Harmonic Standards Causing Growth to Flourish in Asia

The Asia Pacific region for low harmonic solutions is poised for 2011 growth of 17.8%, according to a new market report, The World Market for Regenerative Drives & Low Harmonic Solutions from IMS Research. China in particular will grow across many different industry sectors, unlike other developed countries that focus harmonic standards on specific industries, such as water & wastewater and commercial HVAC.  
Harmonic standards are regulated differently by country, and this often affects which industry sectors will require harmonic mitigation. “Asia Pacific is the largest regional market for harmonic filters, representing 41.4% of sales in 2010, due to the region’s poor power quality in relation to Europe and to a lesser extent the United States,” comments IMS Research analyst Sarah Sultan. “In addition, industrial standards regulate harmonics for heavy industry in China leading to increased demand for harmonic solutions across multiple industries.” 
IEEE 519 is a US harmonic standard that regulates harmonic distortion at the point of common coupling. As a result, industries most affected by this requirement are ones nearest in proximity to the consumer power grid, such as water & wastewater and commercial HVAC. Similar IEC standards in Europe regulate voltage distortion at the major input to the plant, forcing all heavy industry to regulate harmonics. However, due to higher power quality in Europe, harmonic concerns tend to be less of an issue than in other major regions. Asian countries use a combination of IEC standards and IEEE 519.  
As a result, growth for low harmonic solutions is highly dependent on regulation and enforcement of harmonic mitigation standards, which can be enforced by the country’s government, the state or province government, or by the individual utility company. While the global market is predicted to have a strong performance in 2011, growing approximately 14.0%, many of the countries in the Asia Pacific region will outpace overall market growth as a result of more stringent standards and enforcement.