IEC TS 61000-3-16:2023

IEC TS 61000-3-16 ®
Edition 1.0 2023-11
TECHNICAL
SPECIFICATION
Electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) –
Part 3-16: Limits – Limits for harmonic currents produced by the inverter of
inverter-type electrical energy-supplying equipment with a reference current less
than or equal to 75 A per phase connected to public low-voltage systems

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IEC TS 61000-3-16 ®
Edition 1.0 2023-11
TECHNICAL
SPECIFICATION
Electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) –

Part 3-16: Limits – Limits for harmonic currents produced by the inverter of

inverter-type electrical energy-supplying equipment with a reference current

less than or equal to 75 A per phase connected to public low-voltage systems

INTERNATIONAL
ELECTROTECHNICAL
COMMISSION
ICS 33.100.01  ISBN 978-2-8322-7822-2

– 2 – IEC TS 61000-3-16:2023 © IEC 2023
CONTENTS
FOREWORD . 3
INTRODUCTION . 5
1 Scope . 6
2 Normative references . 6
3 Terms and definitions . 7
4 General . 9
4.1 Emissions for electrical ESE unable to cancel harmonics at the grid side . 9
4.2 Emissions for electrical ESE which can cancel harmonics at the grid side . 9
5 Measurement and simulation conditions . 9
5.1 General conditions for test and simulation . 9
5.2 Requirements for measurement . 9
5.2.1 Supply of the ESE inverter . 9
5.2.2 Supply into which the ESE inverter feeds energy . 9
5.2.3 Determination of the reference current I . 10
ref
5.2.4 Measurement of harmonic currents . 10
5.3 Requirements for simulation . 11
6 Emission limits . 12
7 Product documentation . 13
7.1 Test report . 13
7.2 Instruction manual . 13
Annex A (informative) Rationale for the limits in this document . 15
A.1 General . 15
A.2 History . 15
A.3 Technology . 16
A.3.1 Basic technology . 16
A.3.2 Coping with grid voltage distortion . 16
A.4 Limits . 17
A.4.1 General . 17
A.4.2 Justification for the emission limits in this document . 18
Bibliography . 20

Table 1 – Individual current harmonic limits for all ESE inverters up to 75 A per phase . 12
Table 2 – Alternative presentation of individual current harmonic limits for all ESE
inverters up to 75 A per phase . 13
Table 3 – PHC limits for all ESE inverters up to 75 A per phase . 13
Table A.1 – Example of the results of an actual measurement of a conforming inverter . 18

INTERNATIONAL ELECTROTECHNICAL COMMISSION
____________
ELECTROMAGNETIC COMPATIBILITY (EMC) –

Part 3-16: Limits – Limits for harmonic currents produced by the inverter
of inverter-type electrical energy-supplying equipment, with a reference
current less than or equal to 75 A per phase, connected to public low-
voltage systems
FOREWORD
1) The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) is a worldwide organization for standardization comprising
all national electrotechnical committees (IEC National Committees). The object of IEC is to promote international
co-operation on all questions concerning standardization in the electrical and electronic fields. To this end and
in addition to other activities, IEC publishes International Standards, Technical Specifications, Technical Reports,
Publicly Available Specifications (PAS) and Guides (hereafter referred to as “IEC Publication(s)”). Their
preparation is entrusted to technical committees; any IEC National Committee interested in the subject dealt with
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Standardization (ISO) in accordance with conditions determined by agreement between the two organizations.
2) The formal decisions or agreements of IEC on technical matters express, as nearly as possible, an international
consensus of opinion on the relevant subjects since each technical committee has representation from all
interested IEC National Committees.
3) IEC Publications have the form of recommendations for international use and are accepted by IEC National
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Publications is accurate, IEC cannot be held responsible for the way in which they are used or for any
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4) In order to promote international uniformity, IEC National Committees undertake to apply IEC Publications
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6) All users should ensure that they have the latest edition of this publication.
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8) Attention is drawn to the Normative references cited in this publication. Use of the referenced publications is
indispensable for the correct application of this publication.
9) Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this IEC Publication may be the subject of patent
rights. IEC shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
IEC 61000-3-16 has been prepared by subcommittee 77A EMC – Low frequency phenomena,
of IEC technical committee 77: Electromagnetic compatibility. It is a Technical Specification.
The text of this Technical Specification is based on the following documents:
Draft Report on voting
77A/1167/DTS 77A//RVDTS
Full information on the voting for its approval can be found in the report on voting indicated in
the above table.
The language used for the development of this Technical Specification is English

– 4 – IEC TS 61000-3-16:2023 © IEC 2023
This document was drafted in accordance with ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2, and developed in
accordance with ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1 and ISO/IEC Directives, IEC Supplement, available
at www.iec.ch/members_experts/refdocs. The main document types developed by IEC are
described in greater detail at www.iec.ch/standardsdev/publications.
A list of all parts in the IEC 61000 series, published under the general title Electromagnetic
compatibility (EMC), can be found on the IEC website.
This document has the status of a product family standard.
The committee has decided that the contents of this document will remain unchanged until the
stability date indicated on the IEC website under "http://webstore.iec.ch" in the data related to
the specific document. At this date, the document will be
• reconfirmed,
• withdrawn,
• replaced by a revised edition, or
• amended.
INTRODUCTION
IEC 61000 is published in separate parts according to the following structure:
Part 1: General
General considerations (introduction, fundamental principles)
Definitions, terminology
Part 2: Environment
Description of the environment
Classification of the environment
Compatibility levels
Part 3: Limits
Emission limits
Immunity limits
(in so far as they do not fall under the responsibility of product committees)
Part 4: Testing and measurement techniques
Measurement techniques
Testing techniques
Part 5: Installation and mitigation guidelines
Installation guidelines
Mitigation methods and devices
Part 6: Generic standards
Part 9: Miscellaneous
Each part is further subdivided into several parts, published either as international standards
or as technical specifications or technical reports, some of which have already been published
as sections. Others will be published with the part number followed by a dash and a second
number identifying the subdivision (example: IEC 61000-6-1).

– 6 – IEC TS 61000-3-16:2023 © IEC 2023
ELECTROMAGNETIC COMPATIBILITY (EMC) –

Part 3-16: Limits – Limits for harmonic currents produced by the inverter
of inverter-type electrical energy-supplying equipment, with a reference
current less than or equal to 75 A per phase, connected to public low-
voltage systems
1 Scope
This part of IEC 61000 deals with the limits for harmonic (including grouped interharmonic)
currents produced by the inverter of inverter-type electrical energy-supplying equipment (ESE)
as defined in 3.2, but which does not include energy storage. The limits given in this document
are applicable to inverters with a reference current as defined in 3.3 (see also 5.2.3) less than
or equal to 75 A per phase, intended to be connected to publ
...