Power Facct or

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Power Factor and Harmonics

Energy University Course Transcript

Slide 1
Welcome to Power Factor and Harmonics.

Slide 2
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allow you to navigate through the eLearning experience. Using your browser controls may disrupt the
normal play of the course. Click the paperclip icon to download supplemental information for this course.
Here, you will find a Schneider Electric White Paper, which offers additional information on the topic we will
discuss today. Click the Notes tab to read a transcript of the narration.

Slide 3
At the completion of the course, you will be able to:
List examples of power 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

Slide 4
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.

Slide 5
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.

Slide 6
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),
Household appliances (TV sets, microwave ovens, fluorescent lighting, light dimmers).


Slide 7
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.

Slide 8
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 V
rms
and the circulating rms current is I
rms
, the apparent power S (kVA) is the
product: V
rms
x I
rms
. 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).

Slide 9
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:
I
a
is called the "active" component of the current, and
I
r
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 l
a
= V x I x cos phi (kW)
Reactive power: Q = V x l
r
= 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.

Slide 10
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:
kVA
2
= kW
2
+ kvar
2
kvar
2
= kVA
2
kW
2
kvar = (kVA
2
kW
2
)


Lets look at the power triangle in more depth.

Slide 11
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 = (kW
2
+ kVAR
2
).

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.

Slide 12
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:
kvar
2
= kVA
2
kW
2

And here we see our solution:
kvar
2
= (5000)
2
(4000)
2

kvar
2
= 25,000,000 16,000,000
kvar
2
= 9,000,000
kvar = 9,000,000
kvar = 3,000 kvar
Lets look at another example.

Slide 13
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 = 0.88h

Slide 14
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 1000-3-2 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.

Slide 15
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.

Slide 16
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 phase-shifted 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.

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.

Slide 17
The higher current means additional losses, more CO
2
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:
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 system losses and demand power,
Reduced risks of outage, and
Extended equipment lifetime.
Lets take a closer look at the benefits of power factor correction and harmonic mitigation.

Slide 18
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.

Slide 19
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.

Slide 20
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.

Slide 21
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

Slide 22
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

Slide 23
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.

Slide 24
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.

Slide 25
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:
G
h
: Total power of the nonlinear loads
S
n
: 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 G
h
/S
n
ratio, as illustrated here.

Oversized capacitors must be selected when G
h
/S
n
exceeds 15% because harmonic currents will be
responsible for increased stress. When G
h
/S
n
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.

Slide 26
First, we have active filters. 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.

Slide 27
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.

Slide 28
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.

Slide 29
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.

Slide 30
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.

Slide 31
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.

Slide 32
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.

Slide 33
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.

Slide 34
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
kVA
2
= kW
2
+ kvar
2

kvar
2
= kVA
2
kW
2

kvar = (kVA
2
kW
2
)
Capacitor banks may be located at the medium voltage substation, low voltage main switchboard,
secondary switchboard, or machine terminals

Slide 35
Thank you for participating in this course.

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Power Factor and Harmonics

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