Power factor and harmonics: At the completion of the course, you will be able to: List examples of power

r factor and harmonics phenomena, the common causes and the common negative physical and financial impacts List methods of preventing or mitigating power factor and harmonics problems and describe their suitability for particular situations Perform power triangle calculations, and size the required power factor correction solution for a given level of correction List possible locations of mitigation solutions within an electrical network, and identify the pros and cons associated with each location. As a member of the Electrical Department staff of your company, you may have asked some of the following questions: How can we reduce the electricity bill without disruption of electricity supply? Why is our electrical installation victim of nuisance tripping or unexplained disturbances of control systems? Should we worry about the influence of electronic equipment such as adjustable speed drives, uninterruptible power supplies, induction ovens, fluorescent lighting, and IT equipment? What is the origin of those transformer vibrations? Why did we experience untimely tripping of overload relays of power factor correction capacitors? How can we avoid neutral conductor overheating? Should we complain to the utility about light flicker? If you have asked any of these questions, then this course should be very helpful by providing explanations and solutions. All these questions are basically linked to the control of Power Factor and Harmonics. Low power factor and harmonics are a frustration for electrical installations like curves and bumps are a nuisance for the motorist. On the road, this means that fuel mileage and reliability are not optimal, resulting in an increased gas bill and maintenance cost. In electrical installations, this means additional power losses and reduced energy reliability. In the context of increasing concern about energy efficiency and energy management, power factor and harmonics are important issues to consider for the management of electrical installations. Power factor correction and harmonic mitigation provide immediate benefit in terms of reduced power losses, reduced electricity bill, and the possibility to use the total system capacity. Accounting for these problems upfront yields a plethora of significant benefits, including: Reduction of electricity bill by 5 to 10% typically, Reduction of power losses which helps to prevent transformers and panels from overheating, Reduction of cable size, bringing reduced cost and easier implementation, Compliance with harmonic emission limits requested by utilities prior to connection,

 Improvement in process quality. For example, spot welding for car body assembly is sensitive to voltage fluctuations linked to poor power factor. Improvement of system availability and reliability. Harmonics can cause protection devices to trip, disrupting production and causing nuisance. Improvement in business performance: Optimized use of electricity, no disruption of operation and longer equipment life expectation. The presence of harmonics in electrical systems means that current and voltage are distorted and deviate from sinusoidal waveforms. Harmonics are superimposed waves, whose frequencies are multiples of the power frequency. The multiplying factor is called "harmonic order". Harmonic currents are caused by nonlinear loads connected to the distribution system. A load is said to be nonlinear when the current it draws does not have the same waveform as the supply voltage. The flow of harmonic currents through system impedances in turn creates voltage harmonics, which distort the supply voltage. This results in disturbances of sensitive equipment, mainly related to the circulation of currents in the grounding connections. Equipment comprising power electronics circuits are typical nonlinear loads. Such loads are increasingly frequent in all industrial, commercial and even residential installations and their percentage in overall electrical consumption is growing steadily. Examples include: Industrial equipment (welding machines, arc and induction furnaces, battery chargers), Variable Speed Drives for AC or DC motors, Uninterruptible Power Supplies, Office equipment (PCs, printers, servers), Fluorescent lighting, and Household appliances (TV sets, microwave ovens, light dimmers). Voltage fluctuation is a systematic variation of the voltage waveform or a series of random voltage changes of small dimensions, namely 95 to 105% of nominal at a low frequency. The usual origin of voltage fluctuation disturbances are motor start-up and spot welding. An example of a possible impact of voltage fluctuation disturbances is a light flicker. Voltage fluctuations are the consequences of variable voltage drop along the distribution lines and across transformer windings. This voltage drop is mainly the consequence of the circulation of reactive energy absorbed by loads such as motors. The advantages of reactive energy compensation or "power factor correction" will be shown later in this course; but first, lets talk a bit about power factor. What is power factor?

The active power P (kW) is the real power transmitted to loads such as motors, lamps, heaters and computers. The electrical active power is transformed into mechanical power, heat or light. In a circuit where the applied rms voltage is Vrms and the circulating rms current is Irms, the apparent power S (kVA) is the product: Vrms x Irms. The apparent power is the basis for electrical equipment rating. The Power Factor () is the ratio of the active power P (kW) to the apparent power S (kVA). For sinusoidal (undistorted) voltage and current, a vector representation is possible and helpful. For most electrical loads like motors, the current I is lagging behind the voltage V by an angle phi. The current vector I can be split into 2 components: Ia is called the "active" component of the current, and Ir is called the "reactive" component of the current. For sinusoidal voltage and current with a phase angle, the power factor is equal to cos of the angle, called Displacement Power Factor (DPF). The diagram drawn up for currents also applies to powers, by multiplying each current by a common voltage V. Thus, we define apparent power, active power and reactive power, as you see here. Apparent power: S = V x l (kVA) Active power: P = V x la = V x I x cos phi (kW) Reactive power: Q = V x lr = V x I x sin phi (kvar) Its important to note however, in a three phase system, these equations change just a bit. And we see that here. Apparent power: S = 3 x U x I (kVA) Active power: P = 3 x U x I x cos phi (kW) Reactive power: Q = 3 x U x I x sin phi (kvar) Here, U is the phase to phase voltage. It is important to know how to size the required power factor correction (PFC) solution for a given level of correction. This can be accomplished by working through the power triangle calculation. Here are some power triangle calculations: kVA2 = kW2 + kvar2 kvar2 = kVA2 kW2 kvar = (kVA2 kW2) Lets look at the power triangle in more depth. The power triangle shown here is the simplest way to understand the effects of reactive power. The figure illustrates the relationship of active (real) and reactive (imaginary or magnetizing) power. The active power (represented by the horizontal leg) is the actual

power, or watts that produce real work. This component is the energy transfer component, which represents fuel burned at the power plant. The reactive power or magnetizing power, (represented by the vertical leg of the triangle) is the power required to produce the magnetic fields to enable the real work to be done. Magnetizing power is inherently present in transformers and motors. Reactive power is normally supplied by generators, capacitors and synchronous motors. The longest leg of the triangle, labeled apparent power, represents the vector sum of the reactive power and the real power components. Mathematically, this is equal to: kVA = (kW2 + kvar2). As the apparent power is the basis for electrical equipment rating, there is a big benefit to reduce the reactive power, for a given amount of active power transferred to the loads. Thats why utilities are generally applying penalties on reactive power, in order to influence customers to lower the reactive power consumption. Here we see the typical value of Power Factor for different kinds of electrical equipment. Motor (0.8) Incandescent lamp (1) Compact fluorescent lamp (0.5) Discharge lamp (0.6) Resistance oven (1) Computer (0.65) Lets move on now and do a couple of example exercises. A facility is operating with a demand of 4000 kW. The 5000 kVA transformer is fully loaded. How many kvar are required to bring the power factor back to unity? Looking at the information we have been given it makes the most sense to use the power triangle formula: kvar2 = kVA2 kW2 And here we see our solution: kvar2 = (5000)2 (4000)2 kvar2 = 25,000,000 16,000,000 kvar2 = 9,000,000 kvar = 9,000,000 kvar = 3,000 kvar Lets look at another example. Consider a 200 HP electric motor that has the following information on the name plate: 460 volts 228 amps Three phase

 93% efficient All at full load What is the power factor of this motor? Remember the power factor ratio: PF = kW / kVA = active power / apparent power First calculate the kW rating of the motor from the horsepower using the formula. Remember that the horsepower given on the nameplate is the output power on the shaft. Therefore you must not only convert from horsepower to kW, but must also calculate the input power from the output power. In countries using metric units, the nameplate would normally give the output power in kW and you would be able to skip the horsepower conversion step. 1 HP = 0.746 kW Efficiency = Output power / Input power And so Input power in kW = HP x 0.746 kW x Load factor / Efficiency The data given told us that the motor is at full load, so that is 100% or 1. The efficiency is 93% or 0.93. kW = 200 HP x 0.746 kW x 1 /0.93 If we do that calculation, we'll see that we come out to 160.4 kW. Now, calculate the kVA. In a three phase system, kVA = 3 x U x I (and remember - U is the phase to phase voltage) kVA = 1.73 x 460/1000 x 228 kVA = 181.7 Take that one step further PF = 160.4/181.7 = 0.88 For many types of electrical equipment the difference between apparent power (VA) and active or real power (W) is very slight and can be ignored. However, for some equipment such as computers and compact fluorescent lamps, the difference is very large and important. Many desktop personal computers present a nonlinear load to the AC supply. This is inherent to the power supply design known as "capacitor input, switch mode power supply". In a study done by PC Magazine, it was found that typical personal computer systems exhibit a power factor of .65 which means that the apparent power (VA) was 50% larger than the active power (W)!

Information Technology equipment including servers, routers, hubs, and storage systems almost universally use a different power supply design known as "Power Factor Corrected". These devices present a very linear load to the AC supply and do not generate harmonic currents. In fact they are one of the cleanest loads on the power grid and generate less harmonic current than many other devices such as fluorescent lighting or variable speed motors. Ten years ago, these devices were nonlinear loads like personal computers, but today all of these loads are subject to international regulation IEC 610003-2 which require them to be made with the "Power Factor Corrected" design. Lets move forward and discuss how power factor and harmonics relate to energy efficiency. Let's compare three different situations. In the first, ideal situation, voltage and current are purely sinusoidal curves, and in phase. For a given transferred active power, the rms current is equal to I. In the second situation, voltage and current are purely sinusoidal curves, but phaseshifted by an angle phi. With displacement power factor (abbreviated to DPF) = cos phi = 0.7, the rms current is equal to 1.43 x I, so it is increased by more than 40% for the same active power. With power factor equal to 0.7, the rms current has to be higher in order to get the same active power. The rms current must be 1.43 times I, the multiplying factor being the inverse of the power factor. In the third situation, the current is distorted, such that the Total Harmonic Distortion (THDi) is equal to 100%. THDi is an indicator of the amount of distortion on the signal. Then, by using calculations not detailed in this course, the resulting rms current is equal to 1.41 x I, so again increased by more than 40% for the same active power. In this case, the power factor is deteriorated by the distortion, and not by the phase shifting between voltage and current. The maximum active power is transmitted to a load when voltage and current are undistorted and in phase. When voltage and current are phase-shifted, the instantaneous power (P = V x I) is negative when the signal signs are opposite. The average power is then reduced. With a distorted current, the instantaneous power is negative or close to zero during a significant period of time. The average power is then also reduced. The higher current means additional losses, more CO2 emissions, premature aging of equipment, higher electricity cost, nuisance tripping of over-current detection relays, higher equipment cost, and possible voltage fluctuations. The circulation of harmonic currents through the system impedance creates voltage harmonics resulting in voltage distortion.

That is why power factor correction (PFC) and proper harmonic mitigation contribute to improve competitiveness of companies in different ways. Lets take a closer look at the benefits of power factor correction and harmonic mitigation. Some of the benefits include: Reduced overloading on the electrical system, thereby releasing useable capacity This could avoid the installation of an additional transformer in case of extension of the installation Reduced demand power Reduced risks of outage, and Extended equipment lifetime Other benefits include: Reduced electricity bill Low power factor and harmonics are resulting in increased power demand and reactive energy consumption. Both aspects are part of the electricity bill paid to the Electricity utility. Reduced power losses Low power factor and harmonics are responsible for increased current for a given active power and for additional losses. Reduced cable size The cable size is determined according to the electrical current requirements, so reduced current means less expensive and easier-to-install cables. Improved process quality Process quality or machine operation may be impaired by voltage fluctuations linked to variations of reactive energy. The same problems may be produced by a high level of distortion, producing disturbances of sensitive equipment (computer management system, sensors) Improved business performance Capex is reduced by lower cost of equipment such as transformer, cables, and switchgear. Opex is reduced by reduction of power losses, reduction of subscribed power, and elimination of reactive energy penalties. System availability and reliability are improved. Now that we have discussed the benefits of power factor correction and harmonic mitigation, lets talk about how best to mitigate those problems.

Lets look at diagnostics and solutions! Monitoring is the best diagnostics tool! It provides: An early warning of impending problems which may appear after a change of circuit configuration Determination of the nature and origin of a disturbance. For example, monitoring can indicate whether the disturbance originates inside or outside the installation Validation of quality contract compliance Some examples of Monitoring Equipment include: Power monitors and circuit monitors: PowerLogic PM, CM, and ION Series Protection relays: Sepam Trip units: Micrologic Some examples of solutions include: Capacitor banks: Varset Transient-free capacitor switching: Varset Fast Harmonic filters: Accusine, Sinewave Fast reactive energy compensators: Accusine, Sinewave Lets discuss these solutions in further detail. Capacitor banks are the basic solution for power factor correction. The main objective is to avoid reactive energy penalties charged by the utility. Equipment may be connected at different levels in the installation: MV substation, LV main switchboard, LV secondary switchboard, and machine terminals. Compensation of an installation is determined in 4 steps: 1. Calculation of reactive power 2. Selection of compensation mode (global, by sector, local) 3. Selection of compensation type (fixed, by steps, dynamic) 4. Consideration of harmonics The first step is calculation of reactive power. The objective is to calculate the reactive power Qc (kvar) to be installed to increase the cos phi to the targeted value. This is based on the formula we see here: Qc = P (tan phi tan phi') Lets look at an example. A facility has a demand of 3500 kW and a power factor of 0.78. What size of capacitor would be required to improve the power factor to 0.9? As we learned earlier in this course, DPF is equal to cos phi. Here we see that is 0.78, and the tan phi is 0.8. The improved cos phi' is 0.9, which means tan phi' equals 0.48. Looking at our formula, the reactive power to be installed is Qc = 3500 * (0.80 - 0.48) = 1120 kvar

The second step is selection of compensation mode (global, by sector, local). When looking at global compensation, the capacitor bank is connected at the supply end of the installation. This is ideal for stable and continuous loads. When looking at compensation by sectors, the capacitor bank is connected at the supply end of the sector to be compensated. This is ideal for extended installations including workshops with varying load systems. When looking at individual (or local) compensation, the capacitor bank is directly connected to the terminals of the machine (generally motors). This is the best technical solution because reactive energy is supplied where it is needed. One major disadvantage to using this solution is the added substantial cost of multiple banks rather than one central bank. The decision to take on that cost will depend on many parameters specific to the installation, for example, cost of reactive energy, extension, number of main switchboards, and power of individual loads. The third step is selection of compensation type (fixed, automatic by steps, or dynamic) Different types of compensation shall be adopted depending on the performance requirements and complexity of control: Fixed, by connection of a fixed-value capacitor bank, Automatic, by connection of different number of steps, allowing the adjustment of the reactive energy to the requested value, Dynamic, for compensation of highly fluctuating loads. First, well talk about fixed compensation. This arrangement uses one or more capacitor(s) to provide a constant level of compensation. Control may be either: Manual: by circuit-breaker or load-break switch, Semi-automatic: by contactor, Direct connection to an appliance and switched with it. These capacitors are applied: At the terminals of inductive loads (mainly motors), At busbars supplying numerous small motors and inductive appliances for which individual compensation would be too costly, In cases where the load factor is reasonably constant. Now well discuss automatic compensation. This kind of compensation provides automatic control and adapts the quantity of reactive power to the variations of the installation in order to maintain the targeted cos phi. The equipment is applied at points in an installation where the active power and/or reactive power variations are relatively large, for example: At the busbars of a main distribution switch-board, At the terminals of a heavily-loaded feeder cable.

Where the kvar rating of the capacitors is less than, or equal to 15% of the supply transformer rating, a fixed value of compensation is appropriate. Above the 15% level, it is advisable to install an automatically-controlled bank of capacitors. Control is usually provided by contactors. For compensation of highly fluctuating loads, fast and highly repetitive connection of capacitors is necessary, and static switches must be used. And finally well discuss dynamic compensation. This kind of compensation is requested when fluctuating loads are present, and voltage fluctuations should be avoided. The principle of dynamic compensation is to associate a fixed capacitor bank and an electronic var compensator, providing either leading or lagging reactive currents. The result is a continuously varying and fast compensation, perfectly suitable for loads such as lifts, crushers, and spot welding. Now lets look at the final step: Consideration of harmonics. When capacitor banks are installed in the presence of harmonics, two parameters shall be considered: Gh: Total power of the nonlinear loads Sn: Rated power of the supply transformer Different types of equipment must be selected depending on the level of the network harmonic emission. The selection is based on the value of the Gh/Sn ratio, as illustrated here. Oversized capacitors must be selected when Gh/Sn exceeds 15% because harmonic currents will be responsible for increased stress. When Gh/Sn exceeds 25%, a series reactor is necessary to limit the circulation of harmonic currents, harmful to the capacitors. This is called a detuned reactor because capacitors and reactor are set up in a resonant circuit configuration, not tuned to the frequency of any harmonic order. Passive filters are implemented when power factor correction is requested with a high level of existing harmonic distortion. They consist of reactors and capacitors set up in a resonant circuit configuration, tuned to the frequency of the harmonic order to be eliminated. A system may be composed of a number of filters to eliminate several harmonic orders. Here we have discussed consideration of harmonics when selecting a capacitor bank for power factor correction. But what if you need to mitigate harmonics in the rest of your site? Lets move on now and discuss the various forms of filters. The newest available technology is called active filter. Active filters are systems employing power electronics, to provide the harmonic currents required by nonlinear loads and thereby avoiding distortion on the power system. The active filter injects, in opposite phase, the harmonics drawn by the load, such that the line current remains sinusoidal. Then there are hybrid filters. Hybrid filters are systems including a passive filter and an active filter in a single unit. They cumulate the advantages of both technologies, providing a high performance and cost effective solution.

Active or hybrid filters are also capable of compensating the fluctuations of reactive energy. In this mode of operation, they are also known as "Static Var Compensators" (SVC) or "Hybrid Var Compensators" (HVC). Lets move on now to discuss mitigating variable speed drive (VSD) power problems. Capacitor-less (C-less) technology, combined with an advanced control algorithm, decreases the THDi by 50% compared to traditional technology. This solution, which is dedicated to centrifugal pumps, fans and HVAC machines, has been adopted by leading manufacturers. AC-Line or DC-link reactors (chokes) are commonly used with drives up to about 500 kW unit power in order to smooth the line current and so reduce the distortion. When a large number of drives are present within an installation, the use of AC-line or DC-link chokes for each individual drive is recommended. This measure increases the lifetime of the drives and enables use of cost effective mitigation solutions at installation level, such as active filters for example. A special configuration called "Multi-pulse arrangement" is usually used for drives above 400 kW. Precondition is a dedicated transformer directly supplied from the MV network, with a 3-winding arrangement. This limits the harmonic emission considerably and usually no further mitigation is necessary. Multi-pulse solutions are the most efficient in terms of power losses. Compliance to the most stringent of standards is also easily achievable. The best performing solution concerning harmonic mitigation with drives is an electronically controlled circuitry, called "Active Front End" (AFE), limiting the THDi below 5%. All the applicable standard requirements can be met. No detailed system evaluation is necessary, making this solution the easiest to implement. In addition to harmonic mitigation, power regeneration and power factor correction are inherent. Of course, harmonic mitigation for drives can also be provided by active filters. This solution is particularly beneficial for multiple-drive configurations. As we conclude lets review how appropriate design affects energy efficiency. In electrical installations three different aspects should be considered: Energy savings: reduction of energy consumption, Energy cost optimization: reduction of the cost of energy paid to the utility, and Availability and reliability: minimize the risk of outage, and also sustain an efficient equipment operation. Power factor correction and Harmonic mitigation have an impact on all 3 aspects, since these allow: Reduction of the power losses in transformers, cables, switchgear, motors, capacitors, up to 5%, Eliminate utility charges for reactive energy (kvarh)

 Reduction of the demand power (in MVA), resulting in lower tariffs, Use of the total system capacity, without risk of overload, nuisance tripping or premature aging of equipment. To summarize lets review some of the information that we have covered throughout this course. Power factor and harmonic phenomena include power losses, overloading of the electrical system, light flickers, disturbance of sensitive equipment, and nuisance tripping of circuit breakers The impacts of these phenomena include increased utility bills for reactive power and power losses, inability to use the full electrical system capacity, loss of production due to power outage, and reduced equipment lifetime Common causes of low power factor include motors, fluorescent lamps, discharge lamps, personal computers Common causes of harmonics include variable speed drives, welding equipment, and fluorescent lamps Power factor and harmonic phenomena may be mitigated by capacitor banks, detuned reactors, passive, active or hybrid filters Use the power triangle calculations to know how to size the required power factor correction solution for a given level of correction kVA2 = kW2 + kvar2 kvar2 = kVA2 kW2 kvar = (kVA2 kW2) Capacitor banks may be located at the medium voltage substation, low voltage main switchboard, secondary switchboard, or machine terminals