Automated power factor correction and energy monitoring system

Abstract

Efficient generation of power at present is crucial as wastage of power is a global concern. Power factor measures a system's power efficiency and is an important aspect in improving the quality of supply. In most power systems, a poor power factor resulting from an increasing use of inductive loads is often overlooked. A power factor correction unit would allow the system to restore its power factor close to unity for economical operation. The advantages of correcting power factor include reduced power system losses, increased load carrying capabilities, improved voltages and much more. The aim of this project is to build an Automatic Power Factor Correction (APFC) Unit, which is able to monitor the energy consumption of a system and automatically improve its power factor. An open source energy monitoring library was implemented in the design for accurate power calculation. The APFC device calculates the reactive power consumed by a system's inductive load and compensates the lagging power factor using capacitance from a capacitor bank.