EE 315

Power Distribution and Utilization

Power Factor Improvement

Dr. Attique Ur Rehman

Assistant Professor
Faculty of Electrical Engineering
Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology
 Introduction

 Power Factor
 Power Triangle
 Disadvantages of Low Power Factor
 Causes of Low Power Factor
 Power Factor Improvement
 Power Factor Improvement Equipment
 Importance of Power Factor Improvement
 Meeting the Increased kW Demand on Power Stations
 Power Factor

 The cosine of angle between voltage and current in an AC circuit is known as Power
Factor.

 In other words, an AC circuit, there is generally a phase difference φ between

voltage and current. The term cos φ is called the power factor of the circuit.

 Inductive Circuit
 Current lags behind the voltage
 Lagging power factor

 Capacitive Circuit
 Current leads the voltage
 Leading power factor
 Power Factor

 Consider an inductive circuit taking a lagging current I from supply voltage V; the
angle of lag being φ. The phasor diagram is shown as.

 The current I can be resolved into two perpendicular

components, namely;
 I cos φ in phase with V
 I sin φ 90o out of phase with V

 Component I cos φ is known as active or wattful

component, whereas component I sin φ is called the
reactive or wattles component.
 The reactive component is a measure of the power
factor.
 Circuit having small reactive current, I sin φ, will have
high power factor and vice-versa.
 Usual practice is to attach the word lagging or leading with the numerical value of the
power factor to signify whether the current lags or leads the voltage.
 Power factor can also expressed in percentage, e.g., 0.8 lagging power factor may be
expressed as 80% lagging.
 Power Triangle

 Analysis of the power factor can also be made in terms of power drawn by the AC
circuit.
 Multiply each side of current triangle oab by voltage V, and we get the power
triangle OAB.

 OA = VI cos φ and represents the active power in watts or kW

 AB = VI sin φ and represents the reactive power in VAR or kVAR
 OB = VI and represents the apparent power in VA or kVA
 Power Triangle

  OB2 = OA2 + AB2 or

apparent power2 = active power2 + reactive power2
kVA2 = kW2 + kVAR2

 Power Factor, Cos φ =

Thus, power factor of a circuit may also be defined as the ratio of active power to the
apparent power.

 Low power factor is due to lagging reactive power

kVAR = kVA sin φ = sin φ =

 For leading currents, the power triangle becomes reversed.

 If a device taking leading reactive power, e.g., capacitor, is connected in parallel
with the load, then the lagging reactive power of the load will be partly
neutralized, thus, improving the power factor of the load.
 Power Triangle

  The power factor of the a circuit can be defined in one of the

following three ways,

 Power Factor = cos φ = cosine of angle between V and I

 Power Factor = =

 Power Factor = =

 The reactive power is neither consumed in the circuit not it does

any useful work
 It merely flows back and forth in both directions in the circuit
 A watt-meter does not measure the reactive power.
 Disadvantage of Low Power Factor

  Power factor plays an important role in AC circuit since power consumed depends
upon this factor.
 Single Phase Supply
P = VLIL cos φ
IL =

 Three-Phase Supply
P = VLIL cos φ
IL =

 The load current is inversely proportional to the power factor

 Lower the power factor, higher is the load current and vice-versa.

 Power factor less than unity results in the following disadvantages

 Large kVA rating of equipment
 Greater conductor size
 Large copper losses
 Poor voltage regulation
 Reduced handling capacity of system
 Disadvantage of Low Power Factor

  Large kVA rating of equipment

Transformers are rated in KVA or MVA while electrical machines are rated in kW or
MW (also the p.f. is mentioned on the nameplate)

kVA =

 kVA rating is inversely proportional to the power factor, i.e., smaller p.f., larger the
kVA rating. Therefore, at low p.f., the kVA rating of the equipment has to be made
more, making the equipment larger and expensive.

 Greater conductor size

To transmit or distribute a fixed amount of power at constant voltage, the conductor
will have to carry more current at low power factor. This necessitates large conductor
size.
 Disadvantage of Low Power Factor

 Large copper losses

The large current at low power factor causes more I 2R losses in all the elements of the
supply system. This results in poor efficiency.

 Poor voltage regulation

 The large current at low lagging power factor causes greater voltage drops in
alternators, transformers, transmission lines and distributors.
 This results in the decreased voltage available at the supply end, thus
impairing the performance of the utilization devices.
 In order to keep the receiving end voltage within permissible limits, extra
equipment (i.e., voltage regulators) is required.

 Reduced handling capacity of system

 The lagging power factor reduces the handling capacity of all the elements of
the systems.
 It is because the reactive component of current prevents the full
utilization of installed capacity.
 Causes of Low Power Factor
 Low power factor is undesirable from economic point of view
 The following are the cause of the low power factor

 Most of the AC motors are of induction type (1φ and 3φ) which have low
lagging power factors.
 Arc lamps, electric discharge lamps, and industrial heating furnaces operate
at low lagging power factor.
 Load on power system is varying; being high during morning and evening,
and low at other times.
 During low load period, supply voltage is increased which increases the
magnetization current. This results in the decreased power factor.
 Power Factor Improvement

 Low power factor is mainly due to the fact that most of the power loads are
inductive and, therefore, take lagging currents.
 In order to improve the power factor, some device taking leading power
should be connected in parallel with the load.

 Capacitor – Draws a leading current and partly or completely neutralizes the

lagging reactive component of load current.
 Raises the power factor of the load.
 Power Factor Improvement by a Capacitor

 Consider a single phase load taking lagging current I

at a power factor cos φ1.

 Capacitor C is connected in parallel with the load.

The capacitor draws current IC which leads the
supply voltage by 90o. The resulting line current I’ is
the phasor sum of I and IC and its angle of lag is φ2.

 φ2 < φ1 → cos φ2 > cos φ1

 Power factor of the load is improved.
 Points - P.F. Improvement by a Capacitor

 I′ after p.f. correction is less than the original circuit current I.

 The active component remains the same before and after p.f. correction, as only the
lagging reactive component is reduced by the capacitor.
I cos φ1 = I′ cos φ2
 The lagging reactive component is reduced after p.f. improvement. It is equal to the
difference between lagging reactive component of load (I sin φ1) and capacitor
current (Ic)
I′ sin φ2 = I sin φ1 − IC

I cos φ1 = I′ cos φ2
VI cos φ1 = VI ′ cos φ2
Active power (kW) remains unchanged

I′ sin φ2 = I sin φ1 − IC
VI′ sin φ2 = VI sin φ1 − VIC
Net kVAR after p.f. correction = Lagging kVAR before p.f. correction − leading kVAR of
 Power Factor Improvement Equipment

 Normal power factor range is 0.8-0.9.

 If it is lower, special steps need to be taken to improve the power factor.

 Power factor can be improved using the following equipment

 Static Capacitor
 Synchronous Condenser
 Phase Advancers
 Static Capacitor
 Power factor can be improved by connecting capacitors in parallel with the
equipment operating at lagging power factor.
 The capacitor draws a leading current and partly or completely neutralizes the
lagging reactive component of load current.
 Raises the power factor of the load.

 For 3-phase loads, the capacitors can be connected in delta or star configuration.

Used for power factor improvement in factories

 Static Capacitor

 Advantages
 Low losses
 Require little maintenance as no rotating parts
 Easily installed as they are light and require no foundation
 Can work under ordinary atmospheric conditions.

 Disadvantages
 Short service life ranging 8-10 years
 Easily damaged if the voltage exceeds the rated value
 Once damaged, their repair is uneconomical.
 Synchronous Condenser

 A synchronous motor takes a leading current when over-exited

 It can be made to operate at unity and leading power factor by just
increasing its excitation voltage, i.e., by increasing the field current.

 An over-excited synchronous motor running on no load is known as synchronous

condenser.
 In other words, a synchronous motor when just used for improving the
power factor is known as Synchronous Condenser. It is normally installed at
the receiving end of a supply line when using capacitor bank is found
uneconomical.

 When such a machine is connected in parallel with the supply, it takes a leading
current which partly neutralizes the lagging reactive component of the load.

A synchronous electric motor is an AC electric motor in which, at steady state, the

rotation of the shaft is synchronized with the frequency of the supply current; the
rotation period is exactly equal to an integral number of AC cycles.
 Synchronous Condenser

Used at major bulk supply substations for power factor improvement

 Synchronous Condenser

 Advantages
 By varying the field excitation, the magnitude of current drawn by the
motor can be changed by any amount. This helps in achieving stepless
control* of power factor
 Motor windings have high thermal stability to short circuit currents
 The faults can be removed easily.

 Disadvantages
 Considerable losses in the motor
 Maintenance cost is high
 Produces noise
 Except in sizes above 500 kVA, the cost is greater than that of static
capacitors of the same rating
 As the synchronous motor has no self-starting torque, therefore, auxiliary
equipment has to be provided for starting.

* Power factor improvement with capacitors can only be done in steps by switching on
the capacitors in various groupings. However, with synchronous motor, any amount of
capacitive reactance can be provided by changing the field excitation.
 Phase Advancers

 A device for advancing the phase of a waveform

 It increasing the power factor of an induction motor by generating a
magnetizing current in the rotor circuit which leads the main rotor current
in phase.

 The low power factor of the induction motor is due to the fact that the its stator
winding draws exciting current which lags behind the supply voltage by 90 o .
 If the exciting amperes turns can be provided from some other AC source,
then the stator winding will be relieved of exciting current and the power
factor will be improved.

 Pros & Cons

 Lagging kVAR drawn by the motor are considerable reduced
 Can be conveniently used where the use of synchronous motor is
unadmissible.
 However, not economical for motors below 200 H.P.
 Importance of Power Factor Improvement

  Consumers
 Generating Stations

 Consumers* have to pay electricity charges for their maximum demand (in kVA)
plus the units consumed.
 kVA = Power Factor ↑ kVA ↓
 Consequently, there will be annual saving due maximum demand charges

 Generators in power station are rated in kVA but the useful output depends
upon kW output.
 kVA = => kW = kVA × therefore number of units supplied depends upon
the power factor, Power Factor ↑ kWh ↑
 Consequently, increases the earning capacity of the power station.

* Consumers refers to industrial and other big consumers.

 Importance of Power Factor Improvement

 Sometimes power station is required to deliver more kW to meet the increase in

power demand.

 This can be achieved by either of the following two methods

1. Increasing the kVA capacity at the same power factor

 Extra cost will be incurred to increase the capacity of the station

2. Improving the power factor without increasing the kVA capacity of the
station.
 Also involve extra cost on account of power factor correction
equipment

 Power factor is very crucial for any electrical power system as it tells the
amount of power wasted and consumed by it.
 Taking corrective measures will result in reduced power losses,
increased voltage stability and eventually result in lowering the electric
utility bills.
Numerical Problem