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HOME > POWER QUALITY > THE BASICS OF PF CORRECTION ON SINGLE INDUCTION MOTORS
The Basics of PF Correction on Single Induction Motors
How to size capacitors correctly and lower your electrical energy usage costs in
the process
Electrical Construction and Maintenance Jun 1, 2009
How to size capacitors correctly and lower your electrical energy usage costs in the process
Sometimes you may need to correct power factor (PF) at a single motor. This means
sizing PF capacitors for that motor. The good news: If you size these capacitors correctly,
you'll lower your electrical energy usage costs. The bad news: If you size them too small,
you may not accomplish much. The worst news: If you size the capacitors too large, the
PF vector swings way past perpendicular, leaving you in a very unfavorable situation. But
don't worry, calculations to get the proper kVAR value and correct PF capacitor size are
How often do you interact with other trades?
straightforward.
Sizing the capacitor
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First, you need to collect the fullload PF and efficiency information on the motor in Tip of the Week: How Do You Reduce
question. You can often get this directly from your motor supplier in the form of product Maintenance Costs?
data sheets, CDROMS, or right off its Web site. It wouldn't hurt to check the motor
Basics Degrade Unless Refreshed
manufacturer's Web site either.
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2014 National Electrical
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<b>Table 1.</b> Listing of multipliers to determine
amount of VARs needed to improve power factor.
EC&M White Papers
Power Failure Risk Assessment
Second, you need your motor's input rating in kW. To get that, you'll probably need to do Power outage—two words that keep or wake you up at
night. Rather than tossing and turning or imagining
some simple conversions, which start with very simple calculations as shown in
disaster scenarios, prepare for power outages by
Equations to Know. Basically, you'll need to determine the input kW, as shown in
assessing the risk in your power architecture and
Equation 2. protecting critical systems to lessen the impact of short
duration events. To ensure you are prepared to take
Now that you have this number, you can refer to a PF correction table (Table 1). Looking
action in the event of an outage, it’s best to understand
More
at the Table, go in from the left with the existing PF, and then come down from the top which systems are at most risk. For reference, we’ve
with the desired PF. Where the two lines intersect, you'll find the multiplier you need. VIEW MORE WHITE PAPERS
Take that multiplier and multiply the motor's input kW by it. This will give you the
required kVAR of correction.
Finally, using the data in Table 2, select a capacitor, rounding down to the next lower EC&M Webinars
value. You now have the correct size capacitor for your PF correction plan. For a typical
installation, see Calculation Procedure Example. NOV 9, 2016
WEBINAR
A typical way of installing a capacitor in this type of application is to connect it between Technology Enabled
Data Center Life
the starter and the single motor. This connection reduces the current flowing through the
Cycle Services
starter and overload relay.
NOV 2, 2016
Resizing the overload heaters WEBINAR
There is More to a
Now let's think about the overload heaters. You've installed them in the starter, right? Data Center than
And you sized them according to the current the starter will see, based on the motor load. White Space; A
Holistic Approach to
If you reduce the amount of current through the starter, the existing heaters won't be able
Facility Monitoring and Control
to protect the motor. So, you have to reduce the heater size to accommodate the reduced
current through the starter, or you'll be running an underprotected motor. VIEW MORE WEBINARS
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<b>Table 2.</b> Listing of standard 3
phase capacitor ratings.
The motor itself will draw the same magnitude of current at full load as it would without
PF correction. However, the PF capacitor will supply a portion of the current to the
motor. Only the balance will come through the starter from the power line. You can EC&M Learning Center
determine the new value of current passing through the overloads by using Equation 3.
Understanding the 2014 NEC,
If you were going to do this for the motor in our previous example, the math would look Volume 1 (Articles 90 to 480)
like that shown in Heater Current Calculation Example. This resource has proven itself in the
field and in the exam room. This latest
Rules of caution edition will provide you with a rocksolid
foundation...
When correcting PF at a single motor, follow these guidelines:
Understanding NEC Requirements for Grounding
Rule 1: Don't get overly corrective with your PF correction. You should target the PF vs Bonding
correction for the motor's running current, not its starting or full load current. In other
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words, always under correct; the cost is a slight loss of PF. If you over correct, the costs One of the most confusing areas of the
trade continues to be grounding and
pile up because of high transient torques, overvoltages, and other problems you need to
bonding, which is why this book needs to
avoid. You should consider 95% correction as the upper limit, with 90% being the
be in the hands...
optimum target.
Changes to The NEC 2014
Rule 2: Never use this type of PF correction with a motor that's controlled with a solid
Don't let the scale of the code changes
state device, such as a softstart or variablefrequency drive. If you do have a PF
intimidate you, this book will get you up
problem and are using such a device, you should contact the device manufacturer for a to speed on the most essential...
solution. The manufacturer's expertise and exposure to thousands of users can save you
time, money, and downtime. The manufacturer will be more than happy to help you.
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Sidebar: Equations to Know
Equation 1: Converting motor horsepower to kW of motor output
kWMOTOR OUTPUT = hp × 0.746
Equation 2: Converting output kW to input kW
kWMOTOR INPUT = kWMOTOR OUTPUT ÷ (% Efficiency ÷ 100)
Equation 3: Converting uncorrected current to corrected current
ISTARTER CORRECTED = IMOTOR FLA × (PFORIGINAL ÷ PFCORRECTED)
Sidebar: Calculation Procedure Example
What is the kVAR of a PF correction capacitor needed to improve the PF of a 100hp
motor to 95% at full load?
Step 1: Look up the existing PF and efficiency
In our case, the existing PF is 85%, and the motor is 94.7% efficient.
Step 2: Convert the hp to kWOUTPUT
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Using Equation 1, we get:
kWMOTOR OUTPUT = hp × 0.746 = 100 × 0.746 = 74.6kW
Step 3: Convert output kW to input kW Signup to receive our free newsletters
eTrain (BiWeekly) View Sample
Using Equation 2, we get:
kWMOTOR INPUT = kWMOTOR OUTPUT ÷ (% Efficiency ÷ 100) = 74.6kW ÷ 0.947 = Product NewsWire (Monthly) View
Sample
78.8kW
ElectricalZone (Weekly) View Sample
Step 4: Find multiplier to get desired PF correction MRO Insider (BiWeekly) View Sample
PQ NewsBeat (BiWeekly) View
In our case, we want to correct the PF from 85% to 95%. Looking at Table 1 and going Sample
down the 95% column and across the 85% column, we see that the intersection is at
Illumination Insider (BiWeekly) View
0.291, which is the multiplier we need. Sample
Step 5: Multiply input kW by multiplier CodeWatch (BiWeekly) View Sample
GBiz (Varies) View Sample
The calculation is 78.8 × 0.291 = 22.9 kVAR.
Electrical Testing (Monthly) View
Sample
Step 6: Select closest kVAR value
ECM NECA 2016 Show Coverage
Using Table 2, we see that closest value rounded down is 22.5 kVAR. (Show Daily)
View Sample
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Sidebar: Heater Current Calculation Example
COUNTRY* United States
Using the same 100hp motor as in the Calculation Procedure Example, you would Enter your email above to receive messages about
offerings by Penton, its brands, affiliates and/or third
normally select a heater size based on a current of 118A. However, when you use Equation party partners, consistent with Penton’s Privacy Policy.
3 to correct for PF, you have to select a heater size based on a new number.
Here's how you arrive at that number:
ISTARTER CORRECTED = IMOTOR FLA × (PFORIGINAL ÷ PFCORRECTED) = 118 × (0.85 ÷
0.95) = 105.6A Connect With Us
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