BS EN 61642:1998

What is BS EN 61642 - A.C. harmonic filters and shunt capacitors about?  

BS EN 61642 is an international standard used for Industrial a.c. networks affected by harmonics. This helps in manufacturing good quality a.c. harmonic filters and shunt capacitors.  

BS EN 61642 gives guidance for the use of passive a.c. harmonic filters and shunt capacitors for the limitation of harmonics and power factor correction intended to be used in industrial applications, at low and high voltages. The measures proposed in this standard are applicable to harmonic orders greater than 1 and up to and including 25. 

Note: The following capacitors are excluded from BS EN 61642: 

• Capacitors for inductive heat-generating plants, operating at frequencies between 40 Hz and 24 000 Hz (see IEC 60110 [1]1)) 
• Series capacitors for power systems (see IEC 60143 [2]) 
• Coupling capacitors and capacitor dividers (see IEC 60358 [3]) 
• Power electronic capacitors (see IEC 61071 [4]) 
• AC motor capacitors (see IEC 60252 [5]) 
• Capacitors for use in tubular fluorescent and other discharge lamp circuits (see IEC 61048 [6] and IEC 61049 [7]) 
• Capacitors for the suppression of radio interference 
• Capacitors intended to be used in various types of electric equipment and thus considered as components  
• Capacitors intended for use with d.c. voltage superimposed on a.c. voltage 
• Capacitors intended for use with arc furnaces 

Who is BS EN 61642 - A.C. harmonic filters and shunt capacitors for? 

BS EN 61642 on A.C. harmonic filters and shunt capacitors is useful for: 

• Manufacturer of electronic components 
• Manufacturer of circuit boards 
• Electronic engineer  

Why should you use BS EN 61642 - A.C. harmonic filters and shunt capacitors?  

The shunt capacitor filters use the property of a capacitor which blocks DC and provides low resistance to AC.  

BS EN 61642 is useful in identifying the problems and helps in giving recommendations for general applications of shunt capacitors and filters. This specifies the methods for utilising shunt capacitors on the low voltage network. With the help of BS EN 61642, the low voltage sections can be applied to the high voltage networks.  

BS EN 61642 can be your best guide in using passive a.c. harmonic filters and shunt capacitors. This helps in standardizing the manufacturing process which results in manufacturing good quality a.c. harmonic filters and shunt capacitors.