3 Basic Modes of Power Factor Testing

Most failures of electrical power equipment are the result of a breakdown in the insulation
system. To keep failures at a minimum, periodic maintenance testing of the insulation is
recommended to indicate whether it is deteriorating, and how fast. Power factor tests are
used to measure dielectric losses, which relate to the wetness, dryness or deterioration of
electrical insulation. In practice no insulation is ideal, but instead has a certain amount of
loss, and the total current leads the voltage by a phase angle less than 90°.
How is Power Factor Measured?
Measuring insulation power factor is achieved by calculating the ratio of the capacitive or
"charging" current (measured in volt-amperes) to resistive or "leakage" current (measured
in watts). Testing power factor is a means of measuring the integrity of the insulation, since
the smaller the power factor, the better the insulator. The power factor test set utilizes an
AC voltage and comes with three basic modes of operation:
1. GST - Grounded Specimen Test
2. GST Guard Mode - Guarded Specimen Test
3. UST - Ungrounded Specimen Test
Power Factor Test Set Leads
When considering the three different modes of operation, it is important to understand
which test leads are associated with each mode. Power factor test sets have four different
leads for connecting to the device under test:
 High Voltage Output Lead - Supplies the voltage necessary to produce the test
current. Not specific to any mode of operation. Power Factor testing is typically
performed at 10 kV or values equivalent to 10 kV are obtained.
 Ground Return Lead (GST) - Measures current flowing through the ground path.
 Red/Blue Leads (UST) - Used to guard out current not flowing through the ground
path. Examples of this would be the leakage between the high side winding and low
side winding of a transformer or the current leaking between the line side and the
load side of an open circuit breaker. Of the two UST leads, only one is actually used
in over 95% of the practical application.
Three Modes of Power Factor Testing

The GST Guard tests measures the total current leaking to ground only. The power factor
test set ignores current flowing through the red or blue lead. Inversely, in UST mode,
ground is considered guard since grounded terminals are not measured. When the UST test
is performed, the only current being measured by the test set is the current flowing on the
red or blue lead. Any current flowing to a grounded terminal is bypassed directly to the AC
source return and is eliminated from the measurement.
UST mode is used to measure insulation between two ungrounded terminals of the
apparatus, isolate an individual section of insulation and test it without measuring other
connected insulation.
In the last mode of operation, the GST mode, both leakage paths (ground lead and the red
or blue lead) are measured by the test set. The current, watts loss, and capacitance
parameters of the UST and GST Guard tests should equal the parameters in the GST test.