Power Factor Correction – PFC

Stop paying for the Froth!

It may seem odd to have a pint of beer to explain PFC, but it is the most common way of illustrating what Power Factor is.

• Reduce Your KVA Demand Network Charges
• Increase Supply Capacity Without Costly Upgrades
• Quick And Easy Installation By An Approved Electrician
• Accelerated ROI

If you are on a KVA demand tariff and have a poor Power Factor, you are literally throwing money down the drain. You are essentially paying for a full beer that is half full with useless froth – Reactive Power.

Power factor is a measure of how effective incoming power is being used by your electrical equipment, and is expressed as a numerical value between zero and one. The higher the power factor, the more effective the electrical equipment is being used e.g. a power factor of 0.8 means that 80 per cent of power supplied to the equipment is being used effectively, and 20 per cent is being wasted. This wastage is an unnecessary cost. Ideally your power factor should be as close to one as possible to ensure your site is using energy efficiently.

Many networks have already moved from KW demand to KVA demand tariffs.

Recently in Queensland Energex has completed this transition. In Victoria it is anticipated customers in the Citipower and Powercor Network areas will move to KVA based tariffs in July 2016, followed by Jemena in January 2017.

An example would be if a customer was currently on a KW tariff and their current demand was 450 KW. If they had the perfect Power Factor of 1, their KVA demand would be 450 KVA. However if their Power Factor was say 0.83, their KVA demand would be 540 KVA. If the demand charges for the year for each KVA was $220, the cost to this business by not correcting their Power Factor would be around $19,800 Per Annum.

There is an additional benefit if you have poor Power Factor and require increased capacity at your site, by correcting the Power Factor, you will automatically potentially gain the increased capacity you require instead of spending large amounts of money on electricity supply upgrades.