How is low power factor corrected?
Low power factor is corrected by the installation of capacitors. You can control the amount of capacitance applied one of two ways: • You can “guess” (sometimes called by practitioners “monitor and calculate the requirements”) by applying a fixed amount of capacitance. This is done by monitoring the facility and determining the range of power factor correction that will be needed. The problem with this approach is that if, for example, your system’s power factor ranges between 80% and 90% you can only apply 5% of correction. This means that your new “performance” will be between 85% and 95%. This is necessary because if you apply much more correction you run the risk of producing an effect known as “leading power factor” and this is very undesirable. • The other solution is usually the installation of capacitor “banks” consisting of groups of capacitors. You then apply a control system that reads your instantaneous needs for correction and applies (or removes) capacitors from your elec
