Table 1 Comparison between DWT and other signal processing techniques.

From: A comprehensive guide to selecting suitable wavelet decomposition level and functions in discrete wavelet transform for fault detection in distribution networks

Comparison criteria

DWT

FT

STFT

HHT

DML methods

References (2022–2024)

Time-frequency resolution

High (adaptive, multiresolution)

Only frequency

Limited (fixed window size)

High (adaptive, non-linear)

High (depending on the model architecture)

R41 & R42

Non-stationary signal handling

Excellent for transients

Poor

Moderate

Excellent

Good (if trained on non-stationary data)

R43

Computational efficiency

Efficient for real-time

Efficient but lacks time information

Moderate (real-time possible)

Computationally expensive

Computationally expensive

(training)

R41 & R42

Data requirements

Low (signal-driven)

Low

Low

Moderate (requires preprocessing)

High (requires large datasets)

R43

Interpretability

High (clear decomposition)

High (but no time localization)

Moderate

Moderate

Low (black-box nature)

R44& R45

Real-time applicability

Excellent for real-time

Not suitable for real-time

Moderate

Not suitable for real-time

Limited (depends on optimization)

R46

Noise robustness

High (denoising capabilities)

Moderate

Moderate

Low

Moderate to high (depends on preprocessing)

R44

Adaptability to fault types

High (captures different faults)

Low (no time information)

Moderate

High (adapts well to dynamic signals)

High (High (if trained on multiple fault types))

R46

  1. DWT discrete wavelet transform, FT  fourier transform, STFT  short-time fourier transform, HHT Hilbert-Huang transform, DML deep machine learning.