Distorted currents drawn by nonlinear loads used in power installations (including lighting) can cause many problems. With the constantly progressing increase in the number of these loads, these phenomena can accumulate, constituting significant causes of serious failures in both electrical and electronic devices, as well as installation components. The effects of disturbances introduced to the network by nonlinear loads may include, for example, line overloads, overheating of transformers and motors, capacitor failures, accelerated degradation of insulation, etc. The article presents examples of measurement results for luminaires with discharge and LED sources. Measurements of the electrical parameters of a three-phase outdoor lighting installation consisting of luminaires with low-power LED sources and luminaires with discharge sources are also discussed. Based on the recorded waveforms, the measurement results were determined. High harmonic values for the phase currents and the current in the neutral conductor were recorded. The results of measurements of the parameters of LED luminaires with control systems, the operation of which causes excessive heat generation, are presented. The methodology for cable selection in circuits with current harmonics is described.

According to various estimates, street lighting in Poland consumes between 1.500 and 2.500 GWh per year and is responsible for some greenhouse gas emissions from electricity generation. Also on the basis of estimates, it is estimated that approximately 3.3 million road and street luminaires are used in Poland. The increase in electricity costs, on the one hand, and the technical possibilities in the field of lighting, on the other, force the search for new solutions aimed at saving during the operation of electrical devices and installations, including road lighting installations. One of the methods of saving electricity is to replace the luminaires with energy-saving ones with LED sources, but also with new sodium and metal halide sources. The latter solution is cheaper and allows us to keep existing poles, electrical installation and luminaire heads if their technical parameters have not been degraded. The new and already used luminaires with discharge sources can be used in road lighting, provided that they meet the requirements of Polish law and the EU regulations. Like luminaires with LED sources, they can have an adjustable value of the emitted luminous flux, which allows us to save electricity. One of the methods of saving electricity in road installations is their effective lighting control. Such control can take place at very different levels, from the manual setting of the required light intensity using dimmers to full automation taking into account other factors influencing the operation of the road lighting system, e.g., time of day, intensity of external light, presence of road users, weather conditions and others. The article describes both of the above-mentioned methods, describing their advantages and disadvantages on the basis of actual measurements of working road installations, and analyzes the annual operation of a modernized road lighting installation with automatic lighting control in one of the selected cities in Poland.

The issues that are presented in the article concern the broadly understood parameters of the operation of lighting fixtures in mixed systems and the improvement of the quality of electricity, considered in two aspects: as receivers of the energy consumed, determining and generating reactive power, influencing the asymmetry of currents and the production of higher harmonics, determined by the parameters of current and supply voltage (independent of the consumers connected at the connection point), which are influenced by the consumers that are connected at the connection point. After the tests, in order to improve the quality of energy, a proprietary program for the design of passive resonance filters was developed. A wide range of measurements of various types of lighting devices was carried out in single, complex, and mixed systems. Luminaires with discharge and LED sources were selected for the analysis of energy parameters. The tests were carried out in accordance with the IEEE 1459-2010 standard for single-phase circuits with distorted waveforms.

The result of continuous efforts in the development of power theory, Budeanu’s power theory was successfully extended. The mathematical description that has been proposed is based on another concept, namely the Currents’ Physical Components (CPC) theory. With CPC theory, it was possible to describe, in the original Budeanu theory, the components of the load current, including the Budeanu distortion current. The Budeanu distortion current can have a maximum of five components associated with different physical phenomena and related to the equivalent parameters of the load. This article discusses passive compensation, which provides compensation for the Budeanu reactive current and the Budeanu complemented reactive current due to the known equivalent load parameters associated with the reactance elements. In addition, the article refers to a very important aspect when determining the parameters of a passive compensator, i.e., choosing parameters in such a way that the compensator simultaneously compensates for the reactive current and the unbalanced current. The article presents five methods relating to the determination of compensator parameters. Two methods are related to the reactive current compensation only for the first harmonic without affecting the unbalanced current. The next three methods relate to the compensation of the Budeanu reactive current and the consideration of the unbalanced current. Calculations and simulations were performed for all five methods, the results of which are presented and analyzed in this publication. The Matlab/Simulink R2023a environment was used as the calculation and simulation software.

Road lighting is one of the most important services provided by public entities. Entities providing such a service are interested in providing it with the lowest possible financial outlays. When planning modernization, unfortunately, one forgets about hidden operating costs, which are caused by, among others, the flow of reactive energy in the circuit. The use of modern light sources also involves the use of electronic systems in their accessories, which makes these electrical energy receivers capacitive. This is due to the lack of use of individual compensation systems in the luminaires themselves. Due to the above, the costs of capacitive reactive energy flow also increase. Newly designed road lighting installations, as well as modernized ones, are equipped with electronic systems enabling their effective control. The operation of such systems also causes fluctuations in the reactive power value, which must be compensated. Commonly used compensation choke systems also introduce additional active power losses, which makes the expected savings lower than expected. In the article, the authors presented selected results of measurements of the electrical parameters of LED luminaires, carried out both in the laboratory and in used road lighting circuits. The determined amounts of active power losses caused by the installation and operation of additional equipment in the road lighting installation, such as compensating chokes, are presented. The calculations were made based on the example of a selected fragment of the audit of this installation. On this basis, modernization was carried out and measurements of current electricity quality parameters were carried out.

In the European Union , street lighting accounts for around 3-4% of total energy consumption. In Poland, the energy consumption of street lighting is about 1.5% of the national consumption. However, in some cities, such as Warsaw or Krakow, the energy consumption of street lighting can be up to 40% of the total electricity consumed by the city. The Energy Efficiency Act in force in Poland assumes that final energy savings of 5580 thousand toe will be achieved by the end of 2030. One of the basic tools to be used in order to achieve savings in electricity consumption is a properly conducted energy audit of such installations. There are no guidelines or other documents that could be used by auditors of such installations. In the article, based on a selected road lighting installation, the authors want to present good practices that auditors should follow