Search

Premium Membership ♕

Save 10% on Pro Membership Plan with coupon DEC10 and study specialized LV/MV/HV technical articles and papers.

What is Electrical Noise?

Electrical noise is voltage spikes, generated by the routine operation of selected system components (sources), that interfere (due to a coupling mechanism) with the routine operation of other selected system components (victims).

Guide to System Design for Control of Electrical Noise (Allen-Bradley)
Guide to System Design for Control of Electrical Noise (Allen-Bradley)

Best Practices

Most industrial control products do not utilize high frequencies directly, but they can generate them in the form of noise. Logic circuits are affected by this noise, so you need to be able to control it.

Because it is far less expensive to apply noise control measures during system installation than it is to redesign and fix a malfunctioning system, we recommend you implement the best-practice procedures described in this document.

If basic measures are implemented rigorously, a reliable system should result. However, if just one wire is routed incorrectly or a filter is missed, it may be enough to cause problems. Experience shows that it is very difficult to ensure that these measures are applied 100% of the time.

If all possible measures are taken (incorporating redundancy), the system is likely to be more tolerant of minor mistakes in implementation.


Noise Sources

A typical industrial control system will contain a mixture of noise sources and potential victims. Problems are caused when a coupling mechanism is introduced.

Typical noise sources include:

  • Mechanically switched inductive loads create intense intermittent noise.
  • PWM drive power outputs create intense continuous noise.
  • Switch-mode DC power supplies can create continuous noise.
  • Microprocessor clocks can generate high levels of noise at the clock frequency and its harmonics.
  • Contact switching.

Of the noise sources listed above, only contact switching noise can be reduced at the source by the system builder.

Use this manual if you are responsible for the circuit design and layout of wiring panels or the installation and mounting of Allen-Bradley products.

Title:Guide to System Design for Control of Electrical Noise – Rockwell Automation
Format:PDF
Size:9.9 MB
Pages:127
Download:Right here | Video Courses | Membership | Download Updates
Guide to System Design for Control of Electrical Noise
Guide to System Design for Control of Electrical Noise – Rockwell Automation

Premium Membership

Get access to premium HV/MV/LV technical articles, advanced electrical engineering guides, papers, and much more! It will help you to shape up your technical skills in your everyday life as an electrical engineer.
50% Discount 💥 - Save 50% on all 90+ video courses with Enterprise Membership plan.

More Information

2 Comments


  1. Jeffrey Serrette
    Oct 24, 2017

    Very good information


  2. Mario Tovar MBA
    Apr 05, 2015

    In the aplication of LED`s drivers for Urban Lamps, how can we control the noise generated by the front rectifier?in the way that we dont affect the 5% THD of the utility?

Leave a Comment

Tell us what you're thinking. We care about your opinion! Please keep in mind that comments are moderated and rel="nofollow" is in use. So, please do not use a spammy keyword or a domain as your name, or it will be deleted. Let's have a professional and meaningful conversation instead. Thanks for dropping by!

eight  +  one  =  

Learn How to Design Power Systems

Learn to design LV/MV/HV power systems through professional video courses. Lifetime access. Enjoy learning!

EEP Hand-Crafted Video Courses

Check more than a hundred hand-crafted video courses and learn from experienced engineers. Lifetime access included.
Experience matters. Premium membership gives you an opportunity to study specialized technical articles, online video courses, electrical engineering guides, and papers written by experienced electrical engineers.