PRESENTATION ON POWER FACTOR MANAGEMENT

Power Factor
The power factor of an AC electric power system is defined as the ratio of the real Power flowing to the load over the apparent power in the circuit, and is a dimensionless number between 0 and 1 . Power Factor Definition : Power factor is the ratio between the KW and the KVA drawn by an electrical load where the KW is the actual load power and the KVA is the apparent load power. It is a measure of how effectively the current is being converted into useful work output and more particularly is a good indicator of the effect of the load current on the efficiency of the supply system. Real Power is the capacity of the circuit for performing work in a particular time. Apparent power is the product of the current and voltage of the circuit. Due to energy stored in the load and returned to the source, or due to a non-linear load that distorts the wave shape of the current drawn from the source, the apparent power will be greater than the real power.

What causes Power Factor to change ?

Inductive loads cause the AMPS to lag behind the VOLTS. The wave forms of VOLTS and AMPS are then "out of phase" with each other. The more out of phase they become then the lower the Power Factor. Power Factor is usually expressed as Cos Phi. ()

Effect of poor Power factor

In an electric power system, a load with a low power factor draws more current than a load with a high power factor for the same amount of useful power transferred. The higher currents increase the energy lost in the distribution system, and require larger size of wires and other equipment. Because of the costs of larger equipment and wasted energy, electrical utilities will usually charge a higher cost to industrial or commercial customers where there is a low power factor. Linear loads with low power factor (such as induction motors) can be corrected with a passive network of capacitors or Inductors . Nonlinear loads, such as rectifiers , distort the current drawn from the system. In such cases, active or passive power factor correction may be used to counter the distortion and raise the power factor. The devices for correction of the power factor may be at a central substation, spread out over a distribution system, or built into powerconsuming loads.

Importance of power factor in distribution systems

The significance of power factor lies in the fact that utility companies supply customers with volt-amperes, but bill them for watts. Power factors below 1.0 require a utility to generate more than the minimum volt-amperes necessary to supply the real power (watts). This increases generation and transmission costs. For example, if the load power factor were as low as 0.7, the apparent power would be 1.4 times the real power used by the load. Line current in the circuit would also be 1.4 times the current required at 1.0 power factor, so the losses in the circuit would be doubled (since they are proportional to the square of the current). Alternatively all components of the system such as generators, conductors, transformers, and switchgear would be increased in size (and cost) to carry the extra current. Utilities typically charge additional costs to customers who have a power factor below some limit, which is typically 0.9 to 0.95. Engineers are often interested in the power factor of a load as one of the factors that affect the efficiency of power transmission. With the rising cost of energy and concerns over the efficient delivery of power, active PFC has become more common in consumer electronics

How to reduce bill ?

If large industrial customers place inductive loads on the power grid, the utility company installs special electric meters to measure this. The electric company then charges them a fee. The industrial customer must pay for the energy losses they cause in the warm power lines. There is a way for industrial customers to fix the problem. There is a way to correct the power factor and bring it to 100%. If the customer is using an inductive load, they can place just the right value of capacitor across that load. The energy then stops reflecting back to the electric company generators. No longer do the power lines suffer excess heating. The electric company measures this, then stops charging the extra fee. (Actually the energy still reflects back and forth between the inductive load and the added capacitor. The excess heating in those short local wires is insignificant.)

How much energy can be saved by installing correction Capacitors

Power factor correction does not save much energy usually less than 1 percent of load requirements but even that benefit depends upon how low the power factor is to begin with and how heavily loaded are in-plant distribution system conductors. Note that power supplied to your motor driven-equipment is proportional to Volts Amps. Energy losses in your in-plant distribution system coincide with your voltage drop. If your transformer supplies power at 480 volts and the voltage at your motor terminals is 470 volts, you have a voltage drop of 10 volts, or approximately 2 percent of 480 volts. The total power loss in the in-plant distribution system upstream of connected load equipment seldom exceeds 2 percent of the load requirement. The loss fraction saved through the installation of capacitors at the motor is: (1-pf original/pffinal)/100

Power Factor

Low cos has the following disadvantages:

1) High power losses in the electrical lines 2) High voltage variation in the electrical lines 3) (Oversize of investment) ,oversizing generators, circuit breakers, electric lines and transformers 4) Low performances

Low cos means poor electrical efficiency. From this, we understand the importance to improve (increase) the power factor. Capacitors are needed to obtain this result.

How To Improve Power Factor

The capacitors connected in parallel to the load generate reverse-phase reactive power.

kvar1

kW

kVA

Capacitors
Capacitors are used to compensate the Reactive Power.

Motor Load Capacitors

The resulting capacitive current is leading current and is used to cancel the lagging inductive current flowing from the supply.