Why Improve Power Factor?

While there are many reasons to correct poor power factor we find that in general a facility will correct it's Power Factor for one or more of the following reasons: 1. To Reduce Utility Power Billing Most, if not all Hydro Utilities charge a penalty for poor power factor. In a lot of cases this penalty can be quite substantial (20-40% of the Demand Charges plus high I2R Losses). Therefore, one of the main reasons for correcting your facilities power factor is to eliminate needless financial losses. 2. To Increase System Capacity Improving the Power Factor releases system capacity and permits additional loads (motors, lighting, etc..) to be added without overloading the system. In a typical system with a .80 P.F., only 800kW of productive power is able to be used out of 1000kVA installed. By correcting the system to unity (1.0 P.F.), the kW = kVA. Now the corrected system will support 1000kW, versus teh 800 kW at the .80 P.F. uncorrected condition; an increase of 200kW of productive power. 3. Improved System operating characteristics A good power factor (.95) provides a "stiffer" voltage, typically a 1-2% voltage rise can be expected when Power Factor is brought to +/- .95. Improving Power Factor will also lower losses in the distribution system of the facility since losses are proportional to the square of the current. Regardless of why you improve the electrical systems Power Factor it will provide a combination of all the things listed above. http://www.cosphi.com/why-improve-power-factor.html

How do you improve Power Factor?

There are various improvements that can be made within an electrical system which will assist in the improvement of the facilities Power factor.

The replacement of existing motors with more energy efficient ones; ensuring motors are properly sized for their application and duty cycle; the use of high power factor lighting ballasts; and the Installation of Power Capactors to name a few. The installation of Power Capacitors is by far perhaps the most straight forward and most cost efficient method of improving a facilities Power Factor. Ideally, to derive the maximum benefit, properly sized static capacitor banks should be located as close as possible to the offending loads. Most times however, this may not be the most cost effective method of correction due to the sheer number of static capacitor banks that are required in a large electrical environment. A more economical method is the installation of a centrally located automatic switching power factor correction bank (APFC). This capacitor bank is controlled by a microprocessor-based relay, which continually monitors the reactive power requirements. The relay then connects or disconnects capacitors to supply capacitance as needed. Often times, we can take advantage of the use of both types of correction. Static capacitor banks can be placed at strategic locations through out facility whie implementing an APFC to handle the remainding requirements for capacitance. Generally, APFCs are placed centrally at the main electrical panel. Regardless of which strategy is implemented careful planning should be undertaken to ensure maximum benefit is derived from the correction. Other factors that need to be taken into consideration during this planning phase is Harmonics on the electrical system ans well as know future expansions to the facility.

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Power Factor Correction

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Power factor is a measure of how effectively your equipment converts electric current from BC Hydro's system to useful power output, such as heat, light or mechanical motion. Low power factor costs you money. There are two kinds of power: Usable power called kilowatts (kW) Reactive power called kilovar (kVar) The ratio of your usable power consumption to your reactive power consumption determines your power factor. Some electrical equipment, such as motors and transformers, require both types of power. Power factor gets smaller as reactive power increases in comparison to usable power.

The train analogy diagram helps explain how it works. When your power factor drops below 90%, a power factor surcharge is applied to cover the cost of supplying additional reactive power. The surcharge chart shows how your charges are calculated. Low power factor is usually caused by devices, such as motors and transformers, which use a magnetic field to function. Some of the incoming current used to create the magnetic field leads to reactive power consumption, measured in kilovar-hours (kVarh). The ratio of your kWh consumption to your kVarh consumption determines your power factor each month.

There are corrective devices to solve power factor problems. Speak to a qualified electrician to find out how to take it to the next step.

Benefits of power factor correction

By optimizing your energy use you can:

Reduce electricity costs by eliminating power factor surcharges Enhance equipment operation by improving voltage Improve energy efficiency Reduce line losses Delay costly upgrades Free up transformer and distribution system capacity

Power factor corrective devices

1. Capacitors Power factor correction capacitors are the most common method of correcting power factor. They can be: Installed at various locations on your electrical system Switched on by large loads such as electric motors 2. Controlling capacitors A controller provides automatic switching of capacitor units and maintains the power factor level under any changes in operation or load.

3. Adjusting existing capacitors Existing capacitors may be correctly sized but incorrectly controlled, leading to poor overall power factor. Blown protection fuses on capacitors take the capacitor off-line. Looking at the condition and control of existing capacitors and fuses, especially after a shutdown, may solve some power factor problems.

4. Installing the right size motor Oversizing motors without proper power factor correction is a leading cause of low power factor. One of the most effective means of improving power factor is by installing correctly sized motors for the job. This will also reduce energy consumption and your total energy bill. 5. Power quality effects Harmonics, a power quality phenomenon, may be generated by some electrical equipment such as: Adjustable speed drives Switched power supplies Electric smelters These installations require carefully designed power factor capacitors or in some cases harmonic filters to avoid amplifying harmonics which may damage components of your electrical system. The presence of harmonics in your electrical system points to a power quality problem.

Surcharge chart
Calculating your surcharge You are billed for the usable power and a surcharge is applied to cover the cost of supplying the reactive power whenever the power factor drops below 90%. Capacitors are used to increase power factor to above 90%. To measure the amount of reactive power used, your business is equipped with a kVARh (kilovar-hour) meter. This meter enables the power factor of your electrical system to be calculated.

Calculating your surcharge

Power Factor Surcharge

Less than 100% but 90% or more Less than 90% but 88% or more Less than 88% but 85% or more Less than 85% but 80% or more Less than 80% but 75% or more Less than 75% but 70% or more Less than 70% but 65% or more Less than 65% but 60% or more Less than 60% but 55% or more Less than 55% but 50% or more 72% Less than 50% Example:

Nil 2% 4% 9% 16% 24% 34% 44% 57% 72% 80%

If your total charges are $1,398.05 per month ($1,393.90 usage charge + $4.15 basic charge) and your power factor is 77% then your surcharge, from the above table, is 16% of the total charges or $223.68. These details are shown on your BC Hydro bill.

Train Analogy Diagram

Imagine a locomotive pulling a boxcar on a parallel train track with a chain. The tension in the chain is higher due to the sideways component of pull but the work done in moving the boxcar is exactly the same as if the locomotive was directly in front of the boxcar requiring a much lower chain tension.

The increased tension in the chain when pulling from the side is analogous to the increased current necessary to supply the reactive power in an electrical circuit. The chain has a limited capacity for tension before it will break just as electrical wires have a limited capacity to carry current before failing. By increasing power factor (putting the locomotive in front of the boxcar) capacity is freed up in the electrical system (the chain has more spare tension before reaching the breaking point).

For more technical details download the Power Factor guide [PDF, 429 Kb].

http://www.bchydro.com/powersmart/technology_tips/maintenance_guides/power_qualit y/power_factor_correction.html Electricity is always used to facilitate a function, whether it's running a fan, illuminating a room, or heating a tank of water. However, it's the work done by the appliance in these cases an induction motor, fluorescent lamp, and water heater, respectively that is of interest.

Appliances are energy conversion devices. As dictated by the rules of power factor and efficiency, the

energy consumed by an appliance is always greater than the energy provided by it. Power factor. When voltage and current are out-of-phase, the cosine of the angular displacement is called the power factor (PF), or more specifically, the displacement power factor (DpPF). Displacing the current waveform from the voltage waveform reduces the electricity's effectiveness in doing work. As the number of electronic appliances in use increases, so does the presence of harmonic currents, which are integer multiples of the fundamental power system frequency of 60 Hz, such as 120 Hz, 180 Hz, and so on. These harmonic currents distort the shape of the current waveform. Instead of a pure sine wave, current waveforms rich in harmonics tend to be flattened or peaked. This distortion leads to distortion power factor (DtPF), or the ratio of the fundamental frequency current magnitude to the effective current magnitude. The effective current is an equivalent sinusoidal current that produces the same heating effects as the total non-sinusoidal current. DpPF is often incorrectly referred to as PF. As power quality plays more of a role in power engineering, total power factor (PF=DpPFDtPF) will become more common. Power factor correction. Consider a 750kVA load operating at 80% lagging PF. Construct a power triangle to help determine the kW and kVAR components of the power (Fig. 1A above). Solving for the real and reactive power values yields 600kW and 450kVAR, respectively. So of the 750kVA drawn from the source, only 600kW, or 80% of it, can do useful work. The reactive power, necessary to establish electromagnetic fields, adds a considerable burden to the source. Last month's column showed that capacitors connected from line-to-neutral can furnish reactive power. With a 300kVAR shunt capacitor, the source has to provide only 150kVAR (450-300=150). Fig. 1B shows the resulting power triangle. The kVA supplied by the source decreases to

and the PF angle decreases to

yielding a new power factor of cos 14, or 97% lagging. This process of installing shunt capacitors to supply reactive power is called power factor correction.

Efficiency. Efficiency is the ratio of the energy output of an appliance to the energy input, expressed as a percentage. Since appliances require more energy than they provide, some energy is lost. But where does it go? Depending on the type of appliance, energy can escape in a number of places. Electrical losses (I2R) usually account for a significant portion of the total losses, producing heat in the appliance. Iron-core devices exhibit hysteresis losses, which are magnetic losses in the iron, and eddy current losses, which are electrical losses in the iron core. Induction motors and transformers display a significant leakage reactance, which are the losses due to inductance. As the harmonic content of the current increases, skin effect losses increase greatly in the conductors. Rotating machines have rotational losses due to bearing friction and rotor windage. Although many appliances are designed for maximum efficiency, losses will never be eliminated.