Reactive charges and power factor correction
Power Factor is a measure of how efficiently electrical equipment on site is being used; the closer this ratio is to 1 the better, but in practice, anything above 0.95 is said to be good and will usually be sufficient to avoid penalty charges.
Reactive Power is the difference between True Power (measured kW) and Apparent Power (measured kVA) and Power Factor is the ratio between them.
The presence of reactive power (kVAr) on the system leads to a lower Power Factor. Certain types of equipment (traditional motors, chillers, induction heaters, fluorescent tubes, for example) require reactive power to operate and this places additional load on the network. Network operators make a charge for this and pass this onto the end user via the supplier as kVArh charges.
Power Factor Correction works to eliminate Reactive Power (kVAr) with the result being that the overall Reactive Power levels are reduced, and Power Factor is improved to a level that eliminate kVArh charges.
Why install Power Factor Correction?
Save Money
Removal of Reactive Power and Excess Availability Charges are both direct savings that you can benefit from.
Free Up Capacity
If you want to increase your authorised supply capacity but can’t due to limitations on the network, improving power factor could free up enough capacity to facilitate this without costly upgrades.
