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11/16/2016
How capacitors improve the power factor and how to calculate them?
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Power diagram
Power factor is the ratio of working power to apparent power. It measures how effectively electrical power is being
used.
Low power factor means youre not fully utilizing the electrical power youre paying for. A high power factor signals
efficient utilization of electrical power, while a low power factor indicates poor utilization of electrical power.
To determine power factor (PF), divide working power (kW) by apparent power (kVA). In a linear or sinusoidal system,
the result is also referred to as the cosine .
PF = kW / kVA = cosine kVA
For example, if you had a boring mill that was operating at 100 kW and the apparent power consumed was 125 kVA,
you would divide 100 by 125 and come up with a power factor of 0.80.
(kW) 100 / (kVA) 125 = (PF ) 0.80
Power diagram
Where:
P Active power
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An establishment supplied from an 800 KVA HV/LV subscriber station wanting to change the power factor of its
installation to:
Cos = 0.928 (tg = 0.4) at the primary
I.e. Cos = 0.955 (tg = 0.31) at the secondary, with the following readings:
Voltage: 400 V 3-phase 50 HZ
PkW = 475
Cos (secondary) = 0.75 (i.e. tg = 0.88)
Qc (bank to be installed) = PkW x (tg measured tg to be obtained)
Qc = 475 x (0.88 0.31) = 270 kVAr
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Example: 200 kW motor cos = 0.75 required cos = 0.93 Qc = 200 x 0.487 = 98 kVAr
Reference // Reactive energy compensation and power quality monitoring by Legrand
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