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Bee Unit6 Lecture4

The document discusses power factor, causes of low power factor, and methods for power factor improvement. It defines power factor as the cosine of the angle between voltage and current. Inductive loads cause low lagging power factors while capacitive loads have high leading power factors. Low power factors result in larger equipment sizes, higher conductor sizes, greater losses, and reduced system capacity. Common causes of low power factors include induction motors, discharge lamps, and varying loads. Power factor can be improved by connecting capacitors or synchronous condensers in parallel with inductive loads to supply leading current and counteract the lagging current. Static capacitors are commonly used due to their low cost while synchronous condensers provide finer control but have higher maintenance costs

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13 views

Bee Unit6 Lecture4

The document discusses power factor, causes of low power factor, and methods for power factor improvement. It defines power factor as the cosine of the angle between voltage and current. Inductive loads cause low lagging power factors while capacitive loads have high leading power factors. Low power factors result in larger equipment sizes, higher conductor sizes, greater losses, and reduced system capacity. Common causes of low power factors include induction motors, discharge lamps, and varying loads. Power factor can be improved by connecting capacitors or synchronous condensers in parallel with inductive loads to supply leading current and counteract the lagging current. Static capacitors are commonly used due to their low cost while synchronous condensers provide finer control but have higher maintenance costs

Uploaded by

Lucky Dewangan
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Unit-6 Electrical Installation

Power Factor Improvement:


Power Factor: The cosine of angle between voltage and current in an a.c. circuit is
known as power factor.
In an a.c. circuit, there is generally a phase difference φ between voltage and current.
The term cos φ is called the power factor of the circuit. If the circuit is inductive, the
current lags behind the voltage and the power factor is referred to as lagging.
However, in a capacitive circuit, current leads the voltage and power factor is said to
be leading.
Disadvantages of Low Power Factor:
The power factor plays an importance role in a.c. circuits since power consumed
depends upon this factor.
P = VL IL cos φ (For single phase supply)
∴ IL = P/VL cos φ ...(i)
P = 3 VL IL cos φ (For 3 phase supply)
∴ IL = P/3 VL cosφ ...(ii)
It is clear from above that for fixed power and voltage, the load current is inversely
proportional to the power factor. Lower the power factor, higher is the load current
and vice-versa. A power factor less than unity results in the following disadvantages:
(i) Large kVA rating of equipment. The electrical machinery (e.g., alternators,
transformers, switchgear) is always rated in kVA.
Now, kVA = kW/cos φ
It is clear that kVA rating of the equipment is inversely proportional to power factor.
The smaller the power factor, the larger is the kVA rating. Therefore, at low power
factor, the kVA rating of the equipment has to be made more, making the equipment
larger and expensive.
(ii) 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.
(iii) Large copper losses. The large current at low power factor causes more I2R
losses in all the elements of the supply system. This results in poor efficiency.
(iv) 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 utilization devices. In order to keep the receiving end
voltage within permissible limits, extra equipment (i.e., voltage regulators) is
required.
(v) Reduced handling capacity of system. The lagging power factor reduces the
handling capacity of all the elements of the system. 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. Normally, the power
factor of the whole load on the supply system in lower than 0·8. The following are
the causes of low power factor:
(i) Most of the a.c. motors are of induction type (1φ and 3φ induction motors) which
have low lagging power factor. These motors work at a power factor which is
extremely small on light load (0·2 to 0·3) and rises to 0·8 or 0·9 at full load.
(ii) Arc lamps, electric discharge lamps and industrial heating furnaces operate at
low lagging power factor.
(iii) The load on the 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:
The 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. One
of such devices can be a capacitor. The capacitor draws a leading current and partly
or completely neutralizes the lagging reactive component of load current. This raises
the power factor of the load.

Fig-4.1
Consider a single phase load (Fig-4.1 (i))taking lagging current I at a power factor
cosφ1 as shown in Fig. 4.1. The capacitor C is connected in parallel with the load
(Fig-4.1 (ii)). The capacitor draws current IC which leads the supply voltage by 90 o.
The resulting line current I′ is the phasor sum of I and IC and its angle of lag is φ2 as
shown in the phasor diagram of Fig. 4.1. (iii). It is clear that φ2 is less than φ1, so that
cosφ2 is greater than cosφ1. Hence, the power factor of the load is improved.
Power Factor Improvement Equipment:
Normally, the power factor of the whole load on a large generating station is in the
region of 0·8 to 0·9. However, sometimes it is lower and in such cases it is generally
desirable to take special steps to improve the power factor. This can be achieved by
the following equipment:
1. Static capacitors. 2. Synchronous condenser.
1. Static capacitor. The power factor can be improved by connecting capacitors in
parallel with the equipment operating at lagging power factor. The capacitor
(generally known as static capacitor) draws a leading current and partly or
completely neutralizes the lagging reactive component of load current. This raises
the power factor of the load. For three-phase loads, the capacitors can be connected
in delta or star as shown in Fig. 4.2. Static capacitors are invariably used for power
factor improvement in factories.

Fig-4.2
Advantages
(i) They have low losses.
(ii) They require little maintenance as there are no rotating parts.
(iii) They can be easily installed as they are light and require no foundation.
(iv) They can work under ordinary atmospheric conditions.
Disadvantages
(i) They have short service life ranging from 8 to 10 years.
(ii) They are easily damaged if the voltage exceeds the rated value.
(iii) Once the capacitors are damaged, their repair is uneconomical.
2. Synchronous condenser. A synchronous motor takes a leading current when
over-excited and, therefore, behaves as a capacitor. An over-excited synchronous
motor running on no load is known as synchronous condenser. 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. Thus the power factor is
improved.
Fig 4.3 shows the power factor improvement by synchronous condenser method.
The 3φ load takes current IL at low lagging power factor cos φL. The synchronous
condenser takes a current Im which leads the voltage by an angle φm. The resultant
current I is the phasor sum of Im and IL and lags behind the voltage by an angle φ. It
is clear that φ is less than φL so that cos φ is greater than cos φL. Thus the power
factor is increased from cos φL to cos φ. Synchronous condensers are generally used
at major bulk supply substations for power factor improvement.

Fig-4.3

Advantages
(i) By varying the field excitation, the magnitude of current drawn by the motor can
be changed by any amount. This helps in achieving fine control of power factor.
(ii) The motor windings have high thermal stability to short circuit currents.
(iii) The faults can be removed easily.
Disadvantages
(i) There are considerable losses in the motor.
(ii) The maintenance cost is high.
(iii) It produces noise.
(iv) Except in sizes above 500 kVA, the cost is greater than that of static capacitors of
the same rating.
(v) As a synchronous motor has no self-starting torque, therefore, auxiliary
equipment has to be provided for this purpose.

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