| Power Factor Correction
A facility’s Power Factor determines how efficient the equipment operating within the facility is using power. Power from an electric utility company is delivered in kVAs (kiloVoltAmps) and not kWs (KiloWatts) as most believe. The kVA distributed throughout a facility is drawn into inductive equipment (motors and ballasted lighting) and then divided into two components: kWs and kVARS. The kVAR component of the power is used by an inductive load to generate and maintain the magnetic field required to operate the inductive load. This power is non-working and, in theory, is returned to the power grid. However, due to line losses, heat generation, and inefficiencies of the power grid, this does not happen.
The kW component is the working power and provides the power for the inductive load to actually perform its task. A facility’s Power Factor is calculated by the following formula:
| Real Power (kWs)
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Apparent Power (kVA)
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The result of this equation is expressed as a percentage (i.e. 70% or .7). This shows how efficiently the inductive load is using the power that it draws through the service meter. The higher the Power Factor, the more the load is efficiently using the power it is drawing from the grid. Raising a facility’s Power Factor will result in a reduction of the electricity consumed by the facility’s equipment, thereby reducing the power bill.
The Power Factor correction components of the
Power Conservation Systems reduce the amperage needed by the equipment to operate. The main component of the Power Factor correction ability is provided by capacitors that store the power generated by the equipment’s motors. Every alternating current (AC) motor is also a generator. The power that the motor generates is not “in phase” with the power that it needs to perform its function, meaning that it does not match the 60-hertz sine wave of the power drawn through the meter. This is necessary for the motor to use any power supplied to it. The
Power Conservation Systems stores this out-of-phase power in its capacitors and, through its circuitry, “phase matches” this power to the power provided through the meter. The motor can then use this power to provide its kVAR component and reduce the amount of power the motor pulls through the electric meter. This in turn causes the Power Factor of the equipment to increase and reduces the consumption of kWhs by the equipment.
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