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Importance of Power Factor

A power factor of 1 is ideal for electric utility companies as it means they can supply the required power without providing excess current, reducing line losses and allowing for less capacity in equipment. Industrial facilities are often charged penalties if their power factor differs from 1 due to lagging from inductive motor windings, though adding capacitor banks can compensate and correct the power factor to save on utility charges.

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Deeksndeeks Deepak
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718 views1 page

Importance of Power Factor

A power factor of 1 is ideal for electric utility companies as it means they can supply the required power without providing excess current, reducing line losses and allowing for less capacity in equipment. Industrial facilities are often charged penalties if their power factor differs from 1 due to lagging from inductive motor windings, though adding capacitor banks can compensate and correct the power factor to save on utility charges.

Uploaded by

Deeksndeeks Deepak
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Importance of Power Factor

A power factor of one or "unity power factor" is the goal of any electric utility company since if the power factor is less than one, they have to supply more current to the user for a given amount of power use. In so doing, they incur more line losses. They also must have larger capacity equipment in place than would be otherwise necessary. As a result, an industrial facility will be charged a penalty if its power factor is much different from 1. Industrial facilities tend to have a "lagging power factor", where the current lags the voltage (like an inductor). This is primarily the result of having a lot of electric induction motors - the windings of motors act as inductors as seen by the power supply. Capacitors have the opposite effect and can compensate for the inductive motor windings. Some industrial sites will have large banks of capacitors strictly for the purpose of correcting the power factor back toward one to save on utility company charges.

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