Power Factor Correction

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ncalb55 Participant Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 1	Power Factor Correction 11/16/2009 10:34 PM
	Does anyone know how to build a power factor correction device to put on a standard 200 amp single phase service.
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tcmtech Guru Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: South of Minot North Dakota Posts: 8376 Good Answers: 775	#1 Re: Power Factor Correction 11/16/2009 10:44 PM
	For what purpose? If you are thinking it will save you energy your being scammed. Its presently one of the larger eco device scams running at the moment. They typically sell you a $400 box with a $5 -$10 AC capacitor inside it. Standard residential and smaller business KWH meters don't care about power factor correction so making a device to do so would not make any changes to your power bill. The easiest and simplest power factor correction method is to just use power factor correction capacitors. They are standard issue AC capacitors and relatively cheap. I buy them fairly often on eBay for around $13 each for 370volt 100 uf units. One of those would equate to a PF correction of approximately 1920 VA on a 240 volt system or about what an old and fairly large central air conditioning system would possibly need.
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Neil Kwyrer Power-User Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 408 Good Answers: 5	#3 In reply to #1 Re: Power Factor Correction 11/18/2009 1:48 AM
	I think it is time this whole mess was cleared up- we have power supply Co,s hating less than unity PF- we have new meters from PSC,s which charge for unity- though actual consumption is say PF 53%- the rms meter indicates twice the amps of the actual ammeter- yet the rms watts = the actual ammeter amps x volts!!!- yet the charge is for PF unity!!!. The PSC,s say less than unity costs them money as they have to supply more power- but if that power is not being used by consumer, yet consumer has to pay, where is justice here?. If you think this is a minor problem- please think again.
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marcot Guru Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Montreal, Canada. Posts: 1372 Good Answers: 80	#4 In reply to #3 Re: Power Factor Correction 11/18/2009 9:37 AM
	It looks like they charge for the KVA instead of the KW. They might eventually claim that it was a setting error in the meter. If your information is true, this is most likely dis-honest. Check your contract and billing. If they charge for KW, demand a refund and correction of the situation for all their customers. Tell the newspaper about this. Involve a competent engineer. Give this info to city hall and the politicos that are supposed to protect you. Make them earn their salaries. __________________ Experienced is earned, common sense is taught, both are rare essentials of life.
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wareagle Guru Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Alabama Posts: 1604 Good Answers: 63	#2 Re: Power Factor Correction 11/16/2009 10:46 PM
	They are already made. They are called capacitors. Why do you think you need to correct the power factor? Is this a residence?
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marcot (1); Neil Kwyrer (1); tcmtech (1); wareagle (1)

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