#reactive power

By Cliff Potts, CSO, and Editor-in-Chief of WPS News Baybay City, Leyte, Philippines — May 5, 2026 Introduction: Voltage Collapse Is a Grid Problem, Not a Generation Problem Public discussion of electricity reliability often focuses on megawatts of generation capacity. In operational practice, however, many stability events occur without generation shortages. Instead, they arise from reactive…

Why Power Factor Correction Matters for Transformer Health

In industrial and commercial facilities, poor power factor is a silent profit killer. It occurs when the load requires a significant amount of reactive power to establish magnetic fields (e.g., in motors, transformers, and induction furnaces). While necessary for the load to function, this reactive power does no useful work but still draws current from the utility. The result? Higher utility bills, oversized equipment, and excessive thermal losses.

Achieving a high power factor (ideally close to 1.0) through Reactive Power Compensation is one of the quickest and most reliable ways to improve energy efficiency and realize immediate ROI. As a trusted supplier of power quality solutions, Degatech guides clients through the analysis and implementation of compensation systems, proving that a technically sound solution is also a financially smart one.

1. The Power Factor Problem (And Penalty)

Power factor (PF) is the ratio of real power (kW) to apparent power (kVA). A low PF means that for every $100 \text{kVA}$ the utility provides, only $70 \text{kW}$ to $80 \text{kW}$ is being used for actual work.

Consequences of low PF:

Utility Penalties: Many utilities charge a penalty or demand surcharge for operating below a contractually agreed-upon PF threshold

Increased Current: Low PF means higher current is needed to deliver the same real power, leading to thermal losses and reduced system efficiency.

Oversized Equipment: Transformers, cables, and switchgear must be rated for the higher apparent power (kVA) rather than just the real power (kW), increasing capital expenditure.

2. The Solution: Technical Compensation with Capacitor Banks

Reactive power compensation is typically achieved by installing capacitor banks in the system. Capacitors draw leading reactive power, which counteracts the lagging reactive power consumed by inductive loads.

Key compensation methods include:

Fixed Compensation: A capacitor bank permanently connected to a specific large motor or transformer. Simple but non-adjustable.

Automatic Power Factor Correction (APFC) Panels: The most common industrial solution. An APFC relay continuously monitors the system's power factor and automatically switches in or out steps of capacitor banks to maintain a target PF (e.g., $0.98$). This dynamic adjustment is essential for systems with varying loads.

Harmonic Filtering: In systems heavily polluted by VFDs, the compensation bank must be detuned or filtered to prevent resonance, which could damage the capacitors and the entire system.

3. The Compelling ROI Analysis

The return on investment for PFC equipment is usually rapid and clear:

Elimination of Penalties: The most immediate savings come from avoiding utility surcharges, often making up the cost of the equipment within one to three years.

Increased Capacity: Improving the PF frees up capacity (kVA) in existing transformers and cables, deferring the need for expensive upgrades.

Reduced Losses: Lower operating currents lead to lower thermal losses, saving energy continuously.

Reactive Power Solutions – Energy Saving

Motors, transformers and other high-energy consuming devices need reactive power for the extra energy demand they generate in order to operate. Without reactive power, this surge in this extra energy can overwhelm your electrical installation setup leading to negative effects to your circuits. These adverse effects include lower output in electrical devices that are connected, loss in the useful…

Static Excitation System of Generator in Hydropower Station

by Thida Win | Hnin Yu Lwin | Zin Wah Aung ""Static Excitation System of Generator in Hydropower Station""

Published in International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (ijtsrd), ISSN: 2456-6470, Volume-3 | Issue-5 , August 2019,

URL: https://www.ijtsrd.com/papers/ijtsrd26742.pdf  

Paper URL: https://www.ijtsrd.com/engineering/electrical-engineering/26742/static-excitation-system-of-generator-in-hydropower-station/thida-win

call for paper arts, ugc approved journals for social science, commerce journal