Application of Capacitors in

Distribution Systems

28-Mar-21 1
 Introduction
 Capacitors provide tremendous benefits to distribution
system performance. Most noticeably, capacitors
reduce losses, free up capacity, and reduce voltage
drop:
– Losses; Capacity: By providing the reactive power to motors and
other loads with low power factor, capacitors decrease the line
current. Reduced current frees up capacity; the same circuit can serve
more load. Reduced current also significantly lowers the I2R
line.

– Voltage drop: Capacitors provide a voltage boost, which cancels part

of the drop caused by system loads. Switched capacitors can regulate
voltage on a circuit.

28-Mar-21 2
 Introduction
 If applied properly and controlled, capacitors can
significantly improve the performance of distribution
circuits.

 But if not properly applied or controlled, the reactive

power from capacitor banks can create losses and high
voltages. The greatest danger of over-voltages occurs
under light load.

28-Mar-21 3
 Introduction
 The problem faced by a distribution engineer is to decide for
a given feeder
– How much capacitance is necessary?
– Should the capacitance be fixed or switchable?
– Where should the capacitance be located?
 This problem is complex and often, there is no method that
will provide a single solution. Identifying the most desirable
solution results from assessment of operational effects in
relation to investment levels.
 What we will do in the remainder of these notes is to provide
certain evaluation strategies that give the distribution
engineer a means to assess the operational effects.
 To be clear, we define operational effects in terms of
– Voltage regulation and
– Reduced power losses
28-Mar-21 4
 Capacitor Construction
 Capacitor elements have
sheets of polypropylene film,
less than one mil thick,
sandwiched between
aluminum foil sheets.
 Capacitor dielectrics must
withstand on the order of 78
kV/mm. No other medium-
voltage equipment has such
high voltage stress.

28-Mar-21 5
 Capacitor Construction
 Capacitor units are supplied
with an internal discharge
resistor.
 The purpose of the discharge
resistor is to provide a path
for current to flow in the
event that the capacitor is
disconnected from the source.

28-Mar-21 6
 Capacitor Connection

 Capacitors are either fixed or switched banks.

 The fixed capacitors exist all time but the switched
capacitors are switched on based on the system need.
 A typical switched capacitor bank is shown in the figure
below:

28-Mar-21 7
 Capacitor use in the Distribution
Network
 The application of capacitors in the distribution systems
can be summarized as follows:

– 60% of capacitors are applied to feeders.

– 30% of capacitors are applied to substation buses.

– 10% of capacitors are applied to transmission systems.

– Application of capacitors to secondary systems is very rare.

28-Mar-21 8
 Capacitor use in the Distribution
Network

28-Mar-21 9
 Capacitor Ratings
Capacitors should not be applied when any of the following
limits are exceeded:
• 135% of nameplate kvar.
• 110% of rated RMS voltage.
• 135% of nominal RMS current based on rated kvar and
rated voltage.
• Capacitors are designed to withstand over-voltages for
short periods of time.

28-Mar-21 10
 Capacitor Losses
• Capacitor losses are typically on the order of 0.07
to 0.15 W/kvar at nominal frequency.
• Losses include resistive losses in the foil,
dielectric losses, and losses in the internal discharge
resistor.
• Capacitors must have an internal resistor that
discharges a capacitor to 50 V or less within 5 min
when the capacitor is charged to the peak of its
rated voltage . This resistor is the major component
of losses within a capacitor.

28-Mar-21 11
 Capacitor Connection
a) Delta-connection
 For delta connection, the single phase capacitor is a two
bushing capacitor unit.

 The required voltage rating of the capacitor unit must be

equal to or greater than the nominal line voltage of the
system.
28-Mar-21 12
 a) Delta-connection
Example-1
Determine the appropriate voltage and kVAR ratings for
the capacitor units used to make a 2400 kVAR delta
connected capacitor bank to be installed on 13.8 kV
feeder.

28-Mar-21 13
 a) Delta-connection
Example-1-solution
2400
kVAR / phase = = 800 kVAR / phase
3

• The most practical combination would be 2 units of 400

kVAR per phase or 1 unit of 800 kVAR per phase.

• The voltage rating of each capacitor is equal to the

nominal line-to-line voltage of the system; i.e. 13.8 kV.

28-Mar-21 14
 Capacitor Connection
b) Y-connection
 For Y connection, the single phase capacitor is a single
bushing capacitor unit.

 The solidly grounded Y-connection is typically used in

medium voltage distribution feeders.
28-Mar-21 15
 Capacitor Connection
b) Y-connection

 The voltage rating of the capacitor unit must be

equal or more than the nominal line-ground
voltage of the feeder.
 Additional units may be added in parallel to
increase the rating of the bank.
 Group fusing is typically provided by fused
cutouts. However, individual fusing is provided
for larger capacitor banks.

28-Mar-21 16
 b) Y-connection
Example-2

A 4800 kVAR, 12.47 kV, solidly grounded Y-connected

capacitor bank is made of eight 200 kVAR, 7200 V
capacitor units per phase. A blown fuse detection scheme
is to be used to determine the presence of a blown fuse.
Assume that one fuse of phase A is blown, calculate the
current flowing from the neutral of the bank to the
ground.

28-Mar-21 17
 b) Y-connection
Example-2-solution
7200 2 7200 2
Z B = ZC = − j = − j32.4  ZA = − j = − j37.0 
8  200,000 7  200,000
The source voltage references are selected as:
VAN = 72000, VBN = 7200 − 120, VCN = 7200120

72000 7200 − 120

IA = = 194.690 A IB = = 222.2 − 30 A
37 − 90 32.4 − 90

7200120
IC = = 222.2210 A I N = −(I A + I B + I C ) = 27.690 A
32.4 − 90

28-Mar-21 18
 a) Power Factor Correction
 One of the main advantages of the application of
capacitors is the power factor correction.

 This reactive power requirement has three adverse effects

on distribution system:

– The reactive power increases the generators kVA and consequently

all system components sizes and rating have to be increased.

– The reactive current increases the system voltage drop.

– The reactive current increases the system losses.

28-Mar-21 19
 Power Factor Correction Equations

 The present power factor (pf) is given by:

pf (present) = P/(P2 + Q12)1/2

 When a shunt capacitor is connected to the load , the new

pf is then given by:
pf (new) = P/[P2 + (Q1 - QC)2] 1/2

28-Mar-21 20
 Power factor corrections values
Correction factor = Qcap/Pload

28-Mar-21 21
 Example-3

If a 700 kVA load has a 65% power factor connected

to 4160VGrdY/2400V system, it is required to
improve the power factor to 92%. Using the following
Table, determine the following:
a) The correction factor required.
b) The capacitor size required
c) If the capacitor size calculated in (b) is not the
standard size, use the list standard of capacitors sizes
in the previous Table to calculate the new possible
improved power factor.

28-Mar-21 22
 Power factor corrections values
Correction factor = Qcap/Pload

28-Mar-21 23
 Solution:

From the previous Table, the correction factor

required is 0.74.
The real power of the 700 kVA load at 0.65 power
factor
= 700 x 0.65
= 455 kW

The capacitor size necessary to improve the power

factor from 65% to 92% can de found as
Capacitor size = P x (correction factor)
= 455 (0.74)
= 336.7 kVAR

28-Mar-21 24
 From the capacitor rating Table the next
higher standard capacitor size is 400 kVAR,
therefore the resulting new correction factor
can be found to be

= 400/455 = 0.879

28-Mar-21 25
 Power factor corrections values
Correction factor = Qcap/Pload

28-Mar-21 26
 • From power correction Table by
linear interpolation, the resulting
corrected power factor, with an
original power factor of 0.65 and a
correction of 0.879 can be found as:
(0.879 − 0.878)
New corrected power factor = 0.96 + (.97 − .96) * = 0.96025  0.96
(0.918 − 0.878)

28-Mar-21 27
 b) Voltage Support
 As mentioned earlier, capacitors are used to
improve the voltage profile for the feeders.

 The best location for voltage support depends

on where the voltage support is needed.

 Unlike a regulator, a capacitor changes the

voltage profile upstream of the bank.

28-Mar-21 28
 b) Voltage Support

28-Mar-21 29
 Voltage Rise From Capacitors
 Let’s consider the simple circuit on shown below
VL
Z IL
IS
IC
ZL

 Without the capacitor (switch open), the load voltage is

given by:
V L = VS − I S Z
 With the capacitor (switch closed), the load voltage
VL = VS − I S Z
where,
V L = the load voltage with the capacitor (switch closed)

28-Mar-21 30
 Voltage Rise From Capacitors
 Define the voltage rise obtained from switching in the
capacitor as ΔVL, given by:
VL = VL − VL
or,
VL = VS − I S Z − VS + I S Z
= ( I S − I S )Z
or,
VL = − I C Z

 This says that the voltage rise at the load is proportional to

the capacitor current times the impedance between the load
and the nearest constant voltage source.

28-Mar-21 31
 Voltage Rise From Capacitors
VL = VL − VL IC
Phasor rotation
VL = VL + VL
V L = V L + (− I C Z )
VL
ΔVL

VL = VL + (− I C R − jI C X ) -ICR
-jICX V’ L=VL+ΔVL

 Neglecting the resistance R

V L = − jI C X IC
In terms of voltage Phasor rotation
magnitude, -jICX
VL ΔVL
V L = I C X
V’ L=VL+ΔVL

28-Mar-21 32
 Voltage Rise From Capacitors
In terms of voltage magnitude,
V L = I C X
For a single phase systems
QC QC
IC = VL = X
VL VL
In terms of percentage voltage rise (%R), we have:
VL QC
% R = 100 = 100 2 X
VL VL
QC1
% R = 100 2 X (for single phase feeders)
VL , LN
QC 3 / 3 QC 3
% R = 100 X = 100 X (for 3-phase feeders)
(V L , LL / 3 )
2
VL2, LL
28-Mar-21 33
 Fixed Shunt Capacitors
 The main concept here is that since these
capacitors are on all of the time, they must apply to
all loading conditions.
 The consequence of this is that in sizing fixed
capacitance for correcting voltage, we must do it
for the lightest-load conditions (highest voltage
level).
 Otherwise, if we size for heavy load conditions,
the less loaded conditions will see overvoltages.

28-Mar-21 34
 Approach for Sizing Fixed Capacitance
1. At the lightest load conditions (perhaps 25% of peak), identify the
load-end voltage with no capacitors. Call this Vlight.
2. Identify the maximum feeder voltage allowable (typically
corresponding to 126 volts on the residential service side). Call this
Vmax.
3. Compute the allowable percent rise:
 Vmax − Vlight 
%R = 100 

 Vlight 
4. Compute reactive power required from capacitance:

(% R )Vlight
2
(% R )Vlight
2

QC = QC 3 =
100 X 100 X

where Vlight is line-to- where Vlight is line-to-line

neutral voltage voltage

28-Mar-21 35
 Switched-Shunt Capacitors
 At certain times of the day, the load will exceed the level
for which the fixed shunt caps were designed.
 If we reach a load level where V<Vmin on any bus, it is
unacceptable.
Vmax
Voltage
of
minimum
voltage Vmin
bus

25% 50% 100%

Loading as % of peak

 So the loading level in which minimum voltage is reached

with only fixed capacitors on is the point for which we
should switch in additional capacitors
28-Mar-21 36
 Switched-Shunt Capacitors
 The following figure illustrates daily reactive load
requirements of a typical feeder.

switched shunt capacitors

are switched in at a
reactive load of 700
kVAR, which is about 36%
of peak.

28-Mar-21 37
 Control Methods for Switching Shunt Capacitors

 Time clock: This is the simplest and most common

scheme where the controller switches capacitors on and off
based on the time of day. Modern controllers allow
differentiation between weekends, weekdays, and holidays.
This control is the least expensive but also the most
susceptible to inappropriate switching.
 Temperature: This is another simple control where
controller switches on and off depending on temperature.
 Voltage: The user can provide maximum and minimum
switching voltages, bandwidths, and time delays. This is
most effective control when voltage regulation is the
primary role of the capacitor.
 Vars or power factor: This is the most effective method
to ensure loss minimization.
28-Mar-21 38
 Control Methods for Switching Shunt Capacitors

 A common design is to use a combination of fixed, time-

clock switched, and voltage-controlled switched
capacitors.
 So voltage-switched capacitors are primarily used for
peaks days and times.
 The following figure illustrates the daily reactive load
requirement of a typical feeder, distinguishing between
times when fixed, time-clock switched, and voltage
switched capacitors are supplying vars.

28-Mar-21 39
 Control Methods for Switching Shunt Capacitors

Observe that voltage-switched

capacitors may also switch in
just before the time-switched
capacitors as the load rises.
They may then switch back out
as the time-switched capacitors
switch in.

28-Mar-21 40
 Design Approach for Switched Capacitors

 The design approach for time-clock switched and voltage-

switched capacitors is similar to that for fixed capacitors.
 Multiple voltage-switched capacitors on the same feeder
require coordination, typically through staggered time
delays, illustrated in the following figure.

Vmax
Voltage
of
minimum
voltage Vmin
bus
Effects of
time-clock Effects of
switched voltage
capacitors switched
capacitors

25% 50% 100%

Loading as % of peak
28-Mar-21 41
 Approximate Calculation for Voltage
Rise
“K” Factor:
The Krise is similar to the Kdrop factor except that the
load now is a shunt capacitor. When a leading current
flows through an inductive reactance there will be a
voltage rise instead of voltage drop.

Vrise = ZI cap

Percent voltage rise

K rise =
kvar . mile
28-Mar-21 42
 Example-4

Calculate the Krise factor for a feeder

with an impedance of Z=0.25+j0.6 and a
length of 3 miles.
Assuming a load of 7000 kVAR and
power factor of 0.9 lagging and a
nominal line to line voltage = 11 kV
determine the rating of a three phase
capacitor bank to limit the voltage drop
to 1.5%.
28-Mar-21 43
 Example-4 Solution
1kVAR
I cap = 90 = 0.052590
3kVL −L

 
Vrise = Z  I cap = (.25 + j 0.6)  0.052590 = 0.034 V

0.0315
K rise = = 0.000537% rise / kVAR.mile
11000 / 3

7000
I load =  − cos −1 (0.9) = 367 − 25.8
3 11

Vdrop = ( Z .I ) = 238.6 V

28-Mar-21 44
 Example-4 Solution
238.6
%Vdrop = = 3.76%
11000 / 3

However, it is required to limit the voltage drop to 1.5%,

so:
Vrise = 3.76 − 1.5 = 2.26%

Vrise 2.26
kVAR = =  1403 kVAR
K rise  mile 0.000537  3

28-Mar-21 45
 c) Reducing Line Losses
 One of the main benefits of applying capacitors is
that they can reduce distribution line losses.
 Losses come from current through the resistance
of conductors.
 Some of that current transmits real power, but
some flows to supply reactive power.
 It is desirable to determine the size and location
of capacitors to maximize line loss reduction

28-Mar-21 46
 c) Reducing Line Losses

♦ The magnitude of the line current can be

expressed as follows:
(
IL = I 2
p +I 2
q )
1/ 2

where:
Ip = magnitude of in-phase component of line
current
Iq = magnitude of quadrature component of
line current

28-Mar-21 47
 c) Reducing Line Losses

♦ The current absorbed by a capacitor bank will

subtract from the quadrature component of the line
current resulting in the following:

(
IL = I 2
p + (I q − I c ) )
2 1/ 2

where:
Ic = magnitude of the capacitor current

28-Mar-21 48
 c) Reducing Line Losses

Example-5
If the load (700 kVA) in example 3 was
connected to the source via a feeder with the
following impedance: Z = 0.5+j1.3, find the line
losses before and after power factor correction.
Also, find the optimum location of the capacitor
for maximum line loss reduction.

28-Mar-21 49
 c) Reducing Line Losses

Example-5-solution:
P = 700(.65) = 455 kW

Losses = 3  I 2  R

I L1 =
455
= 97 A Losses = 14.16 kW
3  4.16  .65

I L2 =
455
= 38.2 A Losses = 2.19 kW
3  4.16  .96

Where is the best place for this capacitor?

28-Mar-21 50
 Capacitor Location
Consider the following feeder shown below.
 The feeder length is l.
 The feeder has a large number of loads uniformly distributed about its
length.
 The feeder has a lumped reactive load at the end, drawing a current kI 1.
 “I1” denotes the quadrature current component ( the reactive current) of
the load.

 Question: Where is the best place to locate a capacitor?

28-Mar-21 51
 Capacitor Location
 To answer this question, we need to choose the design
criterion. There are two design criteria:
M
1. Minimize losses = 3 I i2 Ri
i =1
M
2. Minimize voltage drop =  I i Ri
i =1

where Ii and Ri are the current and the resistance of each line segment

 The optimal location for minimizing losses will be

different than the optimal location for minimizing voltage
drop.
 Therefore we will only focus on the problem of
minimizing losses.

28-Mar-21 52
 Losses Without Capacitor
 In all of what follows, “I” denotes the quadrature current
component( the reactive current)
 Let’s go back to the case of a uniformly distributed load
along the feeder

I1 I2 I3 I4 I5 I6 I7 I8 IM
IS
R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 R7 R8

 Define x as the distance along the feeder from the source,

and recall that the feeder has length of 1.
I ( x = 0) = I 1 I ( x = 1) = I M
28-Mar-21 53
 Losses Without Capacitor
 The decrease along the feeder of the reactive current due to
the load is:
I ( x ) = ( I 1 − I M ) x
 Then we can write down the current at any point x along the
feeder as:

I ( x ) = I 1 − I ( x ) = I 1 − ( I 1 − I M ) x
 Now what are the losses in a small length of the feeder at x
having resistance Rdx?
 This will be:
dPL = 3 I ( x ) Rdx = 3I1 − (I1 − I M )x  Rdx
2 2

28-Mar-21 54
 Losses Without Capacitor
 And now we can find the total losses in the feeder as:
1
PL = 3 I1 − ( I1 − I M ) x  Rdx
2

Integrate the above eqn,


PL = I12 + I1 I M + I M2 R 
where
– PL is total 3-phase losses in feeder without cap.
– I1 is reactive current at beginning of feeder
– IM is reactive current at end of feeder
– R is total feeder resistance

28-Mar-21 55
 Losses With Capacitor
 Now let’s consider installation of one capacitor bank.
Assume it will be located at x=x1, which is just some
arbitrary point on the feeder, as illustrated below

I1 I2 I3 I4 I5 I6 I7 I8 IM
IS
R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 R7 R8

x1 x

 We can use a similar procedure as before, except we must

look at two separate cases (next slide).

28-Mar-21 56
 Losses With Capacitor
0  x  x1
I ( x ) = I 1 − I ( x ) − I C
= I1 − (I1 − I M )x − I C

 In the above we subtract off IC because the load current is

assumed to be lagging.
 The losses in a small length of the feeder dx having
resistance Rdx will be:

dPL = 3 I 2 ( x ) Rdx
= 3I1 − ( I1 − I M ) x − I C  Rdx
2

28-Mar-21 57
 Losses With Capacitor
x1  x  1.0
 The downstream load will not be affected by the capacitor!
Therefore, for this case, the differential loss expression is the
same as the expression without the capacitor,
dPL = 3I1 − (I1 − I M )x  Rdx
2

 So the complete loss expression with the capacitor located a

distance along the feeder x1 from the source is given by:
x1

PL =  3I1 − (I1 − I M )x − IC  Rdx

2

0
1
+  3I1 − (I1 − I M )x  Rdx
2

x1

Note that the primed notation on the PL term denotes losses

with capacitor
28-Mar-21 58
 Losses With Capacitor
 Expanding the above eq. and integrating yields:


PL = I 12 + I 1 I M + I M2 R 

+ 3 x1 R ( x1 − 2 )I 1 I C − x1 I M I C + I C2 
 Therefore the loss reduction with the installation of the
capacitor is:

PL − PL = −3x1 R (x1 − 2)I1 I C − x1 I M I C + I C2 

28-Mar-21 59
 Losses With Capacitor
 Now let’s normalize the above expression by PL.

PLR =

− 3 x1 R ( x1 − 2)I 1 I C − x1 I M I C + I C2 

I 12 + I 1 I M + I M2 R 
=

3 x1 (2 − x1 )I 1 I C + x1 I M I C − I C2 

I 12 + I 1 I M + I M2
where,
PLR= the percentage loss reduction

 Now let’s factor out an I12 from top and bottom, resulting in

28-Mar-21 60
 Losses With Capacitor

 2

3 x1 I 1 (2 − x1 ) + x1
I I I I
2 C M C
2
− 2
C

PLR =  I1 I1 I1 
 I I 2

I 1 1 +
2 M
+ 2
M

 I1 I1 

 There are two interesting ratios that appear in the above eq.
One is IC/I1 and the other is IM/I1. Let’s cancel the I12 out
 IC  IC  
2

3 x1 (2 − x1 ) + x1
IC IM
−   
 I1 I1 I1  I1  

PLR =
 I  IM  
2

1 + M
+   
 I1  I1  
28-Mar-21 61
 Losses With Capacitor
Now define these ratios:
IC kVA of cap installed
c= =
I 1 kVA of total reactive load

IM reactive current at end of line

= =
I1 reactive current at beginning of line

 The c-ratio gives information about “how much”

capacitance.
 The λ-ratio is a measure of how distributed is the load.
 Describing the meaning of λ-ratio at its extreme values helps
to see its significance.

28-Mar-21 62
 Losses With Capacitor
The meaning of λ-ratio :

 λ=1 means IM=I1, implying all load is concentrated at the

end, and none of it is uniformly distributed between the
ends.

 λ=0 means IM=0, implying all load is uniformly distributed

between the ends, and none of it is at the end.

 Values of λ between 0 and 1 characterize situations between

these extremes, with load concentration shifting from
between the ends (highly distributed load) to the end
(completed concentrated load) as λ increases from 0 to 1.

28-Mar-21 63
 Losses With Capacitor
Replacing the corresponding ratios in the previous eq., we
have:

PLR =

3 x1 (2 − x1 )c + x1c − c 2


1 +  + 2 
 Factoring out the c-parameter from the bracketed term in the
numerator, we have:

3 x1 c (2 − x1 ) + x1 − c 
PLR =

1 +  + 2 

28-Mar-21 64
 Losses With Capacitor
 The above equation is a very useful equation. Since λ is
determined by the feeder (not a design characteristic), then
we can assume for a given situation that it is given. Then
our problem is to identify
– The optimal amount (by identifying c)
– The optimal location (by identifying x1).
 The optimal amount or location can be obtained by taking
derivatives with respect to either c or x1, setting to zero,
and solving.
 Note that we cannot optimize the amount and the location
simultaneously since the optimal amount depends on the
location, and the optimal location depends on the amount.

28-Mar-21 65
 Losses With Capacitor
Procedure:
1. Fix λ.
2. Fix c at low number, e.g., c=k=0.1.
3. Find optimal value of x1.
4. Increment c by k, i.e., c→ c+k
5. If c>1, stop, otherwise, go to 3.
 This approach is just finding optimal location (x1)
for various values of c, as c is incremented by 0.1
from 0.1 to 1.

28-Mar-21 66
 Optimal Capacitor Location
 Differentiation PLR eqn. with respect to x1 and equate that
to zero, we obtain:
6 x1,opt ( − 1) + (6 − 3c ) = 0

 Solving for x1,opt we obtain:

3c − 6 6 − 3c 2−c
x1,opt = = =
6( − 1) 6(1 −  ) 2(1 −  )
 Applying the physical constraints (0<x1<1) results in
x1,opt  0  c  2 x1,opt  1  c  2
 Therefore,
2  c  2 2  c  1
Because c will never exceed 1, i.e., we will never compensate more than
the load kVA
28-Mar-21 67
 c) Reducing Line Losses
Practical considerations:
• Determining the size and location of a capacitor
for a uniformly distributed load is more
complicated, why?
• The time-varying nature of the loads will also be
a significant factor in determining capacitor
requirements, why?

28-Mar-21 68
 c) Reducing Line Losses

Example-6
For the reactive load shown below for a 4.16
feeder, determine the fixed and switched
capacitor to be added to correct the power
factor?

28-Mar-21 69
 c) Reducing Line Losses

Example-6-solution

• Solution (b) is better as it delivers better compensation for the

reactive current.
• However, solution (b) requires the switching of two capacitors
instead of one for solution (a) which is not desirable in power system.
28-Mar-21 70
 c) Reducing Line Losses
Optimum capacitor size and location:
• Consider the following radial system with uniform
reactive current.
kI1 − I1
i ( x) = . x + I1
L
• The active power loss per phase
due to reactive component of load
current is:
2
 kI1 − I1 
L
PLoss =  .x + I1  .R.dx
0 
L
28-Mar-21 71
 c) Reducing Line Losses
Optimum capacitor size and location:
L 2 2
(
PLoss = .I1 . K + K + 1 .R
3
) R is the resistance per unit length

If the load has only lumped

load, so K = 1 and:
PLoss = L.I12 .R

If the load has only distributed

load, so K = 0 and:
L
PLoss = .I12 .R
3

28-Mar-21 72
 c) Reducing Line Losses
Optimum capacitor size and location:

If a single capacitor bank is added to the circuit, the

reactive load profile is modified as shown below:

 kI − I 
i ( x) =  1 1 .x + I1 − I C for 0  x  x '
 L 

 kI − I 
i ( x) =  1 1 .x + I1 for x '  x  L
 L 
2
 kI − I 
x'
PLoss =   1 1 .x + I1 − I C  .R.dx
0  
So: L
2
 kI − I 
L
+   1 1 .x + I1  .R.dx
x' L 
28-Mar-21 73
 c) Reducing Line Losses
Optimum capacitor size and location:
 x '2 
L
 
PLoss =  ( I1 I C (1 − K ) + x' ( I C2 − 2 I1 I C ) + I12 ( K 2 + K + 1) .R
L 3 
• For a given load profile, line length,
and resistance, the quantities K, I1, R and
L are constant.
• The only two variables are IC and x’.
• To determine the optimum capacitor
size and location to minimize losses, the
partial derivatives are taken for these
two variables, IC and x’.
PLoss
=0=
2 x'
I1I C (1 − K ) + ( I C2 − 2I1I C ) (1)
x' L
PLoss
= 0 = I1 (1 − K ) + 2 I C − 2 I1
x'
(2)
I
28-Mar-21C
L 74
 c) Reducing Line Losses
Optimum capacitor size and location:
Solving equation no.1 will result in:
− ( I C2 − 2 I1 I C ) L
x' =
I1 I C (1 − K ) 2
It is convenient to express the capacitor
current IC as a function of the reactive
current I1

L 2 − 
I C = I1  x ' =  (3)
2 1 − K 
Substituting equations (3) in (2) will
results in:
3 2
0 =  −1   =
28-Mar-21
2 3 75
 c) Reducing Line Losses
Optimum capacitor size and location:
So the size of the capacitor is 2/3 of the total reactive current
entering the feeder. If this value is substituted in equation 3, then:

2  1 
x' = L 
3 1 − K 

So it can be seen from this equation that

the 2/3 capacitor size is only true for K
value is up to 1/3. If K is more than 1/3
then x’ will be more than L which is not
logic.
If K exceeds 1/3, the optimum location
is x’=L and the capacitor size will be:
K +1
=
28-Mar-21 2 76
 c) Reducing Line Losses
Capacitor size and placement:
If K = 0 (only uniformly distributed load), then x’ = 2/3L

28-Mar-21 77
 c) Reducing Line Losses
Capacitor size and placement:
• A generalization of the 2/3 rule for applying n
capacitors to a circuit is to size each one to 2/(2n+1)
of the circuit var requirements.
• Apply them equally spaced, starting at a distance of
2/(2n+1) of the total line length from the substation
and adding the rest of the units at intervals of
2/(2n+1) of the total line length.

28-Mar-21 78
 c) Reducing Line Losses
Capacitor size and placement:
• The total vars supplied by the capacitors is
2n/(2n+1) of the circuit’s var requirements.
• So to apply three capacitors, size each to 2/7 of the
total vars needed, and locate them at per unit
distances of 2/7, 4/7, and 6/7 of the line length from
the substation.

28-Mar-21 79
Example 7:

A section of a 12.47 kV distribution line has a length of 3

miles. The reactive power loading was measured as 2000
kVAR at the distribution substation line exit. The reactive
power loading at the end of the line section was estimated as
600 kVAR. Determine the optimum capacitor rating and
location to minimize line loss of this section.

28-Mar-21 80
Example 7-solution:

The ratio of reactive power at the end of the line section to the
reactive power at the beginning of the line is:

600
K= = 0.3
2000
Since K is less than 1/3, the optimum capacitor rating is two-
thirds time the reactive loading at the beginning of the line
section, i.e. kVARCAP = (2/3)*2000=1333.3 kVAR

The optimum capacitor location is given by:

2  1 
x' = (3)  = 2.86 miles
3  1 − 0 .3 

28-Mar-21 81
 d) Released Capacity
• In addition to reducing losses and improving voltage,
capacitors release capacity.
• Improving the power factor increases the amount of real-
power load the circuit can supply.

28-Mar-21 82
 d) Released Capacity

28-Mar-21 83
Example 8:
In the following Figure a primary line with uniformly distributed load.
The voltage at the distribution substation low-voltage bus is held at 1.03
pu V with bus voltage regulation. When there is no capacitor bank
installed on the feeder, the per unit voltage at the end of the line at annual
peak load is 0.97. Use the nominal operating voltage of 13.8 KV of the
three-phase as the base voltage. Assume that the off peak load of the
system is about 25% of the on peak load. Also, assume that the line
reactance is 0.80 Ω /(phase.mi) but the line resistance is neglected and
determine the following:
a- When the shunt capacitor bank is not used, find the Vx, voltages at the
times of peak load and off-peak load.
b- Apply an un-switched capacitor bank and locate it at the point of X = 4
mi on the line, and size the capacitor bank to yield a voltage of 1.05 per
unit at point X=0 at the time of zero load. Find the size of the capacitor in
three phase kilovars.

28-Mar-21 84
 Example 8, solution
The current flowing through any segment along a feeder with
uniformly distributed load can be calculated from the
following equation (no installed capacitors exist):
 x
I x = I S  1 − 
 l
The voltage drop across this segment can be calculated from
the following equation:

dVD x = I x  z dx

28-Mar-21 85
 Example 8, solution
The total voltage drop from the source point to point x along
the feeder is given by:

x x
VD x =  dVD x =  I x  z dx
0 0

 x
x
VD x =  I S  1 −   z dx
0  l

 x2   x 
VD x = I S  z   x −  = I S  z  x  1 − 
 2l  2l

28-Mar-21 86
 Example 8, solution
The total voltage drop from the source point to the feeder
end-point is given by:

 l2  l
VD l = I S  z   l −  = I S  z 
 2l 2

 x 
x  1 − 
VD x % VD x  2l x  x
 = = = 2 − 
VDl % VDl l l  l
2

28-Mar-21 87
 Example 8, solution
The total voltage drop from the source point to the feeder
end-point (no installed capacitors exist) at the peak load is
given by:
VDl , pu = 1.03 − 0.97 = 0.06 pu = 6 %

VD x x  x 2  2 8
 =   2 −  =   2 −  = = 0.888
VD l l  l 3  3 9
VD x = 0.888 x 0.06 = 0.0533 pu

V x = Vo − VD x = 1.03 − 0.0533 = 0.9767 pu

V x = 0.9767 x 13.8 = 13.47846 kV

28-Mar-21 88
 Example 8, solution
The total voltage drop from the source point to the feeder
end-point (no installed capacitors exist) at the any loading
condition is given by: % VD D 1
 = =
l , off off

% VDl , peak D peak 4

Therefore, at off-peak conditions:

1
 % VDl , off = x 0.06 = 0.015 pu = 1.5 %
4
VD x , off x  x 2  2 8
 =   2 −  =   2 −  = = 0.888
VDl , off l  l 3  3 9
VD x , off = 0.888 x 0.015 = 0.0133 pu

V x = Vo − VD x = 1.03 − 0.0133 = 1.0167 pu

V x = 1.0167 x 13.8 = 14.03 kV

28-Mar-21 89
 Example 8, solution
The voltage at point X with no capacitor is 1.03 pu (because
there is no load and the voltage at the bus will equal the
voltage at X), after installing the capacitor bank the voltage at
point X becomes 1.05 pu. Therefore, the per unit voltage rise
at point X is 0.02 pu or 2 %.
1kVAR
I cap = 90 = 0.04290
3 *13.8
Vrise = Re[z * I cap ] = 0.0336V
0.0336
K rise = = 0.000422%rise/kvar. mile
13.8 / 3
%Vrise = K rise * kVAR * mile 2
KVAR = = 1185.7
0.000422 * 4

28-Mar-21 90
 Capacitor banks switching control

 Several options for controls are available for

capacitor banks. They can be classified to:
a) Simple control: these techniques does not
require any electrical measurements.
– Time clock: The simplest scheme: the controller
switches capacitors on and off based on the time of
day. This control is the cheapest but also the most
susceptible to energizing the capacitor at the wrong
time.
– Temperature: Another simple control; the
controller switches the capacitor bank on or off
depending on temperature.

28-Mar-21 91
 Capacitor banks

b) More complicated control: these techniques

require different electrical measurements like:
– Voltage:
• The capacitor switches on and off, based on voltage
magnitude.
• Voltage control is most appropriate when the primary role
of a capacitor is voltage support and regulation.
• Voltage-controlled capacitor banks have bandwidths
which should be at least 3 or 4 V (on a 120-V scale).

28-Mar-21 92
 Capacitor banks

– Vars:
• The capacitor uses var measurements to
determine switching.
• This is the most accurate method of ensuring
that the capacitor is on at the appropriate times
for maximum reduction of losses.
• Like the voltage control technique, there is a
bandwidth for switching of each capacitor bank
to prevent excessive switching operations in
most cases.

28-Mar-21 93
 Control Methods used for Switched Capacitors

Type of Control Pole Mounted Banks on Distribution Substation

Feeders Banks
Percent Percent

Voltage 16.6 30.8

Current 4.9 2.4

Time 59.8 16.3

Voltage-Current 7.2 12.6

Voltage-Time 5.1 6.3

Manual* 6.2 28.4

Others 0.2 3.2

Total 100.0 100.0

* Manual includes any switching directly or indirectly caused by the dispatcher

28-Mar-21 94
 Capacitor Switching Consideration

In many cases it is desirable to install

several steps of switched capacitor units.
This is particularly true if the load reactive
power requirements fluctuates during the
day.
When a de-energized capacitor is energized,
the capacitor behaves as a short circuit.
The inductance of the source/line will limit
the current.
28-Mar-21 95
 Capacitor Switching Consideration

 The calculation of currents during capacitor

switching is extremely important in capacitor
applications.
 Both contactors and circuit breakers used in
capacitor switching are limited in the amount of
momentary current the contacts can safely
withstand.
 This current will be also at high frequency
compared to system frequency which will produce
high frequency voltage spikes in the system.

28-Mar-21 96
 Switching Single Capacitor Bank

 Exact calculations of capacitor switching currents

are extremely difficult manually, so the following
assumptions will be made:
a) The system will be analyzed on a single phase
basis.
b) The source will be modeled as a DC voltage
source.
c) The DC voltage will have a magnitude equal to
the peak line to neutral system voltage.
d) Resistances will be ignored.
28-Mar-21 97
 Switching Single Capacitor Bank

 The equivalent circuit is shown below

2 .VLL
Vo =
3
The capacitance per phase of the
capacitor bank is:
MVARrated
C=
2. . f rated .(kVLL _ rated ) 2
The capacitor switching current is:

Vo / s
I ( s) =
sLs + (1 / sC )
28-Mar-21 98
 Switching Single Capacitor Bank
Vo / Ls
I ( s) = 2
s + (1 / Ls C )
Re-arranging the equation:
 o 
1/ 2
C   
I ( s ) = Vo    s2 +  2 
L  o 
Where:
1
o =
Ls C

1/ 2 1/ 2
C  C 
i (t ) = Vo   sin( o t ) I max = Vo  
L L

28-Mar-21 99
Example 9:

A 1200-kVAR, 4.16-kV capacitor bank is installed

on a plant bus. The plant bus is supplied from a
5000-kVA, 69kV-4.16/2.4 kV transformer having
an impedance of 7%. Neglecting the impedance of
the source and resistance determine the maximum
instantaneous value and the frequency of the
inrush current. Also, determine the inductance of
the inductors that must be added to reduce the
inrush current.

28-Mar-21 100
Example 9-solution:

The transformer inductive reactance is:

X = 0.07.
(4.16kV )
2
= 0.242
5MVA
0.242
The transformer inductance is: L= = 6.43 10 −4 H
2 .60

The capacitance per phase is equal to:

1.2MVAR −4
C= = 1.84  10 F
2 .60.(4.16kV ) 2

2 .4160
The peak source voltage is: Vo = = 3396V
3
1/ 2
 1.84 10 −4 
I max = 3396 
−4 
= 1817 A
 6.43 10 
28-Mar-21 101
Example 9-solution:

The frequency of the transient inrush current is

1
o = = 2909rad = 463Hz
(1.84 10 −4
.6.43 10 )
− 4 1/ 2

The total amount of inductance to limit the

maximum current to 1000 A is:
Vo2
Ls = 2 .C = 2.12 10 −3 H
I max

The inductance to be added will be

equal to:
Ladded = 2.12 10−3 − 6.4310−4  1.5mH

28-Mar-21 102