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TechTopics No. 20
Power factor correction capacitor - sizing for motors
Power factor is the ratio of the real power (kW) to the apparent
power (kVA), as shown in the figure below. Mathematically,
the power factor is the cosine of the angle .
kW (real power)
corrected
kVAR corrected
uncorrected
kVAR added to
improve PF
(The factor shown in the table is the difference in the
tangents of the power factor angle for uncorrected and
corrected PF.)
kVARmotor magnetizing =
no-load (A) x motor voltage (kV) x 1.732
( Note: This is not mathematically correct, but the error is
less than one percent provided the no-load power factor is
less than about 14 percent.)
5. Compare (desired) kVAR required for correction to 0.90 x (no-load)
kVARmotor magnetizing. Select capacitors equal to the desired kVAR,
but never more than 0.90 x no-load kVAR. If this does not
match a standard capacitor size, use the next smaller size.
References:
ANSI/IEEE 18-1992, Shunt Power Capacitors, clause 8.3.1
ANSI/NFPA 70-2011, National Electrical Code (NEC),
Article 460
ANSI/NFPA 70-1981, National Electrical Code (NEC),
Article 460-7(a)
ANSI/IEEE 141-1993, Recommended Practice for Electric
Power Distribution for Industrial Plants, clause 8.9
Beeman, D. Industrial Power Systems Handbook, McGrawHill (1955), Chapter 8.
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0.714
0.740
0.767
0.794
0.821
0.849
0.863
0.878
0.892
0.907
0.923
0.938
0.954
0.970
0.987
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61
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0.732
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0.787
0.815
0.829
0.843
0.858
0.873
0.888
0.904
0.920
0.936
0.953
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62
0.646
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0.699
0.726
0.753
0.781
0.795
0.810
0.825
0.839
0.855
0.870
0.886
0.903
0.919
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63
0.613
0.639
0.666
0.693
0.720
0.748
0.763
0.777
0.792
0.807
0.822
0.837
0.853
0.870
0.887
0.904
64
0.581
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0.634
0.661
0.688
0.716
0.731
0.745
0.760
0.775
0.790
0.805
0.821
0.838
0.854
0.872
65
0.549
0.576
0.602
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0.685
0.699
0.714
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0.683
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67
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0.624
0.638
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0.667
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0.729
0.745
0.762
0.779
68
0.459
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0.512
0.539
0.566
0.594
0.608
0.623
0.637
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0.667
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0.699
0.715
0.732
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69
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0.537
0.565
0.579
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0.608
0.623
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0.654
0.670
0.686
0.703
0.720
70
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0.508
0.536
0.550
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0.579
0.594
0.609
0.625
0.641
0.657
0.674
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71
0.372
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0.452
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0.522
0.536
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0.566
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0.613
0.629
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72
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0.601
0.618
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0.530
0.546
0.563
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75
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76
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77
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0.359
0.373
0.388
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0.433
0.449
0.466
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0.500
78
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0.347
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79
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80
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81
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82
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83
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0.246
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0.326
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84
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0.134
0.162
0.176
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0.267
0.283
0.300
0.317
85
0.000
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0.107
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0.150
0.164
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0.109
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0.102
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0.063
0.080
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0.016
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0.067
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0.017
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