MONITORING OF POWER FACTOR IN INDUSTRIES

MONITORING OF POWER FACTOR IN INDUSTRIES

PREPARED BY

K.S.RANGASAMY COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY

S.SADISH

S.SAKTHIKESAVAN

M.VIJAY PRATHEEP

C.SANGEETHA

P.SHIVA SHANKARI

The disadvantages of low power factors are three. The first is that transmission lines and other power circuit elements are usually more reactive than resistive. Reactive components of current produce larger voltage drops than resistive components, and add to the total IZ = (I(R + LX)) drop, therefore, the system-voltage regulation suffers more and additional voltage- regulating equipment may be required for satisfactory operation of the equipment using power. The second disadvantage is the inefficient utilization of the transmission equipment since more current flow per unit of real power transmitted is necessary due to the reactive power also carried in the power lines. If the current necessary to satisfy reactive power could be reduced, more useful power could be transmitted through the present system. The third disadvantage is the cost of the increased power loss in transmission lines. The increased power loss is due to the unnecessary reactive power which is in the system. The reactive power losses vary as the square of the reactive current or as the inverse of the power factor squared.

Need for Power Factor Improvement

·         Real power is given by P = VIcosφ. To transfer a given amount of power at certain voltage, the electrical current is inversely proportional to cosφ. Hence higher the pf lower will be the current flowing. A small current flow requires less cross sectional area of conductor and thus it saves conductor and money.

·         From above relation we saw having poor power factor increases the current flowing in conductor and thus copper loss increases. Further large voltage drop occurs in alternator, electrical transformer and transmission & distribution lines which gives very poor voltage regulation.

·         Further the KVA rating of machines is also reduced by having higher power factor as, Hence, the size and cost of machine also reduced. So, electrical power factor should be maintained close to unity.

PROBLEM:

The major challenge for the TANGEDCO is that maintenance of power factor constant throughout their surroundings especially in large scale industries and automation industries because all these type of industries use various types of motors with varying inductive loads.The rule of the TANGEDCO is that the industries should maintain their power factor to unity or close to unity. But in practical most of the industries cannot maintain the power factor close to unity. Checking of the power factor in every industries in their surroundings frequently is a tedious one.

           

SOLUTION:

            This problem can be resolved by monitoring the power factor of the locality industries regularly. When the power factor in the industries become low it is necessary to alert the industry for taking the necessary actions but when the company ignores it, it is necessary to alert the TANGEDCO in their locality to take steps against the industries. By that they can easily maintain their fixed power factor with less effort.

RELATING TO IOT:

This becomes so simple by using the Internet of Things. We can monitor the power factors in industries by using the sensors and updating regularly in the cloud. When the power factor reaches it low value, the IoT can senses this change in the power factor. Then it sends a alert to the specific company whose power factor is low. If the company ignores the alert for some time and if the IoT does not sense any changes for a specific period of time, it automatically sends the criteria and alerts the TANGEDCO about this situation. This in turn helps the TANGEDCO to take the actions against the companies without visiting the companies and with less efforts.

           

            Another advantage is that this IoT proves to be a proof for the company’s power factor management. So no personal influence or fraudulence can take place.

 FLOW FOR MONITORING THE POWER FACTOR: