Search

Premium Membership ♕

Limited Time Offer: Save 15% on PRO Plan with discount code: LRN15 and study specialized LV/MV/HV technical articles and studies.

Home / Technical Articles / How to determine compensation of reactive power of an electrical installation

Improving power factor

Improving the power factor of an electrical installation (compensation of reactive power) has many economic and technical advantages, but it’s not always easy to do so. There are numerous approaches to do such job, so let’s try to with this one.

How to determine compensation of reactive power of an electrical installation
How to determine compensation of reactive power of an electrical installation (photo credit: egc-cb.cz)

Compensation of an installation is determined in four steps:

  1. Calculating reactive power
  2. Choosing the compensation mode:
    1. Global compensation for the entire installation
    2. Compensation by sector
    3. Individual load compensation
  3. Choosing the compensation type:
    1. Fixed
      (by switching on/off a capacitor bank supplying a fixed amount of kvar)
    2. Automatic
      (by switching on/off “steps” by breaking up installed bank capacity and enabling adaptation in the installation’s kvar needs)
  4. Allowing for harmonics
    This involves choosing the right equipment to avoid the harmful consequences that harmonics might have on the capacitors installed.

Premium Membership Required

This technical article/guide requires a Premium Membership. You can choose an annually based Plus, Pro, or Enterprise membership plan. Subscribe and enjoy studying specialized technical articles, online video courses, electrical engineering guides, and papers. With EEP’s premium membership, you get additional essence that enhances your knowledge and experience in low- medium- and high-voltage engineering fields.

Check out each plan’s benefits and choose the membership plan that works best for you or your organization.

Limited time offer! – Save 15% on Pro Membership Plan with discount code LRN15

Log In »Purchase »

Premium Membership

Get access to premium HV/MV/LV technical articles, electrical engineering guides, research studies and much more! It helps you to shape up your technical skills in your everyday life as an electrical engineer.
More Information
author-pic

Edvard Csanyi

Electrical engineer, programmer and founder of EEP. Highly specialized for design of LV/MV switchgears and LV high power busbar trunking (<6300A) in power substations, commercial buildings and industry facilities. Professional in AutoCAD programming.

Leave a Comment

Tell us what you're thinking. We care about your opinion! Please keep in mind that comments are moderated and rel="nofollow" is in use. So, please do not use a spammy keyword or a domain as your name, or it will be deleted. Let's have a professional and meaningful conversation instead. Thanks for dropping by!

  ×  one  =  eight

Learn How to Design Power Systems

Learn to design LV/MV/HV power systems through professional video courses. Lifetime access. Enjoy learning!

Subscribe to Weekly Newsletter

Subscribe to our Weekly Digest newsletter and receive free updates on new technical articles, video courses and guides (PDF).
EEP Academy Courses - A hand crafted cutting-edge electrical engineering knowledge