4/5/2018

Lecture 6th

Load Characteristics
and Power Factor Correction
Course Teacher:
Dr. Muhammad Mohsin Aman
Course Code:
EE-524
Course Title:
Electrical Power Distribution System Engineering -1
Venue:
Department of Electrical Engineering , NED University Karachi.
1

6th Lecture’s Outline

Dr. Muhammad Mohsin Aman 1

 4/5/2018

6th Lecture’s Outline

 Load Characteristics Terminologies
Factors related to generation
 Estimation of actual maximum kVA demand
✓ Factor of maximum utilization (KU)
✓ Factor of simultaneity (KS)
 Power Factor Correction and KC Factor
 Application of Shunt Capacitors on Distribution Lines
 Shunt Capacitor Bank Protection

Factors related to generation

Dr. Muhammad Mohsin Aman 2

 4/5/2018

Utilization Factor
✓Utilization Factor (FU): It is the ratio of the maximum demand of a system
to the rated capacity of the system. Therefore FU is:
maximum demand
FU 
rated system capacity

✓The utilization factor can also be found for a part of the system.

Plant Factor or Capacity Factor

✓Load factor and diversity factors do not give any idea about the reserve capacity
required in a generating station. A new term is therefore introduced, i.e. plant
capacity factor.
✓Plant capacity factor is the ratio of the total energy produced or served over a
designated period of time T to the energy that would have been produced or served if
the plant (or unit)had operated continuously at maximum rating. It is also known as
plant capacity factor.
Actual energy produced or served
Plant Capacity Factor 
Maximum possible energy during the same period

Energy producedduring 24hrs (kWh)

Plant Capacity Factor 
Installed capcacity(kW)  24hrs

✓Reserve capacity of plant will also be included, if available.

Dr. Muhammad Mohsin Aman 3

 4/5/2018

Plant Factor or Capacity Factor

✓If T=8760hrs (a year), plant capacity factor will be termed as annual plant
capacity factor.
✓The difference between the load factor and the capacity factor is an
indication of the reserve capacity installed in the substation.

✓Another factor is defined to indicate the actual use that is made of plant and
is called plant use factor.

Annual plant use factor

Actual energy generation (kWh)

Capacity of plant (kW)  No. of hrs plant is in operation during a year

Plant Factor or Capacity Factor

✓ A power station has to supply load as follows:
Timings kW Timings kW
11 pm to 5am 500 12 noon to 1pm 1500
5am to 6am 750 1pm to 5pm 2500
6am to 7am 1000 5pm to 7pm 2000
7am to 9am 2000 7pm to 9pm 2500
9am to 12 noon 2500 9pm to 11pm 1000
a. Draw the load curve.
b. Calculate the load factor.
c. Choose the number and size of generators units to supply this load. Reliability
of supply is to be maintained.
d. Find the reserved capacity of the plant required.
e. Calculate the plant capacity factor.
f. Determine the operating schedule of the units in the station.
g. Calculate the plant use factor.

Dr. Muhammad Mohsin Aman 4

 4/5/2018

Plant Factor or Capacity Factor

a. Load curve

Plant Factor or Capacity Factor

b. Calculate the load factor.
Energy consumed during 24 hours
Load factor 
Maximum Demand x 24hrs
Energy consumed during 24 hours
=(500x5)+(750x1)+(1000x1)+(2000x2)+(2500x3)+(1500x1)+(2500x4)+
(2000x2)+(2500x2)+(1000x2)+(500x1)= 38,750kWh

Maximum demand = 2500kW

Energy consumed during 24 hours 38750
Load factor    64.7%
Maximum Demand x 24hrs 2500  24

Dr. Muhammad Mohsin Aman 5

 4/5/2018

Plant Factor or Capacity Factor

c. Choose the number and size of generators units to supply this load. Reliability
of supply is to be maintained.
From the nature of the load curve, it will be seen that this is the load of a small
industrial town, well distributed in day and night. From the load curve, it will also be
seen that three generating sets will suffice, with following ratings:
• Two sets of 1000kW capacity
• One set of 500kW capacity

Plant Factor or Capacity Factor

d. Find the reserved capacity of the plant required.
The reserve capacity required will correspond to the largest size of unit in
the station. In this case, a set of 1000kW will have to be brought and kept
as reserved.

Therefore the total installed capacity of the station will be

1000+1000+500+1000 (reserve) = 3500kW

Dr. Muhammad Mohsin Aman 6

 4/5/2018

Plant Factor or Capacity Factor

e. Calculate the plant capacity factor.
Energy produced during 24hrs (kWh)
Plant Capacity Factor 
Installed capcacity (kW)  24hrs

38,750
Plant Capacity Factor   0.46  46%
3,500  24

Plant Factor or Capacity Factor

f. Determine the operating schedule of the units in the station.
✓ The capacity of the individual sets is chosen so far as possible to fit the load
curve approximately. Then it should be decided how and when and in what
sequence the sets should be started and run. This arrangement is known as the
operating schedule of the station.
✓ In arranging this schedule, care is taken to see that plant of the required capacity
is kept ready for loading at the expected time of the load. The capacity of the
plant started and kept ready might be larger than necessary but should not be
inadequate.
✓ At each time of change-over, care should be taken to ensure correct paralleling
and load transfer.

Dr. Muhammad Mohsin Aman 7

 4/5/2018

Plant Factor or Capacity Factor

f. Determine the operating schedule of the units in the station.
Following optimum operating schedule of the units in the station can be proposed.

Plant Factor or Capacity Factor

g. Calculate the plant use factor.
The energy that could have been generated by the capacity of plant actually running
for the scheduled time would be
=(500x6)+(1000x2)+(2000x2)+(2500x3)+(1500x1)+(2500x4)+(2000x2)+
(2500x2)+(1000x2)= 39,000kWh

Therefore,

Energy produced during 24hrs (kWh)

Plant Use Factor 
Installed capcacity (kW)  No.of hrs plant has been in operation

38,750 kWh
Plant Use Factor   0.994  99.4%
39,000kWh

Dr. Muhammad Mohsin Aman 8

 4/5/2018

Remarks
• In the above example, the load curve variation and the exact size of
plant to fit the load curve are chosen as ideal, the plant use factor being
practically 100%. This would rarely be achieved in practice. It would be
difficult to choose units of such capacity that when in use they could run
continuously on full load.
• In practice the plant use factor would be much smaller than 100%. It
is however higher than the plant capacity factor when some reserve plant
is necessary.
• A number of staring and loading operations can be easily handled in
hydro and diesel electric stations but are time consuming in steam stations.

Problem (Load duration curve)

• The following loads are supplied by a station during one week for the times
shown in Table.

• Construct the load duration curve.

Dr. Muhammad Mohsin Aman 9

 4/5/2018

Solution (Load duration curve)

• The total time is 24x7=168 hours or 100%
• The maximum demand during the week is 6000kW
• Load-hour percentage is tabulated in Table below.

Solution (Load duration curve)

• The load duration curve is shown in Fig. below.

Dr. Muhammad Mohsin Aman 10

 4/5/2018

Solution (Load duration curve)

• The annual load factor, annual capacity factor and annual plant use factor can be
found from annual load duration curve.
• The area under the curve represents the total annual energy production.
• The annual load factor is given by the ratio of the are under the curve to the area
corresponding to the maximum demand occurring through out the year.
• In the same way, the reserve capacity of the plant being known, the annual
capacity factor can be obtained.
• The operating schedule and time during which each set is worked being known,
the plant use factor can be determined.

Problem
Load factor, plant capacity factor
and the use factor

Dr. Muhammad Mohsin Aman 11

 4/5/2018

Problem
• The annual load duration curve a
power system is shown in Fig. 2.3. The
maximum demand is 20MW. The load is
supplied by two power plant, one having
a capacity of 12.5MW and the other a
capacity of 10MW.
• Plant no. 1 (12.5MW) is used
throughout the year and plant No. 2 is
used whenever the load exceeds the
capacity of plant no. 1.

Problem
• The area aqprefa under the load
duration curve represents the energy
produced by plant No. 1 during the year.
This is found to be 98x105 kWh
(given).
• The area abqa under the load
duration curve represents the energy
produced by plant No. 2. The area abqa
represents 9,900,000 kWh (given).
• Find out the load factor, annual load
factor, plant capacity factor and the plant
use factor of each plant.

Dr. Muhammad Mohsin Aman 12

 4/5/2018

Solution
• Plant No. 1 (12.5MW) is run to supply as
much of the load as it can for 100% of the
year. This is therefore shown on the lower
portion of the load duration curve and when a
plant is used in this way it is known as base
load plant.
• The remaining load, above this line is
supplied by plant No. 2. A plant used is this
way is known as a peak load plant, as it
supplies the load on top portion of the curve.

Solution
Plant No. 1
• The line aq is the line of
demarcation of load, as the maximum
load is supplied by this plant is 12.5MW.
• Plant No. 1 is run for all the time,
namely 100% of the year and the
maximum load that it can supply is
12.MW. It has no reserve capacity.
• Therefore load factor of plant No. 1,
acting as a base load plant
Energy consumed during year
Load factor 
Maximum Demand x 8760hrs
98,000 ,000
  0.895  89 .5%
12,500  8760

Dr. Muhammad Mohsin Aman 13

 4/5/2018

Solution (load factor, plant capacity factor and the use factor )
• There is no reserve at plant No. 1 so that its capacity factor is the same as its
load factor, i.e. 89.5%.
98,000,000
Plant Capacity factor   89.5%
12,500  8760

• All the plant has been running for the whole year i.e. 8760 hours
continuously. The plant use factor therefore is same as the plant capacity or load
factor.
98,000,000
Annual Load Factor   89.5%
12,500  8760

98,000,000
Plant Use Factor   89.5%
12,500  8760

Solution
• Plant No. 2 supplies the remaining load;
the maximum demand on it is 7.5MW and it
is run for 40% of the year; its capacity is
10MW.
• The load factor of plant No. 2 is the
area under the abqa and the no. of hrs during
which the plant is run.
9,900,000
Load factor   37.6%
7,500  0.4  8760

• Plant No. 2 only runs 40% of time in

whole year. If taken on the whole year basis:
9,900 ,000
AnnualLoad factor   15%
7,500  8760

Dr. Muhammad Mohsin Aman 14

 4/5/2018

Solution (load factor, plant capacity factor and the use factor )
• Similarly
9,900,000
Annual Plant Capacity Factor   11.3%
10,000  8760

9,900,000
Plant Use Factor   28.2%
10,000  0.4  8760

Problem
• Find out the annual load factor of the whole system for the
previous problem.
Solution
• The annual load factor of the whole system can also be found
from the data.
• Total energy generated =
98,000,000+9,900,000=107,900,000kWh
107 ,900,000
AnnualLoad factor of a system  0.615  61.5%
20,000  8760

Dr. Muhammad Mohsin Aman 15

 4/5/2018

Solution
• The annual load duration curve thus helps in choosing the plants for
base load and peak load operation for the required length of time.
• The load factor, plant capacity factors and plant use factors can be
calculated from the load duration curve.
• From this information, it is possible to study the financial aspects of
supplying the system load.
• The cost of generation per kWh for the base-load plant and for the
peak load plant can be worked out.
• The capacity required in the base load plant and peak load plant,
economical load sharing between the two plants and the minimum
combined cost per kWh generated by the whole system can be determined.

Solution
• The load factor the peak load plant is much less than that of the base
load plant.
• It is cheaper to generate power at the higher load factor. The cost of
energy to supply base load is therefore less than the cost of energy to
supply peak load.

Dr. Muhammad Mohsin Aman 16

 4/5/2018

Estimation of actual maximum kVA demand

Estimation of actual maximum kVA demand

✓All individual loads are not necessarily operating at full rated nominal
power nor necessarily at the same time.
✓Factors like factor of maximum utilization (KU) and factor of
simultaneity (KS) allow the determination of the maximum power and
apparent-power demands actually required to dimension the installation.

Dr. Muhammad Mohsin Aman 17

 4/5/2018

Factor of maximum utilization (KU)

✓In normal operating conditions the power consumption of a load is
sometimes less than that indicated as its nominal power rating, a fairly
common occurrence that justifies the application of an utilization factor
(KU) in the estimation of realistic values.
✓This factor must be applied to each individual load, with particular
attention to electric motors, which are very rarely operated at full load.
1. In an industrial installation this factor may be estimated on an
average at 0.75 for motors.
2. For incandescent-lighting loads, the factor always equals 1.
3. For socket-outlet circuits, the factors depend entirely on the type of
appliances being supplied from the sockets concerned.

Factor of simultaneity (KS)

✓It is a matter of common experience that the simultaneous operation of
all installed loads of a given installation never occurs in practice, i.e. there
is always some degree of diversity and this fact is taken into account for
estimating purposes by the use of a simultaneity factor (KS).
✓The factor KS is applied to each group of loads (e.g. being supplied
from a distribution or sub-distribution board). The determination of these
factors is the responsibility of the designer, since it requires a detailed
knowledge of the installation and the conditions in which the individual
circuits are to be exploited. For this reason, it is not possible to give
precise values for general application.

Dr. Muhammad Mohsin Aman 18

 4/5/2018

Factor of simultaneity for an apartment block

✓Some typical values for this case are given in Figure A10 opposite page, and
are applicable to domestic consumers supplied at 230/400 V (3-phase 4-wires).
✓In the case of consumers using electrical heat-storage units for space
heating, a factor of 0.8 is recommended, regardless of the number of
consumers.

Factor of simultaneity for an apartment block

✓Consider a 5 storeys
apartment building with 25
consumers, each having 6 kVA
of installed load, as shown in Fig.
✓The Ks factor is mentioned on
Fig.
✓Determine the current at each
floor level, consider Ks factor.

Application of the factor of simultaneity (ks)

to an apartment block of 5 storeys

Dr. Muhammad Mohsin Aman 19

 4/5/2018

Factor of simultaneity for an apartment block

✓The total installed load for the
building is: 36 + 24 + 30 + 36 + 24
= 150 kVA
✓The apparent-power supply
required for the building is: 150 x
0.46 = 69 kVA
✓From Figure A10, it is possible
to determine the magnitude of
currents in different sections of the
common main feeder supplying all
floors.

Application of the factor of simultaneity (ks)

to an apartment block of 5 storeys

Factor of simultaneity for an apartment block

✓For vertical rising mains fed at ground
level, the cross-sectional area of the
conductors can evidently be progressively
reduced from the lower floors towards the
upper floors.
✓These changes of conductor size are
conventionally spaced by at least 3-floor
intervals.

Application of the factor of

✓99.59A, 89.11A, 68.85A, 54.56A, 40.53A simultaneity (ks) to an apartment
block of 5 storeys

Dr. Muhammad Mohsin Aman 20

 4/5/2018

Factor of simultaneity for distribution boards

✓Figure A12 shows hypothetical values of ks for a distribution board
supplying a number of circuits for which there is no indication of the manner in
which the total load divides between them.
✓If the circuits are mainly for lighting loads, it is prudent to adopt ks values
close to unity.

Factor of simultaneity for distribution boards

(IEC 60439)

Factor of simultaneity according to circuit function

✓ks factors which may be used for circuits supplying commonly-occurring
loads, are shown in Figure A13.

Factor of simultaneity according to

circuit function

Dr. Muhammad Mohsin Aman 21

 4/5/2018

Example of application of factors KU and KS

✓An example in the estimation of actual maximum kVA demands at all levels of an
installation, from each load position to the point of supply is given Fig. A14.

Items KU
Motors Typical 0.75
Lighting Circuits 0.1
Socket Outlets 0.1 to 0.2

Example of application of factors KU and KS

Fig A14 : An example in estimating the maximum predicted loading of an

installation (the factor values used are for demonstration purposes only)

Dr. Muhammad Mohsin Aman 22

 4/5/2018

Example of application of factors KU and KS

✓In this example, the total installed apparent power is 126.6 kVA, which
corresponds to an actual (estimated) maximum value at the LV terminals of the
MV/LV transformer of 65 kVA only.
✓Note: in order to select cable sizes for the distribution circuits of an installation,
the current I (in amps) through a circuit is determined from the equation:

✓where kVA is the actual maximum 3-phase apparent-power value shown on the
diagram for the circuit concerned, and U is the phase to- phase voltage (in volts).

Power Factor Correction and

KC Factor

Dr. Muhammad Mohsin Aman 23

 4/5/2018

Power Factor
✓In alternating current circuits, the current absorbed by the user can be represented
by two components:
1. The active component IR, in phase with the supply voltage.
2. The reactive component IQ, in quadrature to the voltage.

✓ In the most common case, in the presence of ohmic-inductive type loads, the
total current (I) lags in comparison with the active component IR.
✓ In an electrical installation, it is necessary to generate and transmit active power
P and a certain reactive power Q, which is essential for the conversion of
electrical energy, but not available to the user.
✓ The complex of the power generated and transmitted constitutes the apparent
power S.

Power Factor
✓The necessary formulae are as follows:
P  VI R  VIcos
Q  VI Q  VIsin

S  P  jQ  P 2  Q 2

✓Draw power triangle.

Dr. Muhammad Mohsin Aman 24

 4/5/2018

Power Factor
✓Power factor (cosϕ) is defined as the ratio between the active component IR and
the total value of the current l; ϕ is the phase shifting between the voltage U and the
current I. It results:
I R P VIcos
Power Factor     cos
I S VI

✓The reactive demand factor (tanϕ) is the relationship between the reactive power
and the active power:
Q
tan 
P
 Q  Ptan

Power Factor
✓Table 1 shows some typical power factors:

Dr. Muhammad Mohsin Aman 25

 4/5/2018

Power Factor Correction (PFC)

✓ The power factor correction is the action increasing the power factor in a
specific section of the installation by locally supplying the necessary reactive
power, so as to reduce the current value to the equivalent of the power required,
and therefore the total power absorbed from the upstream side.
✓ Addition of capacitor, changed the active power flow in the line, this P remains
constant.

Power Factor Correction (PFC)

✓In the case of a sinusoidal waveform, the reactive power necessary to pass from
one power factor cosϕ1 to a power factor cosϕ2 is given by the formula:
QC  Q1  Q2  P( tan1  tan 2 )

Where
▪ P is the active power
▪ Q1 and ϕ1 are the reactive power and the phase shift before power factor
correction
▪ Q2 and ϕ2 are the reactive power and the phase shift after power factor
correction
▪ QC is the reactive power supplied from capacitor bank

Dr. Muhammad Mohsin Aman 26

 4/5/2018

Kc Factor
Table 2 shows the value of
the relationship
QC
KC   ( tan1  tan 2 )
P

for different values of the

power factor before and after
the correction.

Need for Power Factor Correction

Dr. Muhammad Mohsin Aman 27

 4/5/2018

Need for Power Factor Correction

✓The distribution authority is responsible for the production and transmission of the
reactive power required by the user installations, and therefore has a series of further
inconveniences which can be summarized as:
▪ oversizing of the conductors and of the components of the transmission lines;
▪ higher Joule-effect losses and higher voltage drops in the components and lines.
✓The same inconveniences are present in the distribution installation of the final
user. The power factor is an excellent index of the size of the added costs and is
therefore used by the distribution authority to define the purchase price of the energy
for the final user.

Need for Power Factor Correction

In detail, as shown by Figure 1 increasing the power factor of the load
decreases the relative voltage drop per unit of active power transmitted.

Dr. Muhammad Mohsin Aman 28

 4/5/2018

Need for Power Factor Correction

Figure 2 shows increasing the power factor of the load increases the
transmittable active power and decreases the losses, the other
dimensioning parameters remaining equal.

Need for Power Factor Correction

✓The ideal situation would be to have a cosϕ slightly higher than the
set reference so as to avoid payment of legal penalties, and at the same
time not to risk having, with a cosϕ too close to the unit, a leading power
factor when the power factor corrected device is working with a low load.
✓The distribution authority generally does not allow others to supply
reactive power to the network, also due to the possibility of unexpected
over-voltages.

Dr. Muhammad Mohsin Aman 29