I googled "whisker labs ting sensor ", mentioned in the article, and read that
WL is a Germantown, MD company whose Ting sensors are used by homeowners to
monitor home wiring for arcing faults that could lead to fires. The sensor
plugs into almost any 120 VAC receptacle and monitors various aspects of the
electrical supply within the home. From what I read on the web site, the sensor
does not distinguish between utility and customer power aspects.
WL does claim to monitor the "quality" of electric service and is able to
interrogate its customers' Tings for these data. It claims to be working with
utilities to "empower [them] to predict and prevent grid failures."
Somewhere in the depths of the report the author questions, as do I, how these
devices distinguish between utility and customer grid anomalies.
My bottom line: the link between high harmonic grid content and data center
presence is not proven but merely circumstantial.
73 de Gene Smar AD3F
P.S. Harmonics from digital loads are indeed a problem in electric supply
systems. Often, building design engineers will specify a neutral conductor to
be one wire size larger than usual to accommodate increased current flow from
these harmonics. Also, low-voltage power transformers (480V) used in
buildings' wire closets can be designed with greater levels of insulation to
accommodate higher operating temperatures caused by increases in harmonic
neutral current.
On Sunday, December 29, 2024 at 07:05:53 PM EST, Dave (NK7Z)
<dave@nk7z.net> wrote:
https://techcrunch.com/2024/12/29/ai-data-centers-could-be-distorting-the-us-power-grid/
--
73, and thanks,
Dave (NK7Z)
https://www.nk7z.net
ARRL Volunteer Examiner
ARRL Technical Specialist, RFI
ARRL Asst. Director, NW Division, Technical Resources
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