Power Factor

Correction
 Power Factor Correction

Power Factor:
Power Factor is a measure of how
efficiently electrical power is
consumed
 Power Factor Correction

The power factor of an AC electric power

system is defined as the ratio of the real power
to the apparent power, and is a number
between 0 and 1.
 Power Factor Correction

Real Power and Apparent Power:

Real power is the capacity of the circuit for
performing work in a particular time. Apparent
power is the product of the current and voltage
of the circuit.
 Power Factor Correction

Real Power and Apparent Power:

In alternating current circuits, voltage and
current only remain in phase if the load is
purely resistive. When this happens the power
is said to be 'real power'.
 Power Factor Correction
Real Power and Apparent Power:
If instead the load is purely reactive (either
Capacitive or Inductive), all of the power is reflected
back to the generator. The load is said to draw zero
real power, instead it draws only 'reactive power'. If a
load is both resistive and reactive, its will have both
real and reactive power, resulting in total amount of
power called the 'apparent power'.
 Power Factor Correction

Real Power and Apparent Power:

In AC power systems, attached loads that
store energy behave like combinations of coils
(inductors) and capacitors. Coils store power
as magnetic fields and cause delay changes in
the current (current lags). Capacitors store
power as electric charge, and therefore cause
advance changes in currents (current leads).
 Power Factor Correction

Real Power and Apparent Power:

The portion of power flow averaged over a
complete cycle of the AC waveform that
results in net transfer of energy in one
direction is known as real power. The portion
of power flow due to stored energy which
returns to the source in each cycle is known as
reactive power.
 Power Factor Correction

Real Power and Apparent Power:

In reality there are losses along AC power
transmission lines, due to a purely reactive
load, which draws no real power itself, and
consumes power because the supplied and
reflected power dissipate away on the
transmission line, and energy is wasted.
 Power Factor Correction

For this reason an AC

load should be designed
to have as little reactive
power as possible.
 Power Factor Correction

Real Power and Apparent Power:

The following terms are used to describe energy
flow in a System. Each of them is assigned with a
different unit to differentiate between them):
 Power Factor Correction

Real power (P)

[Unit: W]
Reactive power (Q)
[Unit: VAR]
Apparent power (S)
[Unit: VA]
 Power Factor Correction
Real Power and Apparent Power:
The unit for all forms of power is the watt (symbol:
W). However, this unit is generally reserved for the
real power component. Apparent power is
conventionally expressed in volt-amperes (VA) since
it is the simple product of rms voltage and rms
current. The unit for reactive power is given the
special name "VAR", which stands for volt-amperes
reactive (since reactive power flow transfers no net
energy to the load, it is sometimes called "wattless"
power).
 Power Factor Correction
Significance of the Power Factor
Consider an ideal alternating current (AC) circuit
consisting of a source and a generalized load, where
both the current and voltage are sinusoidal. If the load
is purely resistive, the two quantities reverse their
polarity at the same time, the direction of energy flow
does not reverse, and only real power flows. If the
load is purely reactive, then the voltage and current
are 90 degrees out of phase and there is no net power
flow. This energy flowing backwards and forwards is
known as reactive power.
 Power Factor Correction

If a capacitor and an inductor are placed in

parallel, then the currents flowing through the
inductor and the capacitor oppose and tend to
cancel out rather than adding. Conventionally,
capacitors are considered to generate reactive
power and inductors to consume it.
 Power Factor Correction
In a purely resistive AC circuit, voltage and current
waveforms are in phase, changing polarity at the
same instant in each cycle. Where reactive loads are
present, such as with capacitors or inductors, energy
storage in the loads result in a time difference
between the current and voltage waveforms. This
stored energy returns to the source and is not
available to do work at the load. Thus, a circuit with a
low power factor will have higher currents to transfer
a given quantity of real power than a circuit with a
high power factor.
 Power Factor Correction

Circuits containing purely resistive heating

elements (filament lamps, heaters, cooking
stoves, etc.) have a power factor of 1.0.
Circuits containing inductive or capacitive
elements (lamp , motors, etc.) often have a
power factor below 1.0.
 Power Factor Correction

The significance of power factor lies in the fact

that utility companies supply customers with
volt-amperes, but bill them for watts. Power
factors below 1.0 require a utility to generate
more than the minimum volt-amperes
necessary to supply the real power (watts).
This increases generation and transmission
costs.
 An Example to understand the
Power Factor

Consider a canal boat being pulled by a horse. If the

horse could walk on water then the angle (Phi) Ø would
be zero and COSINE Ø=1. Meaning all the horse power
is being used to pull the load.
However the relative position of the horse influences the
power. As the horse gets closer to the barge, angle Ø1
increases and power is wasted, but, as the horse is
positioned further away, then angle Ø2 gets closer to
zero and less power is wasted
 Power Factor Correction

Much of the discussion is made

about Power Factor. Now we
switch towards the means and
ways to solve the problem low
power factor.
 Power Factor Correction

Power factor correction (PFC) is the process

of adjusting the characteristics of electric loads
that create a power factor that is less than 1.
 Power Factor Correction
Power factor correction may be applied either by an
electrical power transmission utility to improve the
stability and efficiency of the transmission network;
or, correction may be installed by individual electrical
customers to reduce the costs charged to them by
their electricity supplier. A high power factor is
generally desirable in a transmission system to reduce
transmission losses and improve voltage regulation at
the load.
 Power Factor Correction
Why Power Factor Correction?
The current through the reactive component (Ireactive)
dissipates no power, and neither does it register on the
watt hour meter. However, the reactive current does
dissipate power when flowing through other resistive
components in the system, like the wires, the
switches, and the lossy part of a transformer (Rline).
Switches have to interrupt the total current, not just
the active component. Wires have to be big enough to
carry the entire current, etc. Therefore Correcting the
power factor reduces the amount of oversizing
necessary.
 Power Factor Correction

The introduction of Power Factor

Correction capacitors is a widely
recognized method of reducing an
electrical load, thus minimizing wasted
energy and hence improving the efficiency
of a plant and reducing the electricity bill.
Power Factor Correction

Active Power

Reactive Power
Available Active
Power
 Power Factor Correction
The inductive components, draw Reactive
Power (VAr) from the mains. It lags behind the
Active Power (W) by 90o (Figure 1). A
capacitor, if connected across the mains, will
also draw Reactive Power [VAr(c)], but it
leads the Active Power (W) by 90o. The
direction of the capacitive Reactive Power
[VAr(c)] is opposite to the direction of the
inductive Reactive Power (VAr) (Figure 2).
Power Factor Correction

Figure-1
Power Factor Correction

Figure-1
 Power Factor Correction
The power factor can also be improved by
synchronous Motors. These machines draw leading
kVAR when they are over-excited and, especially
when they are running idle. They are employed for
correcting the power factor in bulk and have the
special advantage that the amount of correction can
be varied by changing their excitation.
 Power Factor Correction
The reactive power drawn by the synchronous
motor is a function of its field excitation. It is
started and connected to the electrical network.
It operates at full leading power factor and puts
VARs onto the network . Its principal
advantage is the ease with which the amount of
correction can be adjusted; it behaves like an
electrically variable capacitor.
Phase advancer can also be used. They are
fitted with individual machines.
 Power Factor Correction
Most loads on an electrical distribution system fall into one of
three categories; resistive, inductive or Capacitive.The most
common is inductive load. Typical examples of this include
transformers, fluorescent lighting and AC induction motors.
Most inductive loads use a conductive coil winding to produce
an electromagnetic field, allowing the motor to function. All
inductive loads require two kinds of power to operate:
Active power (kwatts) - to produce the motive force
Reactive power (kvar) - to energise the magnetic field
The operating power from the distribution system is composed
of both active (working) and reactive (non-working) elements.
The active power does useful work in driving the motor
whereas the reactive power only provides the magnetic field.
Disadvantages of Poor Power factor
As the power factor drops the system becomes less efficient. A
drop from 1.0 to 0.9 results in 15% more current being
required for the same load.A power factor of 0.7 requires
approximately 43% more current; and a power factor of 0.5
requires approximately 100% (twice as much) to handle the
same load.
The objective, therefore, should be to reduce the reactive
power drawn from the supply by improving the power factor.
If an AC motor were 100% efficient it would consume only
active power but, since most motors are only 75% to 80%
efficient, they operate at a low power factor. This means poor
energy and cost efficiency because the Regional Electricity
Companies charge you at penalty rates for a poor power factor.
Disadvantages of Poor Power factor
 Advantages of Power Factor
Correction
The main advantages of the Power Factor Correction
are:
1. The electrical load on the Utility is reduced, thereby
allowing the Utility to supply the surplus power to
other consumers, without increasing its generation
capacity.
2. Most of the Utilities impose low power factor
penalties. By correcting the power factor, this
penalty can be avoided.
3. High power factor reduces the load currents.
Therefore, a considerable saving is made in the
hardware cost, such as cables, switchgear,
substation transformers, etc.
4. Voltage regulation is improved