Experiment No.

POWER FACTOR
IMPROVEMENT 3
Electrical Engineering

Date performed: May 24, 2021 Team members: Luisa Mae Mamburao
Time started: 9:15 PM Rena Iana Patoc
Time finished: 12:29 AM Quezza Phola Patulin

I. OBJECTIVE :
1. To examine the technique employed in correcting the load power factor.

II. DISCUSSION :

When the power factor of a load is less than unity, it is necessary to transmit some
reactive current from the source to the load. Since this reactive current causes IR drop
in the line, it is advisable that the load power factor be corrected to near unity. In
practice, the power factor of the load is usually lagging. This is true because loads are
usually inductive in nature-induction meters, transformers, fluorescent lights, induction
heating furnaces and relays.

To correct the power factor to unity, the correction network must not alter the
load voltage or current. Hence, the device to be used must be connected in parallel with
the load. Since the load is usually inductive, the corrective device must cause the
current to load the voltage by a certain angle. Finally, it is most desirable that the
corrective device does not consume any real power itself. If it did require real power, it
could destroy the original purpose.

A device which satisfies all the above conditions is, of course, a capacitor. In order
to achieve unity power factor at the input terminals, it is necessary for the capacitive
current to be equal to the inductive current. The total load current is given by
IL=eL/(R+jXL) where eL is the load voltage and R+jXL is the load impedance (assumed
to be inductive). This could be written as :

IL = eL RL/ |ZL| 2 - jeL XL/|ZL| 2 .

For unity power factor, the current supplied by the capacitor must be equal to:
IC=eLXL/ IZLI2 . This can be reduced algebraically to :

C = L/ |ZL| 2

where C is the size of the capacitor required to give a power factor of unity.
 Experiment No.

POWER FACTOR
IMPROVEMENT 3
Electrical Engineering

III. INSTRUMENTS AND COMPONENTS :

AC voltmeter, AC ammeter
lamp, 220 v, 25 w
inductive load
capacitive load

IV. PROCEDURE :
1. Connect the circuit shown in Fig. 18.1.
2. Measure the pf of the load using the method described in expt no.17.
3. Compute and record the load impedance using the equation
ZL= eL/ IL.
4. Compute and record the size of the capacitor required to correct the power factor
to unity using the equation,
C = L/ |ZL| 2 .
5. Using the capacitors available to you, connect a series-parallel combination of
capacitors, whose equivalent capacitance is equal to that obtained in step 4, across
the load.
6. Measure and record the new power factor. How close is it to unity?

V. CIRCUIT DIAGRAMS:

Fig. 18.1. The experimental circuit

 Experiment No.

POWER FACTOR
IMPROVEMENT 3
Electrical Engineering

VI. DATA AND RESULTS:

 Simulations based from procedure 1 and 2

pf = 0.98
 Experiment No.

POWER FACTOR
IMPROVEMENT 3
Electrical Engineering

 Calculations for load impedance and Capacitor

 Connecting a Capacitor
 Experiment No.

POWER FACTOR
IMPROVEMENT 3
Electrical Engineering

pf ZL C C pf
(load) (equi) (new)
1972. 506.9 506.9
0.98 1
65 3uf 3uf

How close is pf (new) to unity? The pf(new) is said to be equal to unity.

VII. PROBLEMS:

1. The IR drop in the line due to the reactive current is one disadvantage of low power
factor loads. Name some other reasons why low power factor loads are undesirable.

1. Large copper losses - Because of the high current at a low power factor, there
are more I ²R losses in all of the supply system's components. As a consequence,
productivity suffers.
2. Poor voltage regulation - Alternators, transformers, transmission lines, and
distributors experience greater voltage drops due to the high current at low
lagging factor. As a result, the voltage available at the supply end is reduced,
lowering utilization system output.
3. Reduced handling capacity of system - Both elements of the system's handling
capability are reduced by the lagging power factor. Since current's reactive
component prevents full utilization of installed power, this is the case.

2. Is it desirable to have leading power factor loads?

Why?
A net capacitive load causes leading PF, which has the same effect as a lagging
PF (inductive load) in that the supply current is higher than for a truly resistive load. But
the "leading" power factor has the effect of increasing capacitive power in the power
system. Leading power factor increases voltage control and results in lower load power
consumption. The lagging power factor has the opposite impact.
 Experiment No.

POWER FACTOR
IMPROVEMENT 3
Electrical Engineering

3. A single phase inductive load of 7500 kw has a lagging pf of 0.8. Draw the power triangle
and determine the reactive power of a capacitor to be connected in parallel with the
load to raise the power factor to (a) 0.9, (b) unity.

4. A certain load takes 10 kw at 75% pf. In the power contract, the pf penalty is applied
only to power factors below 85%. What size of capacitor must be used in order to avoid
the penalty? The voltage is 55 kv, 60 hz.
 Experiment No.

POWER FACTOR
IMPROVEMENT 3
Electrical Engineering

VIII. CONCLUSION:

In this activity, the group therefore conclude that power factor plays a major
role in AC circuits depending upon the load since the power consumed depends on
it. Which means that if a circuit has low PF it may result in poor circuit efficiency,
poor voltage regulation and many disadvantages as well. The farther the power
factor is to unity (or 1), the more inefficient the circuit is. That’s where power factor
improvement comes in. The main reasons why PF improvement’s important is
because it can maximize current-carrying capacity and can improve voltage to
equipment. It can also reduce power losses, and lower electric bills as well. The most
convenient way to improve power factor is by adding PF correction capacitors which
act as reactive current generators to the electrical system. In this experiment, we
learned how to correct the power factor using the formulas given above. As a result
of adding the capacitor we were able to simulate a better circuit, with a pf factor
closer to unity.
The said activity was hard to perform but we’re thankful for the past lessons
that we have encountered for it given us small background of the activity.