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Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Rationale

In modern most loads electrical distribution systems are inductive. Inductive loads need a

magnetic field to operate. Examples include motors, transformers, gaseous tube lighting ballasts,

and induction furnaces. It measures how effectively electrical power is being used. A high-power

factor signals efficient utilization of electrical power, while a low power factor indicates poor

utilization of electrical power. [1]

A high-power factor is generally desirable in a transmission system to reduce

transmission losses and improve voltage regulation at the load. It is often desirable to adjust the

power factor of a system to near 1.0. When reactive elements supply or absorb reactive power

near the load, the apparent power is reduced. Power factor correction may be applied by an

electric power transmission utility to improve the stability and efficiency of the transmission

network. Individual electrical customers who are charged by their utility for low power factor

may install correction equipment to reduce those costs. In many industrial applications, the

problems associated with thyristor-based systems like huge space requirement; bulkiness, lower

power factor and lower efficiency have largely been eliminated with the advent of switched

mode power supply technologies. [2]

In ‘Cabadbaran’ City especially in Caraga State University Cabadbaran Campus

(CSUCC), thus this study is conducted. The use of electronic equipment or any appliances are

mostly needed in day-to-day activity those become a factor of increasing the demand of

electricity and increase of electrical bill. This study in order to reduce losses in the distribution
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system, and to reduce the electricity bill, power factor correction, usually in the form of

capacitors, is added to neutralize as much of the magnetizing current as possible.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

Electrical power generators are design to produce quality, reliable and stable power to

consumers. It came to light that most of the appliances used by the small consumers nowadays

are inductive loads such as refrigerators air conditioning unit, washing machine that produce

inductive reactance and if not immediately checked, contributes to low power factor thereby

increasing the amount of electrical energy that flows through the electrical network from the

generating station and results in poor reliability Specifically, this project sought to answer the

following problems:

1. Most of the common electrical loads or electronic equipment used in by the

consumers specifically the Air Conditioning Unit, refrigerator are inductive in

nature causing dramatically increase the required current being consumed by an

appliances to work properly that results to lagging power factor which gives

wastage of energy every day and hence electric bill increase for same amount of

work done.

2. Some of the traditional method used in power factor correction which is the static

capacitor bank and its configuration, the value of capacitor was fixed and cannot

to control.

3. Every household used commonly inductive loads that generate reactive power and

most of the time, and due to increasing of use of inductive loads the load power

factor decreases considerably which increases of the losses of the system and

hence power losses its efficiency.

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1.3 Objectives of the Study

This project aimed to find a good solution to high energy consumption and to improve

the stability and efficiency of the power system through a sustainable development of an

automatic system that corrects low power factor of the load. Specifically, it aimed to:

a) To design and develop a prototype of Smart Power Factor Corrector that compensate

the amount of reactive power generate in household appliances and fixing the low power

factor drawn by the selected loads and be able to send it data wirelessly

b) Identify one method of power factor correction with the low cost and practical; and,

c) Test the functionality system of the Smart Power Factor Corrector in terms of its

sensing power factor efficiency in order to switch on enough capacitor to compensate

reactive power that will bring the power factor above the limit set value of 0.8 to as near

to unity as practical (typically 0.9).

1.4 Significance of the Study

The energy consumption is part of the day by day house economy. Lots of ideas have

emerged with the aim of saving money utilities’ bill. The Smart Power Factor corrector can help

the consumer by saving them money in household energy cost.

1.5 Scope and Limitation of the Study

This project is design for the use on household devices, mainly focusing on the

appliances that have low power factors (0.6 -0.8) such as appliances that contains motors. The

researchers select 6 household inductive loads (Air Conditioning Unit, Refrigerator, Fluorescent

with ballast, washing machine, Cathode tube TV, electric fan) which is best for the power factor
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correction. This project mainly aims the attention on the accurate arrangement and development

of a single-phase power factor correction using Arduino Uno micro-controlling chip. The

hardware implementation was developed by using Arduino Uno board, which uses the

ATmega328 as the Microcontroller and Wi-Fi shield for the data send wirelessly. This project

applied using programming language C. Moreover, the scope will cover also the operation single

phase capacitor bank (230V, 50Hz).

1.8 Definition of Terms

To promote better understanding, the following terms are defined accordingly to its usage

in the study

Capacitor bank- is a grouping of several identical or non-identical capacitors interconnected in

parallel or in series with one another. These are typically use to correct or counteract undesirable

characteristics such as power factor lag or phase shifts inherent in alternating current electrical

power supplies.

Microcontroller or the processing module- is an interfacing and controlling module, that

interface the various peripherals and other modules used in the circuit.

Arduino Uno- is a microcontroller board based on the Atmega328. It has 14 digital inputs/output

pins (of which can be used as PWM outputs, 6 analog inputs, a 16 MHz ceramic resonator, a

USB connection, a power jack, an ICSP header and reset button.

Zero Crossing- is a point where the sign of mathematical function changes (e.g. from positive to

negative represented by crossing of the axis (zero value) in the graph of the function.

Potential transformer- is the most common type of transformer widely used in electrical power
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transmission and appliances to convert mains voltage to low voltage in order to power low power

electronic devices.

Current transformer- is an instrument transformer used to step-down the current in the circuit

to measurable values and thus used for measuring alternating currents.

Voltage regulator – is design to automatically maintain a constant voltage level.

Ceramic capacitor- Is a fixed value capacitor in which ceramic acts as dielectric.

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Chapter 2

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

2.1 Electrical Energy Conservation in Automatic Power Factor Correction by

Embedded System. Power factor control is a major role in the improvement of power system

stability. Many of the existing systems are expensive and difficult to manufacturer. Nowadays

many of the converters have no input power factor correction circuits. The effect of power factor

correction circuit is used to eliminate the harmonics present in the system [4]. Most of the

consumers consumed the electricity for the purpose of inductive load. The inductive load is act

as a lagging power factor. The result of lagging power factor increases the power losses in the

power system. The reactive power is compensated by real power by using suitable value of

capacitors. This improvement of power factor is helps to avoid the heavy penalties and also offer

incentives to the consumer. The existing work on power factor correction is having some

disadvantages like switching operations and sensing stability of the system. The phase angle

between the voltage and current is calculated by inbuilt computers in the microcontroller. The

calculated values are comparing with actual load present in the system. The load on the system is

maximum when the capacitor bank is added in the system by using micro controller. These

processes are continuously carried out and maintain the power factor in automatically [5]

2.2High-performance line conditioner with output voltage regulation and power

factor correction. A high-performance line conditioner with excellent efficiency and power

factor is proposed. The line conditioner consists of a three-leg rectifier-inverter, which operates

as a boost converter and a buck converter. In addition, the three-leg bridge can reduce the
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number of switching devices and system loss, while maintaining the capabilities of power factor

correction and good output voltage regulation. The power factor controller for the single-phase

pulse-width modulated (PWM) rectifier is derived using the feedback linearization concept. The

inverter side acts as a voltage regulator with current-limiting capability for impulsive loads. The

disturbance of input voltage is detected using a fast-sensing technique [3].

2.3. Impact of Power Factor Correction on the Electrical Distribution Network of

Kuwait – A Case Study. The electrical distribution network in Kuwait has undergone several

improvements over the years to ensure a higher capacity and efficient electricity service to all

consumers. Power factor correction (PFC) is one of the techniques recently applied to the

electrical distribution network in Kuwait. Applying proper PFC methods compensates the effect

of reactive loads of the system and hence improves the system’s overall efficiency. Such

improvement permits a reduction in the size of switchgear, transformers and cables which imply

lower cost [6]. This paper presents a case study that shows the advantages of power factor

correction for the electrical distribution network in Kuwait.

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Chapter 3

Methodology

3.1 Overview of the Study

This section presents the detailed list of materials used in the project, its corresponding

estimated cost and the methods used in designing, developing and testing the project. This

chapter also talks about the step by step process on how

to achieve the goals and objectives of the researchers that is to construct a device that is

capable of constantly correct and monitor the power factor of the high-power usage of appliances

in household under combination of variable loads condition. In order to accomplish such

objectives and goals the researchers must pursue the accompanying steps.

1. Distinguishing the inductive loads to be sampled for power factor correction– this

section; the researchers will identify inductive loads to be sampled.

2. Prototype design – this section talks about the design of the actual prototype how it

basically works and operate.

3. Selection of materials – this part discusses what the materials are and components are

expected to build the prototype.

4. Prototyping – the researchers must build the real model and test it out, in case its working

then the researchers will keep on data gathering, anyway in case not, the researchers must

head back toward the design.

5. Data Gathering – this section the researchers will accumulate the data that is being
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produced by the real model and contrast it with the data to the given project requirement

in case the system is functional and accurate, the model is subjected to fabrication

anyway in case the model isn't functional and accurate then the researchers must go back

to the design section.

Figure 3.1 Step by step process on the implementation the prototype

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3.2 Design Specification

The Smart Factor Corrector is reliable control system which plays an important role for

the power factor correction. This device will be able to monitor the power factor of the high-

power usage appliances in households. This device will be able to work providing an individual

or total compensation to 6 identified household inductive loads (Air Conditioning Unit,

Refrigerator, Fluorescent with ballast, washing machine, Cathode tube TV, electric fan) to which

are connected. The Smart Power Factor Corrector device will be able to update and correct

power factor every second. Along with the correcting power it will be able to send data

wirelessly and allow users to monitor their device anywhere.

Considering figure 3.1 shows the voltage (red), current (green) and power signal (dark

blue) leaving the wall entering an appliance. Before the power factor correcting device, the

voltage and current has a phase shift. After the power factor correcting device, the current and

voltage have a zero-phase shift. In real world situation, the phase shift cannot be zero but as you

can see the from the concept diagram the power signal increases from the before correction to the

after signal.

Figure 3.2 is a block diagram of what the device consisting of. First smart power factor

operates the required correction in case the power factor is less than the set value of power factor.

The current and voltage signals are sampled by employing instrument transformers connected in

the circuit. The instrument transformers give step down values of current and voltage whose

magnitude is directly proportional to the circuit current and voltage. The sampled analog signals

are converted to suitable digital signals by the zero crossing detectors, which changes state at
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each zero crossing of the current and voltage signals. The ZCD signals are then added in order to

obtain pulses which represent the time difference between the zero crossing of the current and

voltage signals.

The time period of these signals is measured by the internal timer circuit of the Arduino

by using the function pulseIn (), which give the time period in micro seconds. The time period

obtained is used to calculate the power factor of the circuit. Now if the calculated power factor is

less the minimum factor limit set at about 0.8, then the microcontroller switches on the required

number of capacitors until the power factor is greater than or equal to the set value. Then send

data wirelessly and able to monitor the device anywhere or displays the LCD screen.
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BEFORE

AFTER

Figure 3.2 Concept Diagram

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CURRENT
TRANSFORMER

AC CAPACITOR
INPUT POTENTIAL BANK
220V TRANSFORMER
60HZ COMBINATION
OF VARIABLE
LOADS

SUMMER
ZCD I ZCD V (X-OR)

POWER
SUPPLY

SWITCHING
CIRCUIT
ARDUINO UNO MICRO
CONTROLLER ATMEGA 238

SERIAL
MONITOR

Figure 3.3 Block Diagram of Smart Power Factor Corrector

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3.3 Functional Specification

Functional Specifications

 The device can work with a limit of max 10 A

 Supply connections between capacitors and microcontroller through thyristors switches,

or different ways reliable enough

 Corrects power factor from the set value of 0.8 to near to unity.

 Provides corrections to the power factor, with updates as often every 1 second.

 Uses Arduino algorithm to calculate required capacitance to correct power factor.

3.4 Physical Specification

 Has dimension of approximate: 12’’ x 10’’ x 4’’

 Power correction device components contained in in Plexiglas casing to shield from

interference and increase safety and aesthetics.

 Capacitor Bank contained with Plexiglas casing connected switches relay

3.5 Test plan for the prototype

The test plan for the prototype will be developed as follows:

Requirements / Constraint Test Procedure

1. Corrects pf to within 5% of motors Simulate a load that matches motor’s load and
maximum pf use wattmeter, ammeter, and voltmeter to
measure the pf.

2. Calculate and correct pf every secondSimulate load that can be changed less than a
second and measure the pf using wattmeter,
ammeter and voltmeter.
3. Dimension of the box does not exceed Use a ruler and measure the dimension
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1.2’x 1.1’ x 0.6 ‘

4. Works in single phase AC system Operate device in single phase
5. Weight does not exceed 12lbs or 5.4 Use scale and measure weight

kg
6. Can operate at a targeted temperature
of not exceed 90 degree Fahrenheit or
32 degree Celsius
7. Corrects pf of 3 or more than of
inductive loads
Operate the device with temperature
conditions not exceed at required temperature
Operate the device by connecting 3 or more
than inductive loads measure the pf using
wattmeter, ammeter and voltmeter.

Table 1 Test plan procedure of the prototype

3.6 Materials

A. Arduino Uno

Is a microcontroller board based on the Atmega 328. It has

14 digital inputs/output pins (of which can be used as

PWM outputs, 6 analog inputs, a 16 MHz ceramic

resonator, a USB connection, a power jack, an ICSP header

and reset button.

B. Current transformer

Is an instrument transformer used to step-down the current in the

circuit to measurable values and thus used for measuring

alternating currents. The current transformer will be use as

monitoring device to the current activity of the load

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C. Potential transformer

Is the most common type of transformer widely used in electrical

power transmission and appliances to convert mains voltage to

low voltage in order to power low power electronic devices.

D. Exclusive or logic gate

The XOR gate (sometimes EOR, or EXOR and pronounced

as Exclusive OR) is a digital logic gate that gives a true (1

or HIGH) output when the number of true inputs is odd.

An XOR gate implements an exclusive or; that is, a true

output results if one, and only one, of the inputs to

the gate is true.

E. Ac capacitor single phase

Capacitors are cylindrical objects that store energy. It

either send a jolt to start a motor or send jolts to keep a

motor running. They work with the compressor, or the

outside fan in air conditioner. Compensate the amount of

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reactive power commonly used for capacitor banking

The next section presents the detailed list of materials used in the project, specification,

their corresponding estimated cost and the methods used in designing, developing and testing the

Smart Power Factor Corrector. Components and tools used in making the Smart Power Factor

Corrector were composed of power and control system materials. These were presented in

tabular form to include their corresponding quantity used, estimated cost, specification and

purpose in the project.

3.6 .1Power and Control System Materials. These are the materials for the power supply and

control system of the project. Power supply is responsible of providing power to the zero

crossing detectors, summer (X-OR), Arduino Uno Microcontroller ATMEGA 328 and switching

circuit. A control system manages, commands, directs or regulates the behavior of other devices

or systems.

Materials Specification Quantity Price (Pesos) Purpose

Arduino Uno - 1 435 Brain of the control
system
Center tap 18-0-18 1` 500 Power supply
transformer 250mA section
Step down 18 volts 2 650 Power supply
transformer section
16x2 LCD display - 1 250 Display section
Current 30A/20mA 1 350 Power supply
transformer section
Euro style - 2 250 Use as connector
connector
Isolation 230/230V,2Amp 1 200
Transformer Power supply
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section
AC capacitors 55 Controlling section
Relay/thyristors 12VDC 2 110 Controlling section
General Purpose Large 2 150 -
PCB
On/off switch 2Amp 2 40 -
BT151 SCR 1 80 Use in controlling
section
LM7812 Regulator 2 110 Use as regulator in
power supply
LM7912 Regulator 1 130 Use as regulator in
power supply
LM7805 Regulator 1 80 Use as regulator in
power supply
LM741 Op amp 4 60 Used in controlling
section
ULN2300 Driver IC 1 25 Use as a driver for
the microcontroller
Preset 10k 6 55 -
Led 3mm 3 15 Indicator
Electrolytic 460uF/63V 3 60 Power supply
Capacitors section
1000uF/63V 2 40 Power supply
section
100uF/63V 3 27 Power supply
section
1N4007 - 15 45 Power supply
section
Resistor 1k 1/4W 10 20 Controlling section
Spacer Plastic 5mm 100gm 15 -
DC power male 5mm 1 25 -
jack
Teflon wire - 1role 70 -
Multi Strand Wire 2mmsq. 3meters 40 -
2pin top 2amp 1 15 -
Wifi shield 1500
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Total 4,492

Table 2 itemizes the materials used for power and control System.

3.7 Design Solution

This section presents the following design of Smart Power Factor. It contains the block

diagram of the Smart Power Factor Corrector and the following circuit diagram of power supply,

sensing and controlling section.

3.7.1 Designing stage of circuit diagram

A. Power Supply Section

Figure 2.3 Power Supply Section

Figure 2.3 show about the design of the power supply section basically use for supplying to

sensing section, Arduino Board Display and Relay Section. Basically, in this section include

center tap transformer (18-0-18), diode (1N4007GP), electrolytic capacitor, regulator IC

(LM7812, 7912, 7805) this provide of an output of 5V and 12V.

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B. SENSING SECTION
Figure 2.4 SENSING SECTION

This section basically senses current and voltage across and series to the load. Then using

the integrator circuit convert square wave to pure DC, then this signal pass to the comparator

circuit, comparator compare it according to load output high or low. This section basically uses

current transformer, potential transformer, LM741H, resistor, capacitor and SCR (BT151)

2.3 Gannt Chart

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REFERENCES

[1] John Ware (2006). POWER FACTOR CORRECTION (pfc). Retrieved from
https://www.2006_18_spring_wiring_matters_power_factor_correction_pfc.pdf

[2] David Greenfield (2015). Power Factor and Its Impact on Energy Use. Retrieved
fromhttps://www.automationworld.com/article/technologies/power-supplies/power-factor-and-
its-impact-energy-use

[3]Kim, T.W.; Choi, J.H.; Kwon, B.H. (2004) “High-Performance Line Conditioner with Output
Voltage Regulation and Power Factor Correction”, IEEE Proceedings on Electric Power
Applications, Volume: 151, Issue: 1, Pages: 91- 97.

[4]Energy and Power (2012), 2(4): 51-54. Retrieved from

http://article.sapub.org/pdf/10.5923.j.ep.20120204.02.pdf

[5] Rakosh Das Begamudre (2010). “Energy Conversion Systems”, Retrieved from New Age
International Publishers, New Delhi.

[6]Osama A. Al-Naseem and Ahmad Kh. Adi, Impact of Power Factor Correction on the
Electrical Distribution Network of Kuwait –A Case Study, OJPEE - Volume (2), Number (1),
Reference Number: W10-0030, Page 173-176, January 2011