AUTOMATIC POWER FACTOR CONTROLLING PANEL

1. 1.1 Defination

Introduction

There are two type of electrical supplies viz. A.C. and D.C. But the mostly electrical generated in the form of A.C. Then by using transformer it is step up to high voltage for transmission purpose. At the end it is utilized by the various electrical equipments reduced voltage. The power factor is defined as It is cosine of angle between the voltage and current in an A.C. circuit.

HFDHvvddasdFDHFHDH
Power factor = cos V vvvV

In electrical circuit there are three main elements Resistor, Capacitor and Inductor. For purely resistive load circuit, the voltage and current are in phase with each other, so power factor of circuit is unity. For purely inductive load circuit, the current lags behind the voltage, so power factor is lagging by 90. For purely capacitive load circuit, the current leads the voltage, so power factor is leading by 90.

In other words,

It is also define as, The ratio of resistance to impedance of any circuit cos = But in actual practice in industry we find the 80% load inductive in nature( mostly as induction motor ) and remaining are in resistive in nature. So power factors commonly very between 0 to 90 (lagging).

1.2

Disadvantage of low power factor

1. Increase in load current : The power consumed by load is given by, P = VL IL cos (for single phase)

IL =
IL

From above equation load current is inversely proportionally to the power factor for constant power and voltage Hence for low power factor, load current increases.

2. Large copper loss : As the power factor is low, current drawn by the load is more. Here copper loss (I2 R) of the system as well as load increases with causes in poor efficiency.

3. Poor voltage regulation : For low power factor current magnitude increase, hence voltage drop (IZ) in all the equipments connected in line such as alternator, transformer, and transmission line etc, increases. This results in decrease in receiving end and voltage, causing poor voltage regulation.

4. Grater conductor size : Current density is given as,

Where, = I = current density A/mm2 current through conductorA cross sectional area of Conductor .mm2

a =

Hence cross sectional area

For same current density if current increases the cross sectional area of conductor has to increase. Increase in cross sectional area of conductor causes increase in weight of conductor. Hence cost of the supporting structure also increases. This increases the overall transmission cost of the system. 5. Large kVA rating of equipment: kVA rating of the alternator and transformer is

kVA = i.e. kVA rating of equipments is inversely proportional to power factor. For low power factor, the kVA rating of the equipments has to be made more. This increase the size and cost of the equipment.

CAUSES OF LOW POWER FACTOR I. All ac motors (expect over excited synchronous motors and certain type of commutator motors) and a transformer operates at lagging power factor. The power factor falls with the decrease in load. For example, an induction motor has reasonable higher as follow

Load Full load 75% of full load Half load 25% of full load No load II.

Power factor 0.85 0.8 0.7 0.5 0.2 to 0.3

Arc lamps and electric discharge lamp operate at low lagging power factor. Due to increase the supply mains voltage, which usually occurs during low load periods such as lunch hours, night hours etc, the magnetizing current of inductive reactance increase and power factor of the electrical plant as a whole comes down. The power factor at which motors operate falls due to improper maintenance and repairs of motors. In repaired motors, less wire is sometimes used then originally wound motor, therefore in such motor leakage of magnetic flux increase and power factor of the motor decrease.In case of heavily worn-out bearings, the rotor may catch at the stator. Some metal is sometimes removed for the rotor by turning instead of replacing the defective bearings. In doing so, the length of air gap between stator and rotor increase due to which greater

III.

IV.

V.

magnetizing current is required and therefore power factor drops. Industrial heating furnaces such as arc and induction furnaces operate on very lagging power factor.

Hence it is very important to maintain a good power factor for a healthy system.

The average power factor of some of the common appliances is give below:

TYPE OF LOAD Incandescent lamps Fluorescent lamps Neon lamps Arc lamps Fans Induction motors Fractional kW motors Induction heaters Resistance furnaces Arc furnaces Arc welders Induction furnaces Resistance welders

POWER FACTOR 0.9 - 1.0 0.6 - 0.8 0.4 - 0.5 0.3 - 0.4 0.5 - 0.7 0.4 - 0.8 0.4 - 0.7 0.85 0.6 0.9 0.85 0.3 0.4 0.6 0.4 0.7

Thyristorised APFC Panel

INTRODUCTION : Power (KVA) Supplied by Electricity Boards consist of Real Power (KW), which Produce energy & reactive power (KVAR) generated by Inductive Loads, which decreases the loading capacity & the efficiency of the Supply System. The Power Factor (PF) is defined as a ratio between the Real Power & the Total Power. Electricity Boards charge heavy Penalty to H.T. Consumer, if the Power Factor of the system is below a required minimum average value. Power Factor of the System can be improved by switching Capacitors as per KVA demand with the help of Automatic Power Factor Controllers. Modern Industries use Large Nos. of AC Motors, DC Drives, Rectifiers, Invertors, Compressors, Inductive Furnaces and Welding Machines, causing poor Power Factor of the System. The Reactive Power requirement in such Industries varies rapidly within every few cycles. The response speed of the conventional Power Factor Controller is not suitable to take care of rapid switching cycle. The Conventional Power Factor Control System incorporates Electromechanical Switches to Switch Capacitors and or not suitable for Fast switching where the load is rapidly changing. Also fast switching of Capacitors and Contractors results in inherent stresses on the Capacitors and on the Switchgear components. Uncompensated reactive power leads to poor Power Factor. Voltage instability, flickering, high current consumption, increased Maximum Demand, high losses, low electric supply, loading capacity and overrating of switchgears & cables results in high wear and tear and high maintenance cost. SOLUTION : Jaivic Thyristorised Automatic Power Factor Correction System is a modern Powerful System constituting a Technological Breakthrough in the field of Power Factor Control.

This new Modern System utilises Electronic Switching Element that switch Power Capacitor Banks into the new worth without creating switching transients. Connection to the network is performed with the help of ZEROCROSSING Detector, providing smooth connection to the Capacitor Banks. There is no limit to the no. of switching operations, since the Electronic switching elements do not wear out or deteriorate during the switching process. Technical Comparison : Contractor Switching 1. Network Compensation at extremely low voltage is not passible. 2. Welding of the contactor contacts due to high inrush currents resulting in dangerous over compensations. 3. Repeated and momentary Short Circuit currents due to capacitor Switching will have impact on the Life of the transformer. 4. Contactors and Capacitors deteriorate in performance, resulting in down time and non availibility of compensation. Thyristorised Switching 1. Compensation at extreely low voltage is possible. 2. No over compensation, under compensations and unbalanced compensation. 3. No inrush current. Distribution transformer never subjected to short circuit current, life of the transformer increases. 4. The Capacitor bank unit remains in useful operational service with maximum up time.

Direct On-line Contactor Switching

Thyristorised Switching (with Zero Crossing detect))

Ton

Control Command

Thyristorised switching along with zero crossing detect circuit brings the switching surge currents to almost zero. Direct On-line Contactor Switching

Switching surge current is reduced and controlled but not totally eliminated Advantages :

On-line Power Factor Correction. Fast Correction time Selectable - up to 100 ms - Cycle to Cycle - 2 Sec. / 2 min. (Optional) Zero Switch on Surge Current. Zero Differential Voltage Switching. Switching Devices Rating suitable for upto 50% THD. Increase in Life of Capacitors. Protection against System Resources. RS232 Serial Interface useful for Data Logging Application. Avoids Distribution System Deterioration. Transformers Self Inductive Load Compensation by pre-preprogramable kVAr value. Suitable for Unbalanced Load. Loca/Remote Data Logging and Printer Interface. Programmable Settings for Tripping under Fault Conditions like - Capacitor Shorted - Capacitor Earth Fault - Load Over Current - Load Imbalance etc. - Wrong Phase Sequence 100 % Depreciation.

Product Range The product range in Power Factor Improvement Capacitors is as follows.

Low Voltage Metallised Polypropylene Film (MPP/Oil) Capacitors in single units from 1 kVAr to 30 kVAr with ISI Mark suitable for standard Voltages of 415/440 V AC. Higher kVAr ratings can be supplied by banking our standard units with Aluminum - Copper busbars, with or without HRC fuses.

Low Voltage MPP Double Dielectric Capacitors for Heavy Duty Applications, with ISI Mark from 1 to 30 kVAr up to 660 V AC.

6 Terminal Oil-Filled Capacitors from 3 kVAr to 25 kVAr, 440 V AC

Low Voltage MPP - Dry type Capacitors in single units from 1 kVAR to 9 kVAr 415/440 V AC for Light Duty Applications, With ISI Mark.

Low Voltage Polypropylene Film Capacitors in Mixed Dielectric(M.D) and All polypropylene designs(APP) in Single units of 5 kVAr to 30 kVAr suitable for standard voltages of 415/440V AC. with ISI Mark.

2 mfd to 30 mfd, 36 mfd, 72 mfd, 108mfd Dry and Oil Filled Condensers for Voltage upto 240 V & 440 V. We also undertake Manufacture of Capacitors of single phase, 6 Terminals and for special Voltage Application.

How Does Your Capacitor Work?

APFC Panels
A load & therefore its KVAR are in a dynamic state - generally. A matching KVAR output of a capacitor bank must also be dynamic i.e. must adjust itself-instantly to its requirement, if one is to obtain a uniform &'set' p.f. all along. This is best achieved by an automatic control that switches in & out, segments of a designed capacitor bank. A control panel serving this purpose is called on APFC panel or Automatic Power Factor Controlling panel. It controls the load power factor by sensing various available parameters. A) Sensing Parameters :1. Current - Sensing based APFC :- The current magnitude through a feeder or bus is sensed and fed to a relay. As this magnitude crosses a set band-width, the relay operates a power controlling a section of a capacitor bank. This is the simplest and

possibly the cheapest relay. It has a disadvantage of functioning with no reference to the actual load power factor - but assuming it. 2. Power Factor Sensing based APFC :- This relay senses the start of the voltage current wave forms on a given feeder & measures the time difference between them. It then converts this into a p.f. & compares this with a set value. Upon finding a difference, it operates the power contactor. This type of relay is most widely used. It has an advantage of being able to show the laod p.f. on an indicating meter. It's disadvantage :- It has no relation to the load magnitude & it's KVAR requirement. It can lead to severe hunting. 3. KVAR Sensing based APFC :- This relay senses the magnitudes of both the voltage & current wave forms & also the time or phase difference between them. It then calculates the load KVAR & compares these with a possible combination of sections within a capacitor bank and operates their controlling contractors to add the required capacitor KVAR to the electrical system. This is the most sensitive relay capable of obtaining maximum benefit out of a given capacitor bank. It's disadvantages :- It is rather hard on the contractors and its related surge suppression attachments. B) Sizing of Capacitor Switching Blocks :1) Power Factors for the purposes of levying penalties are based on the monthly consumptions of KVA-Hrs, KW-Hrs & KVAR-Hrs as recorded on a tri-vector meter. If the basic purpose of installing capacitors is to stay safely above the penalty limit, then average power factor correction based on a 24 hour basis is sufficient and not an elaborate "instant to instant" p.f. correction. This helps one in setting as wide a band-width as possible before changing a step. It prevents switching - too often. It must be noted that KVA-Hrs and KVAR-Hrs do not subtract if excessive capacitor KVAR are dumped into the system by over corrections into a leading zone - say part of the time. It records this also as a low p.f. & subject to penalty. Besides, leading p.f.'s are unhealthy for capacitors & the system itself. a) A simple straight forward method of sizing the capacitor blocks would be to divide them equally into targeted number of steps. Besides simplicity it has an advantage of standard sizes for replacement of work out contractors, blown fuses etc. Many a designer favour this. b) In ambitious method of sizing the blocks, they are designed in a binary sequence so that a large number of combinations is available for a given set of contactors etc. If the accessories are chosen properly, this can be an ideal method though slightly costlier than method (a) above. c) Each controls in an APFC Panel adds considerably to overall costs. It is advisable to keep as much capacitor KVAR out of the APFC control as possible, for example, the first step i.e. load portion which is constant on a 24 hour basis, Continuous working industries offer this.

In the second step - divide the remainder in a number of steps. Keep this number of step as small as possible, by studing the load pattern. The portion that is likely to be operated often, should be at the fag end. Large size contactors should at the starting end so that they operate as few times as possible. C) Methods of Switching In & Switching Out :1) When the bank is controlled in equal steps, as in B(a) above, some designers prefer a first - in, first - out or FIFO method so that all contactors and steps have uniform period of operation & can together last longer. 2) If method B(c) above is followed, then the switching control should be on the basis of 'First-in, Last-out' or FILO. 3) Method B.(b) above, calls for random switching which requires careful selection of power contactors or better still, opting out for thyristor switching - which has yet to prove it's mettle in India. D) Structural Design of an APFC Panel :1) Capacitor bank step (section) 2) Discharge resistance on individual capacitor unit - external. 3) Incoming switch fuse for the bank. 4) Capacitor bank bus bar. 5) Capacitor bank CT's. 6) Ammeter selector switch. 7) Ammeter for bank current. 8) Thermal overload relay or sectional fuses. 9) Automatic control relay & p.f. meter. Time delay relays. 10) Power contactor. 11) Push Button sets. 12) Indicating lamps. 13) Cabinet (capacitor bus bars) 14) Earthing bus bars. 15) Isolating transformer for contactor coils.

16) Heater. 17) Lamp, extra piano type switches & sockets. 18) Cooling fan. 19) Auto-manual change over switch. E) Rating of Components :1) Should an APFC panel develop a 'short' from the main bus to body or between phases, a heavy current will flow till the back-up protection - like an HRC fuse, isolates this short. The system voltage divided by the system impedance up to the point of a short, gives the short circuit current. This impedance consists main by of the step down transformer impedance - generally 4% to 6%. Increasing this value by 10% takes care of impedances of intervening items like a switch, a bus bar, a C.T. etc. The short circuit current divided by 165 Amps gives an acceptable conductor cross section, which can safely hold for a s.c. duration of one second. Generally, these sections are not unduly large and fall within a current density of 2.5 to 3 Amps/mm2 of the full capacitor bank current rating. Should the length of this panel be large - then the bus bars must be laterally & rigidly supported to prevent flexuring under s.c. forces. 2) A capacitor shorted to it's body restricts the s.c. current severely. Depending on the inside construction and the wall thickness of the capacitor tank, this unit can withstand the bursting forces till it's protective system takes over. Thus the double earthing of a panel can be safely standardised on G.I. strip of 50 x 6 mm2 size. 3) A capacitor at the instance of being switched on, is a dead short circuit. The inrush current is limited in its peak value by system inductances upto that point, except that the circuit now goes into a natural resonance. A power contactor, by nature of its construction and contact material, can withstand a peak current of a given magnitude - beyond which, the contactor points will weld on to themselves leading to capacitor failure. If a capacitor is being switched on against other steps which are already on, then the other steps will discharge into this new - comer. The intervening bus bars have very low inductances & these peak currents are very high - reaching 160 times the rated capacitor current or more. The capacitor should be able to handle this- without welding. There are three methods to deal with this :a) Use a liberal & proven rating for a known contactor.

b) Use surge suppression choke coils on each capacitor, to introduce extra inductance & thus limit the peak current. For panels with 4 steps or more & also for panels using MPP capacitors, this is essential. c) Use a special contactor with auxilliary contacts which introduce a starting resistance at the begining, then short it. 4) A discharge resistor on a capacitor reduces the residual voltage on it - after being switched off to a safe value of 50 volts within less than a minute and readies it for reswitching should this be required. If this resistance were to burn out, the re-switching will take place against a charged unit. This will burn it out. It is highly essential to periodically check the condition of these externally mounted discharge resistances. 5) Other Items : Main switch fuse is substituted by air-breakers for large banks. Draw - out type, electrically operated breakers increase cost of a panel tremoundously. 6) Time Delay Relays : Time Delay Relays with an adjustable one minute delay should be incorporated - both in APFC or Manual mode to prevent re-switching of a contactor within less than one minute of switching it off. What can go wrong in an APFC Panel. 1) Wrong connections to the Automatic Relay : The C.T. feeding this relay is the mains CT & not the CT within the panel itself. The voltage connection to the relay should be from the same phase from which the current is measured. These relays are single phase relays. 2) Too narrow a band-width, per step : The band-width can be set manually. A narrow band width leads to hunting between steps. 3) Contactor points welding together. 4) Discharge Resistor &/or choke coils burning out. 5) Time Delay Relays being bipassed or not working. 6) Failure of electronic components under the combined on slought of higher ambient temperature and voltage surges - particularly for outdoor pole- mounted type of panels. 7) Improper ventilation, Loose cable joints & similar causes commonly found. 8) Unattended leaks on capacitors.