Published by : International Journal of Engineering Research & Technology (IJERT)

http://www.ijert.org ISSN: 2278-0181

Vol. 9 Issue 05, May-2020

Design and Assembly of APFC Electrical Panel

1
Manthan , 2Bhavy , 3Devang ,4Rutvik Prof. Kaushal Patel
1,2,3,4
B.tech Student , Assistant Professor:
Department of Electrical engineering, Indus university, Dept. of Electrical Engineering
Ahmedabad, Gujarat , India Indus University
Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India

Abstract: As we know that power system load is increasing

day by day as the industrial and commercial load are
increasing . In modern power system most of the load is
inductive load to compensate this inductive load capacitive
load is must require . Inductive load is consume reactive
power in the system which affect generation of plant (in
power system load is dynamic as it change according time) .
the main application of apfc panel is it has automatic
capacitor which connected according to requirement of
reactive power .

Key word –Power Factor, APFC Panel , Power factor

correction, Inductive ,Capacitor, penalty
Most industrial loads have a character, ie inductive loads,
1.INTRODUCTION:
so the power factor is low or very poor depending on the
The power factor is the ratio between KW and KVA
power of the reactive power. These reactive loads include
generated by the electric load, where KWis the active
electric motors, induction heaters, furnaces, lamp ballasts,
power and KVA is the apparent power. This is a measure
and the like. These loads cause the currents to hang at
of how current is effectively converted to work output and
certain angles, leading to a poor power factor. This low
is a good indicator of the impact of load current, especially
power factor attracts high internal current, which in turn
on operating system supply. Most art burdens are a
creates excess heat in the equipment, a huge voltage drop
stimulus to the environment that results. Disconnection of
and poor voltage regulation. A low power factor requires a
electrical components results in power outages and waste
high KVA for the equipment, so the cost of the equipment
resulting in high power bills and heavy fines from the
increases. Therefore, energy waste will increase. There for
power board. When the weight of the inequality is very
the electricity board put extra penalty on those industries.
high, it is very difficult to maintain the unity element. To
Keeping the above things in mind, one can say that the
overcome this problem, APFC panels were used, retaining
power factor must be corrected for a better utilization of the
elements of unity. As such, industries require automatic
power, and to overcome all the drawbacks discussed above
electronic correction systems . APFC or automatic factor
there for the APFC panel will comes in to play to
control panel panels are widely used for power factor
improve the power factor and reduces the penalty from
optimization. Power factor can be defined as the ratio of
the electricity board.
apparent energy to active energy, and an important factor in
measuring power consumption is the fact that everyone
iii. METHODS OF IMPROVING POWER
knows how much electricity is available today. Thus, in
FACTOR
order to reduce costs, it is important to reduce the cost of
1 phase advanser
electricity. To achieve this end, APFC panels are actually
2.synchronous condenser
easily accessible. The use of these control panels is
3. using capacitor bank
important in industries where power installations are used
1.PHASE ADVANSER:
to supply a wide range of electronics. Decreased power
This method helps improve the power factor is also known
factor may attract those responsible for power supply,
as a phase advisor using an AC exciter. However, it can
operating loss and fines from power supply. APFC panels
only be used for induction motors because the stator of the
can effectively and automatically control rapid change and
motor draws the winding current that is 90 ° behind the
load loads while maintaining a high power factor. It will
voltage and results in a lower power factor. The only way
use existing ratings to respond to various requests.
to get rid of this problem would be to use an external
source that would provide exciting ampere-winding. The
ii. DETAILS OF APFC
phase advisor helps solve this problem when it is connected
to the motor's rotor circuit. The exciting ampere-turns
2.1 Power factor without using APFC Panel
provided by the consultant are at slip frequency. A leading

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Published by : International Journal of Engineering Research & Technology (IJERT)
http://www.ijert.org ISSN: 2278-0181
Vol. 9 Issue 05, May-2020

power factor can also be obtained by providing a greater

ampere-turn. 4.1 Needs for automatic power correction
Power factor correction (PFC) is a technique of
The main advantages of using a phase advisor include the counteracting the undesirable effects of electric loads
low amount of reactive power drawn by the motor. It can that create a powerfactor that is less than one.Power
also be used in places where a synchronous condenser is factor correction may be applied either by an electrical
unacceptable. However, phase motors cannot be used for power transmission utility to improve the stability
motors below 200 hp. Which is informal. andefficiency of the transmission network or
2.SYNCHRONOUS CONDENSER : Another way to correction may be installed by individual electrical
improve the power factor is to use a 3-phase synchronous customers to reduce the costscharged to them by their
motor, which is over-excited and operates without load. electricity supplier.An electrical load that operates on
This setup is known as a synchronous condenser. The alternating current requires apparent power, which
interesting part is that synchronous motors can operate consists of real power plusreactive power. Real power
under pioneer, lagging, or unity power factor. If an is the power actually consumed by the load. Reactive
inductive load is present, the condenser will be connected power is repeatedly demanded by the loadand returned
to the edge of the load and act as a capacitor to correct the to the power source, and it is the cyclical effect that
power factor. The synchronous condenser has many occurs when alternating current passes through a load
advantages as it requires less maintenance, can last up to 25 thatcontains a reactive component.Power factor
years and is not affected by harmonics. However, its correction attempts to adjust the power factor of an AC
disadvantages include high maintenance, cost and noise. load or an AC power transmission system tounity
Additional equipment is also required to start the motor as through various methods. Simple methods include
it does not have self-starting torque. switching in or out banks of capacitors or inductors
3. USING CAPACITOR BANK - which act tocancel the inductive or capacitive effects
A well-known factor that decreases the power factor is the of the load, respectively. For example, the inductive
current due to the inductive load. To improve the power effect of motor loads may beoffset by locally
factor, static capacitors are installed parallel to devices connected capacitors.
operating at low power factor. The major current drawn by v. DESIGN METHODOLOGY
such capacitors neutralizes or corrects the lagging reactive Panel design comprising following steps
component of the load current. Static capacitors have many 1. GA drawing
advantages because they are lighter, easier to install, have 2. meter wiring
less damage and require less maintenance. However, the 3. control wiring diagram .
losses are quite notable where if the voltage is exceeded the .4. Single line diagram
capacitors will be damaged quickly and their repair will
become expensive. He also has a short service life (8–10
years).
iv.BASIC THEORY OF APFC PANEL

FIGURE 1 GA (General arrangement)

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Published by : International Journal of Engineering Research & Technology (IJERT)
http://www.ijert.org ISSN: 2278-0181
Vol. 9 Issue 05, May-2020

FIGURE 2 (METER WIRING) wwwWIRING)

FIGURE 3 ( CONTROL AND POWER WIRING DIAGRAM)

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Published by : International Journal of Engineering Research & Technology (IJERT)
http://www.ijert.org ISSN: 2278-0181
Vol. 9 Issue 05, May-2020

FIGURE 4 (SINGLE LINE DIAGRAM)

• WORKING
Meter and controlled wiring diagram Figure no. (2) shows • Manual connection
the meter wiring and figure (3) shows the controlled wiring When auto manual switch manual terminal side km1 is
. Three c.t. connected with three phase and measure current energize and convert in no to nc then as per figure (3) km1
through and as per reactive power requirement relay gives works as nc when we press the start button PB (push
the output signal to no duty contactor as per requirement button) then kc contactor is energized and KC contactor
the duty contactor on or off simultaneously . In relay work NO to NC and capacitor connect with the supply this
auxiliary power supply is phase to phase .one phase is process is totally is manually and to disconnect the
going to auto manual switch and second phase going to capacitor press the stop P.B then KC contactor dienergize
cooling fan .In the auto manual switch to contactor is then capacitor will disconnect.
connected with 2 switch point. First point ka1 and second This manual system is use for continuous flow of reactive
point KM 1when auto manual switch terminal is autoside power.
then KA1 vi.CONCULSION
By installing suitable capacitor bank into circuit the power
factor is improved the value become nearer to 0.9 to 0.95
contactor is energize figure (3) shows the ka1 is off when consequently , it minimize loss of power system and
contactor energize ka1 is converted in NC(normally closed improve efficiency of system . by using the APFC panel
) in all four bank and as per reactive power requirement system become more stable and reliable also, efficiency of
apfc relay pass the output signal to any kc contactor and kc power system is highly increased . capacitor banks have
contactor energize than capacitor duty contactor is convert generated reactive power and requirement of reactive
NO(normally open ) to NC contactor and delta connected power drawl from system therefore consumers can better
capacitor is fed the reactive power in supply line . utilize the power supply by using apfc panel and optimize
AS in figure -4 shows that three 5 kva capacitors and one use of power in power system .
10 kvar capacitor 4 bank apfc panel designed in the system
require 15 kvar supply when apfc relay give signal to duty vii. REFERENCE
contactor there after kc1 contactor will energize as per [1] http://www.electricalnotes-article.com by “Jignesh Parmar
[2] power electricals
figure (3) in kc1 contactor connect with 5 kvar delta [3] http://www.electricalnotes-apfcblockdiagram.com/
connected capacitor so 5 kvar fed in the supply line but [4] International standards IEC 60831-1
require 15 kvar the kc2 contactor is energize and another [5] International standards IEC 60831-2
capacitor is connected means 15kvar demand is not [6] J. Dungan Glover, Mulukts S.Sarma, Thomas G. Overbye.”Power
System Analysis and Design”,
connect with supply till then apfc relay gives the signal to [7] [POWER FACTOR CORRECTION .] www.nhp.com.au. NHP
duty contactor. catalogue -PFC
[8] http://www.electrosome.com

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