Quote:
Originally Posted by captden  Great info thanks Charlie, I'll have to see what it will do adding a resistive load when charging
Captden |
Power Factor Correction is NOT a subject for amateur “tinkering” - it’s a little more complicated than adding CAPACITORS (not Resistors) to the circuit.
There are two general causes of poor power factor: lagging* reactive loads (inductive Xl) and electronic power supplies.
Poor power factor caused by inductive loads, such as motors, are corrected by adding a capacitor (leading reactance Xc) in parallel to the load.
* Memory aid: “CIVIL” – in a Capacitor the I (current) leads Voltage, Voltage leads I (current) in an inductor L.
Electronic power supplies, (for example,
inverters, computer power supplies, & other non-linear loads) on the other hand,
cannot be corrected by merely adding capacitors in parallel. In order to improve their Power Factor & Harmonic Disortion (THD), these devices have to be designed with active* power factor correction.
See the sections on Inverters & Harmonics at the end of this tutorial:
➥
POWER AND POWER FACTOR IN AN AC CIRCUIT Some good basic tutorials on Power Factor:
➥
Lessons In Electric Circuits -- Volume II (AC) - Chapter 11
➥
http://www.theiet.org/publishing/wir...r.cfm?type=pdf Power Factor and the Modified Sine Wave:
➥
Power Factor - facts vs fiction