Power quality - Typical case study in an industrial environment

Before & After LECS APFC installation. APFC System

Voltage & Current outputs
‘Harmony without Harmonics’

An Optimized and
fully Automatic
solution for power factor
maintenance and Harmonics
control in LV industrial
distribution system…

Before APFC panel

Voltage & Current outputs

CA3 Series

CA3-K Series Corrupted

Corrupted Power
Power
Corrected
Corrected
After installation of LECS APFC panel
LECS SERVICES

Designed by DESIGNCORE INDIA PVT. LTD.

The system naturally needs to be designed to perfectly match the user plant character, to derive the best results
and economics. To this end we have a team of engineers and instrumentation to survey & study the customer EXCLUSIVE FEATURES
plants and submit best solutions. Most reliable and hassle free contactor switching Separate discharge resistor banks virtually
technology. makes 'Re-Switch in' instantaneous.
You may please call us for this service to resolve your reactive power and harmonics problems.
Advanced micro controller based power factor World renowned “Sprecher+Schuh” heavy duty or
Power Quality Study (using Power Analyzer & Data Acquisition System) controller with self-Diagnostic sensing and control of capacitor duty contactors manufactured by Lakshmi
capacitor bank stages. Electrical Control Systems Limited, for fit & forget
performance in APFC application.
Fastest PF correction time equaling the solid state
switching performance. Leading brands of MCCB's, MCB’s and capacitors for
reliable and trouble free operation.
Detuned Harmonic reactors to prevent network
resonance and absorb the line harmonics. Well designed powder coated panel box with vermin
proof and cooling fans for dissipation of heat.

ADVANTAGES
Effective utilization of Maximum demand. Minimizing the line losses & Harmonics.
At Load Centre At Power Control Center At APFC Panel (Outdoor) Prevents voltage drop and transient in the system. Enhancing the life cycle of equipment's in the distribution network.

Manufactured by Phone : +91 422 3093 500

LAKSHMI ELECTRICAL CONTROL SYSTEMS LIMITED Fax : +91 422 2360307 Email : lecs@vsnl.com
We specialize in Reactive power management,
Arasur - 641 407. Coimbatore Dist. India. Website : www.lecsindia.com Harmonics studies and Power quality studies.

APFC/PA/E/a/0110
An Optimized and fully Automatic solution for power factor maintenance and
Harmonics control in LV industrial distribution system…
Grid High Voltage

Transformer Contactor
Electric power would remain to be a serious cause of concern for the industry both on cost Automatic
Low Voltage
We offer two versions of contactor switching techniques in our
PF
and adequacy. So its efficient use means substantial savings. Electricity boards are Controller
APFC’s with a choice to match duty conditions and economics.
Load structure
naturally getting stringent on the power quality and forcing the consumers to maintain a CA3 series(Fig.1) of APFC panels with capacity rated
Protection
stable power system. Discharge
Network
for AC3 duty
=
CA3-K series(Fig.2) with AC6b capacitor duty.
Power quality? Contactor rated
=
In both the versions it is ensured that the contactors have ample
In the present Low voltage (LV) industrial distribution system the power factor maintenance for AC3 duty thermal capacity and our techniques provide high impedance to
M M
and harmonics control are the most critical issues to ensure acceptable power quality, and the inrush switching current of the capacitor and limits it to below
3 3
Reactor
20 times at rated voltage as against 100 times in normal
hence demands at most concern at consumers end to maintain a stable power system.
switching . This increases the life of the capacitor and
PFC Capacitor
contactors.
Power factor CA3 SERIES Fig.1
Most of the industrial loads e.g. motor and transformers are inductive in nature and the Harmonic filter reactors
Resonance is the most series consequence when connecting a
power factor will be in the lagging side. Adequate reactive compensation is required at the
power capacitor in the LV distribution system. The capacitance
consumer end to improve the power factor and effectively utilize the allotted Maximum of the capacitor forms a resonant circuit in conjunction with the
Grid High Voltage
demand. In a highly volatile load environment the reactive requirement of the loads is of feeding transformers and cables. The self-resonant frequency
Transformer
variable nature and needs a dynamic & reliable reactive power compensation system to of this circuit lies typically between 250 and 600Hz i.e. in the
Low Voltage
region of the 5th and 11th harmonics and leads to the following
Automatic
PF
maintain the power factor and to control the Real power (KVA). Controller

Load structure effects

To maintain the power factor generally fixed capacitors are installed in industries at various Protection
Overloading of capacitors, transformers and transmission
load centers balanced to the connected load level. In the fixed compensation system the equipment's
=
amount of capacitors (kVAr) connected in the system will be always constant irrespective Harmonics amplification
of the load variations. In such conditions the power factor maintenance is highly difficult in Contactor rated
=
Interference with metering, control system, computers and
for AC6B duty electrical gear.
the ambience of variable load pattern and the over all plant power factor will tent to be M M

3 3 To overcome the resonance effect detuned filter reactor is

lagging or leading.
connected in series with the capacitor and its self-resonant
The leading power factor (I.e. excessive capacitors than the requirement) in the system will PFC Capacitor frequency is tuned below the lowest line harmonics by varying
result in an excessive rise in the transient voltage during switching of loads and leads to the choking factor of the reactor.

insulation failures in the equipment and generates harmonic oscillations. CA3-K SERIES Fig.2 The diagram (Fig.3) shows that a series resonant circuit
becomes inductive above its resonant frequency, which means
that it is no longer possible to excite any resonance. Below its
Harmonics resonant frequency the resonant circuit is capacitive and can
In recent years, with increased usage of AC/DC Drives, UPS, Computers, Arc Furnaces & Impedance(Z)
Inductance X = ω
L
Ind
be used to compensate the reactive power.
Welders etc, Power harmonics (both Voltage & Current) have become a serious problem in P = 14%

industries and commercial installation. The harmonics generated by these Non-Linear

P = 7%
P = 5.5%
PF controller
The PF controller is an advanced micro controller based on
loads are the biggest obstruction in maintaining the power quality and has been a major Frequency in Hz
4-quadrant measurement type with constant supervision of

50

400
200
250
300
100
150
reason for equipment failure & many other problems like inductive/capacitive loads. Over and above, it is capable of
Unchoked
capacitance Xc =
1 self-diagnosing the capacitor bank stages automatically and
ω
C
Losses in distribution lines switch in the optimum to the reactive variations. No pre-
Cap
Malfunctioning of electronic equipment selected switching program is required.
Unwanted tripping of circuit breakers and fuses
Measurement errors in the metering systems and Xc XL f res =
√
2π
LxC
1
Discharging network
Z Capacitors must be discharged to maximally 10% of nominal
loss of data in computer & other electronic devices voltage before cutting them in again. Normally the discharge
Overloading of transformers & Capacitors, etc. time for capacitors will be around 60 seconds and it is not
The chocking factor p is calculated as follows :
recommended to switch-in before this period, to ensure the life
p (in %) = XL / Xc
LECS Solution XL - The reactance of the choke
span of both contactors and capacitors. In our system the
Noticing the anxiety of the industry for a dependable solution, we deeply explored the Xc - The reactance of the capacitor discharge time is drastically brought down to just 1 second with
technology and conducted field studies on the current practices to configure a system p (in %) = 100 x (fn / fres)
2 an additional circuitry for faster charge balancing and get the
bank ready for next switch-in with in a second. The re-switch-in
matching our Indian Duty and environmental conditions. The configuration in the design of f n - The main frequency
fres - The resonant frequency of the resonant circuit time of a stage is possible down to 3 seconds, a unique feature
our APFC systems with perfectly calculated on line balancing devices for regulation and equivalent to the thyristor controlled design for faster and
Impedance curve of Fig.3
control is well acclaimed. series resonant circuit efficient corrections over the reactive variations.