Optimising your plant’s energy consumption is crucial to lower your business’s expenditure and eradicate the problem of needless overspends. The more efficiently your equipment operates, the less electricity is required, so achieving optimal power factor is key. Poor Power Factor (PF) means
greater demand on electrical current to achieve the same results, leading to higher consumption and more expensive bills as a result of reactive power charges.
At APDS, our Power Factor Correction (PFC) services can improve the efficiency of your operations and help you to reduce your demand on energy. Many sites have existing PFC installations that have failed, but the complexity of electricity bills means site managers don’t realise that their plant is consuming far more energy than is necessary.
Our ABB-accredited engineers can conduct a free Power Factor survey for you, so you can understand how PFC could cut your costs and help you to achieve a more efficient and sustainable way of working.
The importance of Power Factor Correction
Power factor is a strong indicator of energy efficiency and is usually expressed as a percentage. The lower the percentage, the less efficient a site’s use of electricity. Usually, anything less than 95 percent is considered inefficient and the site will be paying for energy that it does not use.
Power Factor Correction equipment allows a business to reduce its energy bills by maintaining its consumption of reactive power – the type of power that is absorbed or produced by components, such as capacitors, as opposed to the real power which actually operates machinery. By keeping Power Factor above a predetermined figure, reactive power charges are eliminated, reducing the cost of energy, and improving plant efficiency.
PFC improves power quality by reducing the load on the electrical distribution system, yielding several important benefits:
- Lower demand charges, due to reduced system currents and kW losses.
- Eliminated KVAR (reactive power) charges.
- Increased load capacity in circuits, avoiding the need for a supply upgrade.
- Improved voltage.
- Reduced power system losses.
- Smaller carbon footprint.
For more information on Power Factor Correction, please contact us.