Neutral conductor current in three-phase networks with compact fluorescent lamps

•Compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) are increasingly present in low voltage distribution systems.•CFLs have a non-linear behaviour and inject harmonics into the distribution system.•This paper studies the neutral conductor current in three-phase networks with (CFLs).•The influence of the CFL model parameters and the three-phase unbalances on the neutral current is investigated.•The obtained results are validated with measurements.

In this paper, expressions of the neutral conductor current in three-phase networks with compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) are obtained from a CFL “black-box” model proposed in the literature. These expressions allow studying and performing a sensitivity analysis of the impact of CFLs on neutral current. The influence of CFL model parameters, as well as supply voltage unbalance, number of CFLs per phase and different types of CFLs per phase, on the neutral current is also investigated. The obtained results are validated with measurements and PSCAD/EMTDC simulations.