Sep 2019

Power Factor and Power Factor Correction

Chapter 3

Waseem Iqbal
Assistant Professor
Electrical Engineering Department
University of Management and technology

Renewable Electrical Energy Resources EE407

Contents

1. RMS value of a sinusoidal

2. Power factor
3. Power triangle
4. Power factor correction for single phase
5. Power factor correction for three phase
RMS value of a sinusoidal

The sinusoidal voltage

the rms value of voltage is

the rms value of a sinusoidal voltage

The average value of the square of a
sinusoid is 1/2
Power factor

For phase angle Ѳ = 0

Current response

Instantaneous power supplied Black box of ideal resistors, capacitors, and inductors.

Average is zero Sum of these areas is zero

200

100 +
0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
-100
- Time (msec)
-200
S(t) V(t) * I(t)
Power factor cont’d...

Average power dissipated in the box

Power factor

Good power factor

Example 2.5
A utility supplies 12,000 V(12 kV) to a customer who needs 600 kW of real
power. Compare the line losses for the utility when the customer’s load has a
power factor of 0.5 versus a power factor of 1.0.
Power triangle and power factor correction

Showing apparent power S (volt-amps) resolved into reactive

Power factor correction for inductive load
power (VAR) and real power P (watts)
Example ( Solve course book Example 3.7 )

A 230-V induction motor draws 25 A of current while delivering

3700 W of power to its shaft. Draw its power triangle.
Solution:
Example ( Solve course book example 3.8 )

A factory with a nearly fully loaded transformer delivers 600 kVA at a power factor of
0.75. Anticipated growth in power demand in the near future is 20%. How many kVAR
of capacitance should be added to accommodate this growth so they don’t have to
purchase a larger transformer?

To still supply only 600 kVA, the power factor will have to be improved to at least
Example

The reactive power will need to be reduced to

Reactive power
increases line
losses

Before correction With 215-kVAR capacitor

 VARs to farads (Topic 3.2.2 Idealized Capacitors )

Relationship between current through a capacitor and voltage across it

power through a capacitor is all reactive

conversion from VARs to farads for a capacitor

Medium Voltage
Capacitor Banks

See example 3.8: Course book

Power in a Three-Phase Circuit
Single phase: instantaneous power varies
The apparent power is sinusoidally leading to rougher motor
operation
Three phase: constant power gives smoother
performance of motors and generators

Vphase is the rms voltage in each phase

Iline is the rms current in each phase

the reactive power is

The real power in a three-phase circuit is

The sum of the three phases of power in balanced delta

and wye loads is a constant, not a function of time
Example

Suppose that a shop is served with a three-phase, 208-V transformer. The real power
demand of 80 kW is mostly single-phase motors, which cause the power factor to be a
rather poor 0.5. Find the total apparent power, the individual line currents, and real
power before and after the power factor is corrected to 0.9. If power losses before PF
correction is 5% (4 kW), what will they be after power factor improvement?
Solution:
the apparent power before PF correction

Wye and Delta-Connected

the total apparent power is
Example ( Solve Example: 3.10 )

the current flowing in each leg of the three-phase system

After correcting the power factor to 0.9 the resulting apparent power is

The current in each line is

the losses after power factor correction will be reduced to

a decrease of almost 70%

Discussion

Thanks
?