A Survey of Hospital AC Power Quality

Abstract

An AC power-quality survey was conducted at four hospitals of differing bed sizes in the Midwest. This power-line survey concentrated on determining the ac power quality in three areas: ICU/CCU, radiology, and the clinical chemistry lab. A summary of three months of monitoring indicates very stable RMS voltage levels but the presence of substantial voltage impulses or electrical noise. The substantial ac line voltage impulses observed may be of concern to both medical equipment users and designers.