Basic Power Factor Correction

Power Factor Correction is a frequently misunderstood topic. Improper techniques can result in overcorrection, under-correction and/or harmonic resonance.

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Basic Power Factor Correction What are the different types of loads?
Ohmic loads Lighting bulbs Iron Resistive heating

Inductive loads Electrical Motors Transformers Reactors/chokes Overhead lines Under excited Synchronous generators Discharge lamps Power electronic

Capacative loads Capacitors Underground cables Over excited synchronous generators

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GRID

Basic Power Factor Correction

Three different types of loads: 1. OHMIC-LOADS
Ohmic loads U and I in phase Phase shift = 0 No penalty
The voltage and current are said to be in phase ( = 0) and the entire input power is converted into active power. Thus, resistive circuits have a unity power factor.
I - Current

In resistive circuits the voltage and current waveforms reach their peaks and troughs as well as the electrical zeros at the same instant of time.

=0

The ohmic resistance does not depend on frequency.

U - Voltage

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Basic Power Factor Correction

Three different types of loads: 2. INDUCTIVELOADS
Inductive loads U is 90 ahead of I 90 phase shift Penalty!
Most of the industrial loads are inductive in nature e.g. motors, transformers etc. Due to inductive reactance of the load, the current drawn by the load lags behind the voltage waveform electrically by an angle .

U - Voltage

=90

The magnitude of is proportional to the inductive reactance. Since the current lags behind the voltage, inductive loads are said to have a lagging power factor. Impedance-XL = 2 * 3.14 * f * L

I - Current

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Basic Power Factor Correction

Three different types of loads: 2. INDUCTIVELOADS
Phase shift

Inductive loads cause

a phase shift between
Current
+ ve

Power
+ ve

current and voltage.

A positive as well as a
negative power can be observed.

U, I and power

-ve

Voltage

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Basic Power Factor Correction

Three different types of loads: 3. CAPACITIVELOADS
Capacative loads I is 90 ahead of U 90 phase shift Over compensation is risky!
I - Current

Due to capacitive reactance of the load, the current drawn by the load is ahead the voltage by an angle . The magnitude of is proportional to the

capacitive reactance.
=90

Impedance
U - Voltage

1 1 XC C 2 f C

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Three different types of electrical power

Reactive Power ( kvar) Q S 2- P2 Q2 QC Q1

S = Apparent Power
P = Active Power
Q = Reactive Power
Active Power P S - Q [ KW ] 2

2 1 S Apparent Power S P + Q [ kVA ]

cos = P/S sin = Q/S Q = S sin Q = P tan

= phase displacement angle S1 = uncompensatedapparent power S2 = compensated power with capacitors for compensation

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What is Active Power?

The amount of input power which is converted into output power, is termed as active power and is generally indicated by P. The active Power is defined by the following formula.

[W]
Ideally, entire input power i.e. apparent power should get converted into the useful output, i.e. heating of an oven, movement of an motor, light of an bulb.

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What is Reactive Power?

Electrical machines work on the principle of conversion of electromagnetic energy.(e.g. electric motors, transformers). A part of input energy is consumed for creating and maintaining the magnetic field. This part of the input energy cannot be converted into active energy and is returned to the electrical network on removal of the magnetic field. This power is known as reactive power Q and is defined as follows.

Q 3 U I sin

[VAr]

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What is Apparent Power?

Applications of electrical equipment are based on conversion of

electrical energy into some other form of energy. The electrical

power drawn by an equipment from the source is termed as Apparent Power, and consists of active and reactive power. The current measured with a clamp amp indicates the apparent power. It is defined as follows:

S 3 U I

[VA]

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What is the power factor?

Power factor = cos cos-phi = P (kW) / S (kVA)
Phase shift
Power

Category

Typical uncompensated PF

Current
U, I and power

+ ve

+ ve

-ve

Voltage

Breweries Cement plant Compressor Cranes Data Centre - Computer Drying-Plants Hospitals Machinery, big sized Machinery, small sized Office Building- General Plywood Sawmill Steel factory Suggar Tobacco Water pumps Welding transformer

0,6..0,7 0,6..0,7 0,7..0,8 0,5..0,6 0,8..0,9 0,8..0,9 0,7..0,8 0,5..0,6 0,4..0,5 0,7..0,8 0,6..0,7 0,6..0,7 0,6..0,7 0,8..0,85 0,6..0,7 0,8..0,85 0,4..0,5

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Power Factor Correction

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What is the power factor?

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Why to improve the power factor?

Reduction of power bill (short pay back time: 6-18 month usually) Reduction of ohmic losses Power Quality improvement (harmonics, voltage sags..) Higher kW loading of transmission and distribution equipment and/or smaller dimensioning of this equipment (cable, transformer, bus bars..)

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Why to improve the power factor?

Industrial. Commercial and domestic customers want to get most effective electrical installation to serve their machinery. Low PF can mean extra losses and penalty payments to utility for excessive reactive power. Power production and transmission companies would like to sell as much active power as possible to their customers. Low PF can reduce the generating and transmission capacity.

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Why to improve power factor?

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Why to improve the power factor?

What does this mean in reduced losses and save energy? The losses in the power line, transformers , and cables are proportional to the square of the current. Assume the average load on the 55kW is 35kW, then motor current is 65A. The AC drive input current under this condition is 60A The AC drive reduces the input current from 65A to 60A. The reduction of losses is described:

If the losses on the supply side are 5% of the average load, the AC drive can reduce these losses to about 4%.
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Why to improve the power factor?

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Why to improve the power factor?

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How to improve the power factor?

PFC Capacitors (HV or LV, automatic or fixed)

Reduce amount of inductive load

Over-excited synchronous generators

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Power Factor Correction

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Principle of Power Factor Correction

0 65 95
Mechanical or thermal work

Active Energy

Current Current

Reactive Energy

Generation of magnetic field

Supply
Load Capacitor

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Principle of PFC
S1
S2

QC Q 1
Q2 = Q1 - QC

P
S = Apparent Power
P = Active Power Q = Reactive Power

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Methods of PFC

Individual compensation

Group compensation Centralised automatic compensation

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Methods of PFC: 1. Individual (fixed) Compensation

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Methods of PFC: 1. Individual (fixed) Compensation

Advantages at a glance
kvar produced on the spot Reduction of line losses Disadvantages Many small capacitors are more

expensive that one central one * Low utilization factor of Reduction of voltage drops capacitors or equipment not often in operation Saving of regulator

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Methods of PFC: 2. Group Compensation

Advantages at a glance

Reduction of capital investment

Loses reduced in distribution lines Voltage drops reduced in distribution lines Higher utilization factor of capacitors

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Methods of PFC: 3. Centralized Compensation

controller

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Methods of PFC: 3. Centralized Compensation

Advantages at a glance Best utilization of the capacitors Most cost effective solution Easier supervision Automatic control
In factories with many loads of different output and operating times fixed compensation is usually too costly and non-effective. The most economic solution for complex applications is usually a centralized automatic capacitor bank, controlled by a automatic PF controller. Point of connection is usually in the main distribution panel close to the transformer.
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Methods of PFC: Summary

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Example of power factor correction calculation

HV Grid

Transformer 630 kVA, uk = 5 %

M 3~

300 kW cos = 0.65 Capacitor bank Qc = ?? kvar

Question: A building with a total load of 300 kW shows an actual power factor of 0.65 The customer asks for a target PF=0.96 What capacitor output is required to avoid surcharges for low PF?

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Example of power factor correction calculation

Solution: Qc = P * K) = 300*(0.88) = 252 kvar

For a proper fine tuning of the target PF, a capacitor bank design:
25 + 50 + 50 + 50 + 50 + 50 kvar

Depending on types of loads, e.g. frequency converters, de-tuned

capacitor banks should be used

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Example of power factor correction calculation

Office Building

TCL = 1200kW

?
M M M SSB 1 SSB 2

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Example of power factor correction calculation

Ic = kVAR / system voltage Qc = 2 x 3.14 x 50Hz x Cp x V2

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Example of power factor correction calculation

MCCB = 1.5 X Reactive Current

CONTACTOR = AC-6b RATING

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Example of power factor correction calculation

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Power factor correction at motor

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Voltage rise

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Voltage rise

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Remember Capacitor has losses

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Utilization Category

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Utilization Category

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PF Capacitor Inrush Current

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PF Capacitor Inrush Current

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PF Capacitor Inrush Current

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Contactor for Switching

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Power factor capacitors various brands

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Power factor capacitor specifications

High over current loading possible Longest life cycle: 115 000 hours Highest ambient temperature, up to 55 Highest impulse current: 300 * In No Corona effect Highest safety by Triple Safety System Highest reliability

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Power factor capacitor specifications Highest impulse current withstand capability: > 300 * In
4000,0 3000,0 2000,0 Current [A] 1000,0 0,0 -1000,0 -2000,0

Inrush current of app. 3500 A by energizing a PFC capacitor with 20 A rated current!

5 steps parallel

-3000,0 73,2

73,8

74,5

75,1

75,7 Time [ms]

76,3

77,0

77,6

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Power factor capacitor specifications

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Power factor capacitor Installation

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Power Factor - Metering

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