Manufacturer’s Association of the Hudson Valley

 

Power Factor Improvement Seminar

When: Wednesday, August 4th from 8:00- 10:00 am
Where: Central Hudson, Poughkeepsie, NY
Cost: $15 for members

To register or for more information e-mail Harold King at hking@councilofindustry.org or call (845) 565-1355.

Click here to register and pay online.

You may be paying more than is necessary for electricity if your power factor is not as high as it could be.

Power factor is a measure of how efficiently you use the electricity provided to you by your utility. Most industrial facilities and many commercial and institutional facilities have many inductive loads, such as, motors, transformers and relays, which require magnetizing current to operate. This magnetizing current is measured in KVAR. When the utility supplies this KVAR it uses additional distribution capacity. That is why the Public Service Commission has mandated that utilities bill at a higher rate when a customer doesn’t use power in an efficient manner.

All users need kilowatts to do the useful work done in any facility. This is referred to as real power. However, an additional component of electricity, reactive power or KVAR, is needed to supply magnetizing current to motors, transformers and relays. The sum of these two components is referred to as apparent power or KVA. If the customer provides the KVAR by installing capacitors he can raise his power factor and reduce the apparent power (KVA) he needs. This reduces what the utility has to supply and consequently reduces the customer’s electric bill.

Besides increasing the power factor, installing capacitors can also improve your voltage, increase your system efficiency by lowering your line losses and even increase your system capacity, reducing or possibly eliminating capital expansion expenses.

For more information on power factors, you can contact Rich Zuccaro at 937-253-1191 x185 or by email at zuccaror@stacoenergy.com

 

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