One of the biggest costs faced by industrial and commercial businesses is electricity, which is why ensuring the efficiency of your system is one of the best ways to save on energy and reduce your carbon footprint. So what is power factor and how can power factor correction benefit your business? Read on to find out more.

Power factor – what is it?

To understand power factor, and its importance, you need to understand how your electrical equipment uses power and how this power is measured.

1. The power your equipment actually uses to run is called ‘real’ or ‘working power’, which is measured in kilowatts (kW).
2. Equipment that is inductive – i.e. anything that has rotating parts, such as motors, compressors, etc. – draws on an electromagnetic field in order to operate. This is called ‘reactive’ or ‘non-working’ power and is measured in kilovolt-amperes-reactive (kVAR).
3. The total power drawn on to produce the real power required to run your equipment is called ‘apparent’ power and is measured in kilovolt-amperes (kVA). This is the electricity you are paying for and is the sum of real power (kW) and reactive power (kVAR).
4. Power factor is the ratio of real power (kW) used by your equipment to apparent power (kVAR) and is worked out using the formula PF = kW / kVA. Power factor is expressed as a value between -1 and 1, where 1 = unity.
5. The closer your power factor is to the value of 1 (unity), the more efficiently your business is using electricity. However, as inductive loads increase, your power factor is lowered, meaning that you are drawing on and paying for reactive (non-working) electricity that you are not using.

Apart from increasing costs and decreasing efficiency, a low power factor can also impact on the performance of your electrical equipment. Here are some other signs you might need power factor correction:

• Electrical equipment failure
• Tripping of circuit breakers or fuses
• Motor failure
• Unstable equipment operation
• Overheating of transformers, switches and cabling

Power Factor Correction – what does it do?

Correcting your power factor has a number of positive impacts on your electrical system and equipment, including maximising the current-carrying capacity, improving the voltage to your equipment, reducing power losses and lowering your electricity bills. Overall, it increases the efficiency of your business and saves you money in the long-run, which is a win-win for you and the planet.

Install a power factor correction system for long-run

The easiest way to improve your power factor is to install power factor correction capacitor units on your electrical system. These units generate reactive current, off-setting the non-working power used by inductive loads. This means that less reactive power is drawn from your electricity supply, and, as a result, your power factor improves.

Not sure if you need power factor correction? Get in touch with Caslec and book an inspection. Our expert technicians will measure your current power factor to determine if power factor correction units will benefit your business. If so, we will design a unit with the appropriately sized capacitor to correct your power factor, bringing it as close as possible to unity and making your business more efficient and productive.

Give us a call today on 1300 659 273 or visit the website to find out more.