POWER FACTOR CORRECTIONS

What is Power Factor

Unitless number used in alternating current circuits

Power Factor = ___Active Power (kW)___

Apparent Power (kVA)

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 Power Triangle
Foam = Reactive Power (kVAr) Power Triangle
Useless but still needed !
Active Power (kW) P = V I cos
Ɵ Reactive
Power (kVAr)
S =V
I* = Q = V I sin 
P+
jQ

The whole
glass =
Engineering Formulas – Trigonometry
Apparent ✓ Power Factor = cos Ɵ = Active Power (kW)/ Apparent
Power (kVA) Power (kVA)

✓ True Power (kW) = Apparent Power (kVA) x cos Ɵ

✓ Reactive Power (kVAr) = Apparent Power (kVA) x sine Ɵ

✓ Apparent Power (kVA) = sqrt(True Power (kW)2 +

Reactive Power (kVAr)2)
Milk tea = True Power (kW) 3
Useful, quench the thirst = does the work !
 Induction Motor Comparison
Motor 1 Motor 2

Output : 120 kW Output : 120 kW

Supply : 600 V Supply : 600 V
Pf : 1.0 Pf : 0.6

How much current (I) is the motors require to draw in each case?

I
+

600 V Load
120 kW
-

4
 Induction Motor Comparison

S = P/cos Ɵ = 120 kW/1.0 S = P/cos Ɵ = 120 kW/0.6

= 120 kVA = 200 kVA

I* = S/ V = 120 kVA/600V I* = S/V = 200 kVA/600V

= 200 A = 333 A

𝐐 = 𝑺𝟐 − 𝑷𝟐 = 𝟐𝟎𝟎𝟐 − 𝟏𝟐𝟎𝟐
= 160 kVar

133 more amperes in order to do the same amount of work (P)!

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PF for Industrial Loads

6
 PF for Residential Loads

Name and description of Load V (RMS) A (RMS) DPF Watts THD (%)
TV Sony 1996 248 0.460 0.97 67 65.00
Office PC 2003 232 0.848 1.00 154 53.30
Compact Fl Lamp (CFL) Philip 248 0.107 0.97 11 53.60
Microwave Sanyo 1996 243 6.200 0.99 1420 29.30
Magnetic Ballast Fl Lamp 247 0.464 0.53 61 8.00
Water Filter ELKEN 2005 243 2.240 0.82 350 1.13
Induction Cooker Buffalo 2007 236 6.720 0.64 650 4.68
Refrigerator Panasonic 2005 240 3.820 0.97 800 20.76
LCD TV Samsung 2009 239 0.480 0.89 100 15.97
Air Cond Fuji 2006 239 3.690 0.93 760 16.09
Refrigerator Panasonic 2008 252 0.700 0.78 100 9.90
MicroWave Samsung 1992 234 4.480 0.57 300 19.16
PC HP 2009 236 0.510 0.94 100 42.86
ThermoPotPant Pensonic 2007 234 3.180 0.98 700 5.71
TV Samsung 2008 250 0.500 0.99 100 52.76
Washing Machine LG 2001 234 4.480 0.68 400 8.29

o The bulk of electricity in houses is used to either heat things up (space heaters, ovens, cooktops,
water heaters) or cool things down (air conditioners, refrigerators.) These either have intrinsically
good power factor or they come with power factor correction in-built
o Other residential appliances, though they have poor power factor, but they also don't draw much
power compared to the heating/cooling devices listed above. 7
 What Cause Poor PF?

Resistive Inductive
Capacitive
Inductive Lighting Motors
Power Factor Correction
Heating Elements Transformers
Filtering
Chokes

Purely Resistive load Purely inductive load Purely Capacitive load

➢ V and I in phase ➢ I lags V by 90° ➢ I leads V by 90°
90 degrees
90 degrees
+ Voltage
Voltage + Voltage
Current Current
Current

0 0

-
-
Purely Capacitive Circuit

Resistance equals Inductance Resistance equals Capacitance

➢ I lags V by 45° ➢ I leads V by 45°
45 degrees 45 degrees
Voltage
Voltage
Current
Current

8
 Why fix PF?

Release system
Reduce power capacity and
imports from the delay/avoid
grid network
reinforcements

Benefit of PF
Corrections

Improved voltage
Reduce power level in the
losses network

9
 Power Factor Corrections

➢ Reactance of the opposite type is added to the circuit to cancel

the reactive component (i.e add capacitive load to a lagging
circuit, add inductive load to a leading circuit)
➢ However, in practice, almost all loads (commercial, industrial and
residential) are inductive.
➢ Hence, almost all power factor correction consists of adding a
capacitance in parallel to the load.
Impact of power-factor
correction on the
power
triangle

Q’T < QT

10
Power Factor Corrections

➢Capacitor bank – supply reactive

power almost at the point of
consumption.
➢Economic consideration - $$
➢Technical consideration – size of the
device, where to install, type (fix or
auto)

Capacitor bank in shipboard power

panel for power factor correction 11
 Power Factor Corrections

Calculate the reactive power (Q) of the load

Insert a component in parallel to the load that will cancel out the
reactive power
e.g. If the load has QLD=512 VAR, insert a capacitor with QC=-512 VAR

Calculate the reactance (X) that will give this value of Q.

Calculate the component value (F or H) required to provide the same

amount of reactance.
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 Calculating the Compensator Value

Start with 𝑆 = 𝑉𝐼 ∗ but V = 𝑍𝐼 P = 0 R=0 (1)

If the load is purely reactive, 𝑆 = 0 + 𝑗𝑄 and 𝑍 = 0 + 𝑗𝑋 (2)

Then Eq. (1) becomes 𝑄 = 𝑉𝐼 and V = 𝑗𝑋𝐼 (3)

𝑉
Replacing I = 𝑗𝑋 from Eq. (3) into 𝑗𝑄 = 𝑉𝐼 ∗ , then we have

𝑉 𝑉2
𝑗𝑄 = 𝑉 ∗ =
𝑗𝑋 𝑋

If we know the value of Q that we need to compensate in the circuit as well as

the V supplied to the system, we can calculate the value of the reactance (either
capacitance or inductance value) needed to cancel out the same amount of Q.

𝑉2
𝑋=
𝑄
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 Example 4.1

Two load Z1 = 100 + j0 ꭥ and Z2 = 10 + j20 ꭥ are connected across a 200 Vrms ,
60 Hz source as shown below.
I I1 I2
10 
200 V 100 
j 20 

a) Find the total active and reactive power, the total currents flowing in the
circuit and the power factor at the source.

b) Calculate the capacitance of the capacitor that should be connected to the

circuit to improve the overall power factor to 0.8 lagging.

c) Draw the final circuit with the capacitor in (b) connected to ensure
successful power factor compensation.

d) Determine the new apparent power and the new total current flowing in the
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circuit.
 Solution 4.1 (a)

2000 2000
I1 = = 2 0  A I2 = = 4 − j8A
100 10 + j 20

S1 = V I 1* = 2000(2 − j 0) = 400 W + j 0 var

S 2 = V I 2* = 2000(4 + j 8) = 800 W + j 1600var

Total apparent power and current are :

S = S1 + S2 = 1200 + j1600 = 200053.13 VA

S * 2000 − 53.13
I= = = 10 − 53.13 A
V* 2000

Power factor at the source is :

PF = cos (53.13) = 0.6 lagging
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 Solution 4.1 (b)

Total real power P = 1200 W at the new power factor 0.8 lagging. Therefore :

  = cos−1 (0.8) = 36.87 Q

Q = P tan   = 1200 tan ( 36.87 ) = 900 var
Q
The Q that
QC = 1600 − 900 = 700 var need to be
V
2
( 200 )
2 compensated! 
XC = = = 57.14 
QC 700 QC P
1 106
Xc = C= = 46.42F
2 f C 2 (60)(57.14)

I I1 I2 IC
The total power and the new current are
10 
200 V 100  C
S  = 1200 + j 900 = 1500 36.87
j 20 
S  * 1500 − 36.87
I = = = 7.5 − 36.87
V* 2000

Note the reduction in the supply current from 10 A to 7.5 A 16

 Vp, Vp-p, Vrms

𝒙𝟑
𝒙𝟐
𝒙𝟏

𝒙𝒏

For sinusoidal wave

𝟏 𝑽𝒑
𝑽𝒓𝒎𝒔 = (𝒙𝟐𝟏 + 𝒙𝟐𝟐 + ⋯ + 𝒙𝟐𝒏 ) =
𝒏 𝟐

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 Example 4.2

Three loads are connected in parallel across a 1400 Vrms, 60 Hz

single phase supply as shown in figure below.
I I1 I2 IC Q

1400 V Q
1 2 3

QC P

Load 1: Inductive load, 125 kVA at 0.28 power factor.

Load 2: Capacitive load, 10 kW at 40 kvar.
Load 3: Resistive load of 15 kW.

a) Find the total kW, kVar, kVA and the supply power factor.

b) A capacitor of negligible resistance is connected in parallel with the above

loads to improve the power factor to 0.8 lagging. Determine the kVar rating
of this capacitor and the capacitance in µF.

c) Determine the new current flowing in each load 1, 2, and 3. 18

 Solution 4.2 (a)

An inductive load has a lagging power factor, the capacitive load has a
leading factor, and the resistive load has a unity power factor

For Load 1:

  = cos−1 (0.28) = 73.74 lagging The total current is:

S * 100,000 − 53.13
The load complex powers are I= = = 71.43 − 53.13A
V* 14000
S1 = 12573.74 kVA = 35 kW + j 120 kvar
The supply power factor is
S 2 = 10 kW − j 40 kvar
PF = cos (53.13) = 0.6 lagging
S 3 = 15 kW + j 0 kvar

The total apparent power is

S = P + j Q = S1 + S2 + S3
= ( 35 + j 120 ) + (10 − j 40 ) + (15 + j 0 )
= 60kW + j 80kvar = 10053.13kVA

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 Solution 4.2 (b)

Total real power P = 60 kW at the new power factor of 0.8 lagging results in the new
reactive power Q .

  = cos−1 (0.8) = 36.87

Q = 60 tan (36.87) = 45 kvar

Therefore, the required capacitor kvar is

QC = 80 − 45 = 35 kvar

V
2
14002 106
XC = = = 56  C= = 47.37 F
QC 35, 000 2 (60)(56)

And the new current is

S  * 60,000 − j 45,000
I = = = 53.57 − 36.87A
V* 14000

Note the reduction in the supply current from 71.43 A to 53.57 A

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 Exercise 4.3

Three loads are connected in parallel across a 12.47 kV, line to line, three-
phase power supply
Load 1: Inductive load, 60 kW and 660 kvar

Load 2: Capacitive load, 240 kW at 0.8 power factor

Load 3: Resistive load of 60 kW

Find the total complex power, power factor, and the phase current.

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 Solution Exercise 4.3

𝑆1 = 𝟔𝟎 + 𝒋𝟔𝟔𝟎 𝒌𝑽𝑨 Side Note – be careful with the

unit of the value given. For
𝜃 = cos−1 0.8 = 36.8° example, if load 2 was
𝑄 = 𝑃 ∗ tan 36.87° = 180 specified to be capacitive with
𝑆2 = 240 − 𝑗𝑄 = 𝟐𝟒𝟎 − 𝒋𝟏𝟖𝟎 𝒌𝑽𝑨 240 kVA, 0.8 pf, then S2 would
be :
𝑆3 = 𝟔𝟎 + 𝒋𝟎 𝒌𝑽𝑨 𝜃 = cos −1 0.8 = 36.8°
𝑆2 = 240∠ − 36.8°
= 192.18 − 𝑗143.77 𝑘𝑉𝐴
𝑆𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 = 𝑆1 + 𝑆2 + 𝑆3 = 𝟑𝟔𝟎 + 𝐣𝟒𝟖𝟎 𝐤𝐕𝐀
= 𝟔𝟎𝟎∠ 𝟓𝟑. 𝟏𝟑°

PF = cos 53.13° = 𝟎. 𝟔 𝒍𝒂𝒈𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒈

∗
𝑆3∅ 600∠ − 53.13°
𝐼𝐿 = ∗ = = 𝟒𝟖. 𝟏𝟐∠ − 𝟓𝟑. 𝟏𝟑°
𝑉𝐿𝐿 12.47

𝟒𝟖.𝟏𝟐∠−𝟓𝟑.𝟏𝟑° 22
𝐼𝑃 = = 𝟐𝟕. 𝟕𝟖∠ − 𝟓𝟑. 𝟏𝟑°
3
 Power Charges
→ Surcharge Imposed by TNB to Industrial and Commercial Customer
➢ Reactive power charges occur when the power factor of electric users falls
below a certain level.
➢ This level is defined by the electricity supplier (TNB) – typically starts at around
0.95 and below.
➢ Pf for commercial building usually around 0.95-0.92, industrial building
typically < 0.7
➢ Rule of thumb
Good : 1.0 - 0.95
Poor : 0.95 – 0.85
Bad : 0.85 and below

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 Example 4.4
A Power factor surcharge is imposed when your power factor is less
than 0.90 (electricity supply 132kV and above) or less than 0.85 (electricity supply
below 132 kV).

Power factor surcharge for customers with electricity supply below 132 kV is calculated
as follows:-

• 1.5% surcharge of the current bill – for every 0.01 less than 0.85 power factor.
• 3% surcharge of the current bill – for every 0.01 less than 0.75 power factor.

If a customer supplied thru 400V, three phase system has a current bill of RM 3000
with 3150 kW usage, calculate the surcharge imposed to the customer if its power
factor for that month is
a) 0.75 (RM 450)
b) 0.6 (RM 1800)

Then, calculate the value of capacitor required to

i) Maximize the saving for power factor surcharge in case (a) (0.0493 F)
ii) reduce the surcharge in case (b) by 50% (0.059 F)

Calculate the new power factor, current and complex power if capacitor in (ii) is
24
installed. (pf =0.7, P=3150+j3213.3 kVA, I = 6.5∠ − 45.57°𝑘𝐴, )
 Exercise 4.5

Two impedances, Z1 = 0.8 + j5.6  and Z2 = 8 − j16 and a single-

phase motor are connected in parallel across a 200-V rms, 60-Hz
supply as shown in Figure the motor draws 5kVA at 0.8 power factor
lagging.

a)Find the complex powers S1, S2 for the two impedances, and S3 for
the motor.
b)Determine the total power taken from the supply, the supply current,
and the overall power factor.
c)A capacitor is connected in parallel with the loads. Find the kVAR and
the capacitance in µF to improve the overall power factory to unity.
What is the new line current?
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 Exercise 4.6

Three parallel three-phase loads are supplied from a 207.85-V rms, 60-
Hz three-phase supply. The loads are as follows:

Load 1: A 15 HP motor operating at full-load, 93.25 percent efficiency,

and 0.6 lagging power factor.
Load 2: A balanced resistive load that draws a total of 6kW.
Load 3: A Y-connected capacitor bank with a total rating of 16 kvar

a)What is the total system kW, kvar, power factor, and the supply
current per phase?
b)What is the system power factor and the supply current per phase
when the resistive load and induction motor are operating but the
capacitor bank is switched off?

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