Dear Reader:

Electricity comes into the plant in waves, very much like ocean waves, or heat, or any of other phenomena that involves rhythmic movement. Energy is no different.

The key is to move that energy as smoothly as possible through the plant, so as to reduce the frequency and magnitude of these waves of electricity, whose profile is known as its ‘waveform’.

Each device utilizing that power has its own unique waveform, a signature, if you will. They’re a bit like snowflakes, with no two being precisely the same.

First, understand that virtually no (perhaps literally no) electricity that enters a building has a perfectly constructed waveform. In an electrical power line, a number of factors create harmonic distortion, including currents introduced into the line by users of non-linear loads, environmental causes such as lightning, electromagnetic interference from towers, and others.

So, wit...