Power Factor Improvement

• Power Factor is the ratio between the kW component and the kVA
component of power, drawn by an electrical load

• Where kW is the actual load power & kVA is the apparent load power

• It is a measure of how effectively the current is utilized for doing useful

work

• In all industrial electrical distribution systems, the major loads are

resistive and inductive

• Typical inductive loads are A.C. Motors, induction furnaces, transformers

and ballast-type lighting
a) active (or working) power to perform the work -- kW

b) reactive power to create and maintain electro-magnetic fields -- kVAR

c) The vector sum of the active power and reactive power make up the total
(or apparent) power used -- kVA
 Causes of Low Power Factor

1. Most of the motors used in industries are of induction type, which have
low lagging pf
2. Lamps, discharge lamps operate at low lagging pf
3. Transformer system work at low lagging pf
4. Load on the system is varying which results in decreasing or low pf
 Disadvantages of Low Power
Factor
1. Lower the pf, higher is the load current required
2. Lower the pf, kVA rating of the equipment has to be more which means
the equipment has to be larger and expensive
3. To transmit or distribute a fixed amount of power at constant voltage,
the conductor will have to carry more current at LPF which means the
conductor size has to be large
4. Large current at LPF, makes I2R losses to increase which results in poor
efficiency
5. The lagging PF reduces the handling capacity of all elements of the
system due to the reactive component of the current
6. Large current at LPF causes greater voltage drops in alternators,
transformers, transmission lines and distributors – poor voltage
regulation
 Power Factor Improvement – Some important points
• The total current is less than the original circuit current
• The active component remains the same before and after pf correction
i.e., I cosφ1 = I’ cosφ2
• The reactive component is reduced i.e., I’ sinφ2 = I sinφ1 – Ic
• Active power remains unchanged due to pf improvement since
I cosφ1 = I’ cosφ2 => VI cosφ1 = VI’ cosφ2
• KVAR (after pf correction) = lagging KVAR (before pf correction) – leading
KVAR (after pf correction)
• The capacitance of the capacitor required to improve pf from cosφ1 to
cosφ2 is given by: C = IC / [ ω*V]
• The leading KVAR supplied by pf correction device is given by:
kW[tanφ1 - tanφ2]
 Advantages of Power Factor Correction
• Reduction in Electricity Bill due to reduced maximum demand

• No low power factor penalty charges

• Improved Voltage Level in System due to elimination of inductive

current

• KW capacities of prime movers, alternators, transformers and

transmission lines is increased

• Reduction in System losses; Efficiency of every plant increases; Overall

cost per unit decreases

• Voltage regulation of transmission lines increases i.e., Voltage drop in

the system improves

• Distribution capacity is augmented

• Premature failure of motors and other inductive equipment can be

• Capacitive power factor correction is applied to circuits which include
induction motors to reduce the inductive component of current
 CAPACITOR RATINGS FOR POWER FACTOR
CORRECTION
BY DIRECT CONNECTION TO INDUCTION MOTORS
 Power Factor Correction
• Decide most desirable power factor and capacitor rating

• Can be corrected by either using shunt capacitors or by using

synchronous motors

• Determine the reactive power of the load

• Decide on the location of capacitors

• Automatic control of power factor - APFC

• Maintenance:
- Current unbalance
- Harmonics in the system
- Check on the design - revisit
 Power Factor Correction

• Static Power Factor Correction

– By connecting correction capacitors to the motor starters
-- Static power factor correction should provide capacitive current equal to
80% of magnetizing current

• Bulk Power Factor Correction

– Total current supplied to the distribution board is monitored and
accordingly switches the banks
Static Power Factor Correction
 SPF Correction with a Soft Starter
• SPF Correction should not neutralize more than 80% of magnetizing
current of the motor

• SPF Correction should never be applied when the motor is controlled by a

VFD or Inverter

• SPF correction should never be applied at the output of a solid state Soft
starter
Bulk Correction
Selection of Capacitors
• A chemical industry had installed a 1500 kVA transformer. The initial
demand of the plant was 1160 kVA with power factor of 0.70. The % loading
of transformer was about 78%. To improve the power factor and to avoid
the penalty, the unit had added about 410 kVAr in motor load end. This
improved the power factor to 0.89, and reduced the required kVA to 913,
which is the vector sum of kW and kVAr.
 Considerations of supply harmonics in selection of Capacitors

• Supply side harmonics are caused by non linear loads

• Variable speed controllers & switch mode power supplies

• Result of supply harmonics is heating of capacitors and reduced life

Mitigation of supply harmonics:

• Active Filters which are essentially harmonic compensators by means of

an inverter

• Passive filters are resistors, inductors & capacitors

• Detuned filters are reactors which make the circuit very inductive for
resonant frequency and very capacitive on fundamental frequency
 Performance Assessment of Power Factor
Capacitors
• Voltage effects: Ideally capacitor voltage rating is to match the supply
voltage

• Material of capacitors: Power factor capacitors are available in various

types by dielectric material used

• Connections: Shunt capacitor connections are adopted for almost all

industry/ end user applications, while series capacitors are adopted for
voltage boosting in distribution networks

• Operational performance of capacitors: This can be made by monitoring

capacitor charging current vis- a- vis the rated charging current
Various types of automatic power factor
controls are available with relay /
microprocessor logic

Two of the most common controls are:

Voltage Control and kVAr Control