e501 E502 508 5507 508 5509 gst 2512 E514 esis et e522 E523 5556 3558 2562 5563 564 5565 SECTION - VOLTAGE DROP AND REGULATION, Losses, WEATING AND CONDUCTOR SELECTION ceneral Conductor-Eeonomies Voltage Drop Losses, Loss Factor end Load Factor Sample Calculations - Voleage drop Conductor Voltage Drop ané Fouer Lose Tables Secondary Voltage Drop in Open-Hye or Open-Delts Secondary Voltage Drop in hiye-Delea Flicker n Openswye or Uye-Delta Flicker From Motor Starting (Inpedance Method) Voltage Regulation Voltage Regulater Control capacitor Application for Voltage Control Heating of Overhead Conductors Maximum Allwable Fault current Deteraining Voltage Drop and Pover Loss Voltage Drop, Rise, Power Loss in cables Cable Capacitance and Charging Current Dielectric Losses in CablesEBASCO SERVICES INCORPORATED 1W0 RECTOR STHEET NEW YORK,NY. 10006 Saty 15,1967 Doe wor Berea Te asvre enky AS Generar Ta Ge Qiations ie it. MEMORANDUM TO EBASCO CLIENTS ON CONDUCTOR AND TRANSFORMER ECONOMICS WITH REFERENCES TO THE DISTRIBUTION ENGINEERING MANUAL When Lord Kelvin gave the technical world his famous law relating to economic balance between two costs, one of wh.ch is directly and the other inversely proportional to a given variable, he rendered a signal service. However, he probably would turn over in his grave today if he could learn how generally his Isw has been (and still is being) mis~ applied in engineering calculations, rhe purpose of this discussion is to point out a very, common source of error in minimum cost determi~ nations of types that electrical engineers are called upon to make in frequently recurring problems such as - economical loading of distri- bution transformers, economical ¢ize of conductors in transmission and distribution Lines, and the like. In an effort to make the matter crystal clear the graphical method of solution rather than mathematics as presented in the Engineering Manual (see E241, £502) will be used {for illustration, For the first illustration, take the ease of economical distribution transformer loading. In general-purpose distribution systems, this in= volves cost of transformer and secoucary conductor, cost of energy losses, and frequently primary costs and Josses. However, for clarity issue’ these factors will be omitted in presentation of the main-point and only costs and losses concerned with the transformers themselves will be included. It should be noted also that, in situations involving growing loads, energy losses change from year to year and a true de~ termination of economics is,cbtained only by considering summation ofcoste over a period of years in 2 manner fully illustrated in Section 2 (see E222), In the discussion herein this complication is omitted to simplify the presentation. The annual costs shown therefore are "instantaneous" rather than "cumulative" costs. Another complicat- ing factor that is omitted for purposes of simplification is the effect of transformer loading on transformer life. A common graphical method of exploring transformer costs a affected by loading is shown in Figure 1. This and the following graphs involve relations to which Kelvin'’s law is applicable. The costs shown ave made up of fixed charges on investment and annual coats of losses in which the rate of fixed charge on investment, load factor, loss factor, energy cost and demand cost are held constant throughout this discus sion, The investment values include cost of installation and cost of accessories such as lightning arresters, cutouts, hangers, ete. For a 15 kva transformer, Figure 1 indicates the most econorsical loading to be 34.2 kva or 228 percent of nameplate rating. Now look at Figure 2. This is plotted differently, but the same basic cost data are used, and there is no slip of the pencil or mathe- matical trick to confuse the issue, The calculations were made in 1948, therefore you will not agree with the costs shown. However, they are valid for the purpose of illustration. The same comparative results would be obtained with curzent costs. _What'is wrong here? Figure 1 shows the economical loading of a 15 kva transformer to be 34.2 kva, with 228 percent loading, but Fig- ture 2 shows that the economical size of transformer to serve this same load is 25 kva with 137 percent loading. Something rotten in Denmark! (See £502), 7 ~~ Perhaps we can discover where ths cate ‘ies ty taking a fixed load of sizeable magnitude and exploring costs with a large number of transformers in the picture rather than deating with single unite. Fig- tare 3 areumes a fixed load of 1000 kva and a fixed transformer size of 15 kva, Total annual coste are plotted for ditferent numbers of 15 kva transformers, It willbe noted in Figure 3 the economical number of transformers is shown to be 29.3 transformers. This number divided into the 1000 iva of load gives 34.2 kva per transformer, the same value indicated by Figare 1 revreer errs Ts heed aFigure 4 similarly shows the total, annual costs for 1000 kva of load, but with the number of transformers held fixed at 29.3 the value indicated by Figure 3, the size of transformer becoming the variable again. Here we arrive at the same size of transformer as indicated by Figure 2, that is 25 kva, and it {s becoming clear where the dif ference lies. In Figure 3, where the number of traneformers is varied, it can be understood readily that the variable includes the "base" trans~ former cost ~ that is, the cost per installation that is independent of size. This includes cost of installing, cost of auxiliaries (fuses and Lightning arresters), and a portion of the factory cost of the trans~ former - that portion that is involved more or less in getting a unit of any size (even zero capacity) through the factory. Every time’a transformer installation is added or subtracted, the cost of one whole installation including a block of this base cost is added or subtracted. In Figure 4 although included in the dollar figures, this base cost is, not involved at all in the economics because the number of installations is fixed. The cost that ig involved ig the "incremental" cost, or the cost that is (for practical purposes) proportional to the size of trans~ former. The meaning of these two costs is shown in Figure 5 which is lan approximate representation of the cost of distribution transformers installed, including auxiliaries. Base portions of loss costs are properly a part of total base costs and their capitalized values are included Engineers who are not thoroughly familiar with this matter should study carefully the significance of Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4. Figures I and 3 are applicable under a condition where load growth is handled by setting “intermediate transformers of the same ize and transferring some load from the old transformers to the new ones. (Remember that this is not 2 complete picture, Secondary and primary conductor costs are in- “volved and the costs shows! are "instantaneous" values.) Figures 2 and 4 are applicable where load growth is handled by replacing excessively overloaded transformers with unite of larger size at the same locations. (Remembering again that the picture is hot complete ~ also that cost of taking down and putting up enters as a factor in this case.) In general purpose distribution systems, neither one of these two types of operating practices is in effect to the exclusion of the other. Therefore, no one of the graphs shown reliably provides the answer to the problem for generaldistribution practice. The proper loading (Insofar as the "instantaneous" transformer cost alone is indicative) undoubtedly lies between the two indicated values Now look at Figure 6. This is the same as Figure 1 except tiat carves for several different sizes of transformers are plotted. This type of graph is frequently used for exploring transformer costs and conductor costs ‘The envelope C is commonly assumed to be properly indicative of ‘economical loading. But look at the point D which is the minimam cost point for the load of 34.2 kva studied in the foregoing discussion. It is ‘seen that this is the same size of transformer as indicated in Figures 2 and 4, ‘The bottom lobes of these curves are thus found te correspond to the indications of graphs similar to Figures 2 and 4, which,as stated before, are not truly indicative except under specific well defined (and not solely practiced) conditions. In employing the carves to-select the transformer size which gives lowest annual coct, the user (vavally unwittingly no doubt) discards base costs as a factor in his determination of economics even though these costs be included in the dollar values whick make ap the curves, If he ‘wishes to include the full effect of base costs as a factor, he should consult curve A drawn through the minima of the various cost curves. ‘The point here demonstrated is difficult to grasp without analysis of a searching type oF resort to step-by-step demonstration sach as used herein. Nevertheless, it is astonishing that articles by prominent engineers, and even college {professors, have appeared from time to time throughout the technical literature showing lack of discernment of this elementary matter of interpretation of the data pictured by the graphs. : : By close inspection of the curves of Figure 6, it is seen that the cost differences are small even though the differences of percentage loading values are large. This flatness of the curves undoubtedly is one reason why utilities have not “gone broke" in the past from mis~ taken economics. Another is that common sense often comes to the rescue. However, the matter is basic, and it is not safe to discard it as amounting to "peanuts[As a second illustration, take the case of a 3-phase, 4/0-4 kv feeder 1/2 mile long. A graph for it similar to Figure 1, is shown in Figure 7. The assumed installed cost includes a pole line, pole head accessories, a station circuit breaker and feeder position at a substa~ tion. Note the apparent economic loading is 395 amperes for the 4/0 conductor Figure 8 is a corresponding graph plotted similarly to Figure 2, Here only the incremental cost (not the feeder base cost) of the feeder copper size is involved and the resulting economéc loading is entirely aifferent. Conclusion Choose carefully the method of applying graphic solutions or Kelvin's law to problems involving minimum cost determinations EBASCO SERVICES INCOKPORATED July 15, 1967