013.
IEC 61000-3-6, "Electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) – Part 3-6: Limits – Assessment of emission limits for the connection of distorting installations to MV, HV and EHV power systems," Int. Electrotech. Commission, Geneva, Switzerland, 2008.
MDPI Research, "Impacts of EV charging stations with PV and BESS on power quality: A simulation approach," Energies, vol. 17, no. 8, pp. 1–18, 2024.
E3S Web of Conferences, "Active power filtering for harmonic suppression in renewable energy microgrids," E3S Web Conf., vol. 501, pp. 1–10, 2025.
