Test Results of Whole-House DE Filters

Test Results

The objective of this work was to test a number of commercially available whole-house filters under different line noise conditions, such as solar inverters, pool pumps, AC and heating systems with variable speed motors, lighting, grid noise, etc. The data was collected at multiple sites in different states by different people, all using the same equipment. Additional testing has been performed using combinations of filters, and will be presented here when available in a suitable display format. The documents below are PDFs and will open in a separate window.

Comparison Testing of Whole House DE Filters - 2022

Comparison Testing of Whole House DE Filters - Supplemental

Comparison Testing of Whole House DE Filters - 2021

Comparison Testing of Plug-In Line Noise Filters

Instrumentation for DE (Dirty Electricity) Testing

In addition to the Octopus DE Test Rig shown below, the following instrumentation was used:

• EMF Services LNM-1 Line Noise Meter and Scope Interface (RMS & Peak mV)

• Stetzerizer Microsurge Meter (GS units)

• Greenwave Broadband EMI Meter

• Owon SDS7102 oscilloscope (waveform and spectrum observation)

• PicoScope 2204A oscilloscope (timed logging, waveform and spectrum observation)

Whole House Filter Test Rig (The Octopus)

Research Underway

All the DE filters evaluated above are capacitive filters. They accomplish their results using different values and combinations of capacitors (a fundamental electrical component). As effectively as some of them work to reduce line noise, there are inherent limitations. To move beyond these limitations, we can use another fundamental electrical component called an inductor. In many ways it is the opposite of a capacitor. When inductors are used in combination with capacitors, a whole new level of performance is possible. This combination of inductor and capacitor constitutes a basic electrical circuit called a low-pass filter. The work underway seeks to find the optimum values of inductance and capacitance to achieve good performance over a broad range of conditions. A further goal is to establish sources of inductor products that are routinely available at reasonable (non-exploitative) prices.