Questions and answers about Power factor.

1)What is power factor and why is it important?

Ans:- Power factor is the percentage of consumed power (KW) versus supplied power (KVA). This is important because a low power factor can waste energy, result in inefficient use of electrical power, and often result in higher energy bills.

2)Is my power factor costing me money?

Ans:- This depends on how bad your power factor is and how your utility company charges for its electricity.

3) How do I know what my power factor is?

Ans:- In those areas where a power factor penalty is applied, the information relative to the power factor should be contained on the electricity bill. It is advisable to have
EMS-01 meters installed at your substations, for determining load conditions necessary for designing a practical power factor correction scheme.

4) How do I know if Power Factor Correction Capacitors will benefit me?

Ans:- Power Factor Correction Capacitors will improve the energy efficiency of any electrical system, but a reduction in your power bill is only available where a power company charges a power factor penalty. Typically the penalty takes the form of a KVA Demand charge.

Ans:- Definitely not- too much capacity on the line (leading power factor) is bad. Over compensation will adversely affect lighting systems and other machinery and equipment.

Ans:- There are different ways to arrive at the correct amount of KVAR for a given application depending on the information available to you. The IEEE provides standard tables that allow you to choose a KVAR rating for individual motors based on horsepower and RPM rating. Additionally, some motor manufacturers recommend a maximum KVAR rating. Also, the required KVAR can be calculated if you have the following information: Current power factor, desired power factor, and total KW input.

Ans:- Not likely, except in the case of heat pumps and blower motors to circulate the heat, electric heat is essentially a resistive load. Magnetic fields are not associated with resistive loads: consequently, the power factor would be unity or 100%.

Ans:- There are two types of Power Factor Correction Capacitors: Fixed and Automatic. Automatic capacitors are also known as switched capacitors. Automatic capacitors vary the amount of correction (KVAR) supplied to an electrical system, while fixed capacitors supply a constant amount of correction (KVAR). Automatic capacitors are made up of banks that are switched off and on by a microprocessor controller based on the plant electrical load at any given time. Automatic capacitors are installed at the main incoming power source, while fixed capacitors are generally installed at individual motor loads throughout a plant.

9) Which are better, fixed or Automatic Power Factor Correction Capacitors?

Ans:- The answer to this varies with each installation. If you have just a limited number of motors that need correction, it would be advisable to put a fixed capacitor at each motor. If you have a large plant with varying loads and numerous motors, an automatic capacitor may be better. Other factors to consider are maintenance and "down-time". A fixed capacitor requires less maintenance and if the unit goes down, you have not lost all of your correction
abilities. If you need to replace or work on an automatic capacitor, it may require taking the whole plant down or losing all of your correcting ability for a length of time. Additionally, capacitors cannot be directly connected to some equipment.

10) In our facility, we have many small machine motors; should each machine be corrected?

Ans:- In this case, it would probably be more advantageous to correct at the branch circuit since smaller capacitor units have higher price per KVAR correction. In general, motors of 10 hp or more are corrected individually, whereas motors are often corrected in groups.

11) If I decide to install Power Factor Correction Capacitors, what will my payback time be?

Ans:- For customers who are paying a penalty, generally the payback time can be as little as six months or as much as two years. This depends on the billing structure of your utility.

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• Questions about Harmonics     
• 1)What are Harmonics and the Sources of Harmonics?

Ans:- Harmonics are currents or voltages with frequencies that are integer multiples of the fundamental power frequency being 50HZ .
The sources of Harmonics are modern electronic equipment such as personal or notebook computers, laser printers, fax machines, telephone systems, stereos, radios, TVs, adjustable speed drives and variable frequency drives, battery chargers, UPS, and any other equipment powered by switched-mode power supply (SMPS) equipment, programmable controllers, induction furnaces and uninterruptible power supplies etc.

Ans:- Harmonics have detrimental effect on the electrical power system in a facility. Overheated neutrals, hot circuit breakers, unexpected breaker tripping, dangerously hot transformers, unexplainable equipment malfunctions, spurious system lockup, and more are now common problems in many facilities. These problems can cause financial losses through added maintenance cost, staff downtime and interrupted production.

Ans:- In three-phase, low voltage systems, harmonic values of 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19 etc should be avoided as they correspond to the characteristic harmonics of non-linear loads. This includes all of the odd harmonics, except for the multiples of three.

5) How do I know whether Harmonics are present at my place?

Ans:-EAPL has experience of 25 Years in the field of Electronics. By Connecting the EMS-01 you will come to know.

Ans:- A Harmonic filter system basically consists of capacitor banks connected in delta along with a series reactor.
To know the problem please contact Energy consultant or Designers .

7) How can I prevent Harmonic problems?

Ans:- Simple Install the Harmonic filters.

8) What are the benefits of Installation of Harmonic Filters?

Ans:-