RMDSSOE, PUNE-58 AUTOMATIC POWER FACTOR DETECTION AND CORRECTION

CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
In the present technological revolution, power is very precious and the power
system is becoming more and more complex with each passing day. As such it becomes
necessary to transmit each unit of power generated over increasing distances with minimum
loss of power. However, with increasing number of inductive loads, large variation in load
etc. the losses have also increased manifold. Hence, it has become prudent to find out the
causes of power loss and improve the power system. Due to increasing use of inductive loads,
the load power factor decreases considerably which increases the losses in the system and
hence power system losses its efficiency.
An Automatic power factor correction device reads power factor from line
voltage and line current by determining the delay in the arrival of the current signal with
respect to voltage signal from the source with high accuracy. It determines the phase angle
lag(ø) between the voltage and current signals and then determines the corresponding power
factor(cos ø). Then the ARDUINO calculates the compensation requirement and accordingly
switches ON the relay and the switch bank capacitor until the power factor is normalized to
about unity. If Power Factor which is -1 >PF< +1 (ie. Greater than -1 or Lesser than +1) is
detected, then Correction Capacitor automatically connects with parallel to Inductive load by
using Relay.
Automatic power factor correction techniques can be applied to industrial
units, power systems and also households to make them stable. As a result the system
becomes stable and efficiency of the system as well as of the apparatus increases. Therefore,
the use of Arduino based power factor corrector kit results in reduced overall costs for both
the consumers and the suppliers of electrical energy.
Power factor correction kit reduces reactive power consumption which
will lead to minimization of losses and at the same time increases the electrical system‘s
efficiency.
The development of this project is to enhance and upgrade the operation of
single phase capacitor by developing a micro-processor based control system.

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CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE SURVEY

ABB technical application investigated in electrical plants the loads draw from
the network electric power (active) as power supply source or convert it into another form of
energy or into mechanical output To get this, it is often necessary that the load exchanges
with the network the reactive energy, mainly of inductive type. To smooth such negative
effect, the power factor correction of the electrical plants is carried out. [1]
K. Anitha, Riya Chatterjee et al. designed and developed an electronic device
which detects current drawn by power electronic interfaces from the line is distorted
resulting in a high total Harmonic Distortion and low p.f. this creates adverse effects on the
power system include increased magnitudes of neutral currents in three phase systems,
overheating in transformers and induction motors. That device aims to develop a circuit for
PFC by using bank of capacitors, for improving circuit quality and switching loss. [2]
Yuchen Han et al. designed designed device that Face to energy crisis and
increasingly severe pressure on environmental pollution, electric vehicles have become the
new direction of the vehicles. In order to meet the electric vehicle's charging requirements for
high power factor (PF), this paper intends to implement single switch active power factor
correction (APFC) function under the control of voltage, current dual closed-loop in Inductor
current “continuous conduction mode” (CCM). The power factor can be improved to nearly 1
and it has good application value in actual project. [3]
John Ware publishes, POWER FACTOR is the ratio between the useful (true)
power (kW) to the total (apparent) power (kVA) consumed by an item of a.c. electrical
equipment or a complete electrical installation. It is a measure of how efficiently electrical
power is converted into useful work output. The ideal power factor is unity, or one. Anything
less than one means that extra power is required to achieve the actual task at hand [4]
  Wang Su , He Ming designed a model which analyses and studies the APFC
based on the average current control single-phase Boost type APFC circuit. In addition, the
simulation model is built on the MATLAB and the results were shown in their kit. The results
show the average current control single-phase Boost type APFC circuit, complete can achieve
rectifier, high input power factor, Boost, voltage, low ripple goals. In some way, the power
factor is improved. [5]

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2.1 THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

Power factor is an energy concept that is related to power flow in

electrical systems. To understand power factor, it is helpful to understand three different
types of power in electrical systems.
Real Power is the power that is actually converted into useful work for
creating heat, light and motion. Real power is measured in kilowatts (kW) and is totalized by
the electric billing meter in kilowatt-hours (kWh). An example of real power is the useful
work that directly turns the shaft of a motor.
Reactive Power is the power used to sustain the electromagnetic field in
inductive and capacitive equipment. It is the non- working power component. Reactive power
is measured in kilovolt-amperes reactive (kVAR). Reactive power does not appear on the
customer billing statement.
Total Power or Apparent power is the combination of real power and
reactive power. Total power is measured in kilovolt-amperes (kVA) and is totalized by the
electric billing meter in kilovolt-ampere-hours (kVAh). Power factor (PF) is defined as the
ratio of real power to total power, and is expressed as a percentage (%) as shown in fig.1.1
Power factor cos φ is defined as the ratio between the Active component IR and the total
value of the current I; φ is the phase angle between the voltage and the current

Fig 1.1 Power Triangle

For phase angle calculation, ɸ = Δt x f x 360˚

Where Δt = Time difference (s)

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F =Frequency (50 hz)

and, Power factor = cos ɸ

2.2 Power Factor Correction:

Power factor correction is the process of compensating for the lagging

current by creating a leading current by connecting capacitor to the supply. A sufficient
capacitance can be connected so that the power factor is adjusted to be as close to unity as
possible. Power factor correction (PFC) is a system of counteracting the undesirable effects
of electric loads that create a power factor that is less than one (1)
In Power factor correction, System scans the current and voltage waveforms of
Load connected to Supply OUT at every 10 Seconds. If load having PF less than 0.95 or
greater than -0.95, then it considered as Inductive load. As soon as Inductive load detected,
Correction Capacitor get added in parallel to Inductive load. (At ideal condition, PF value -1
or +1 considered as Resistive load.)
The reactive power increases the current flowing between the power source
and the load, which increases the power losses through transmission and distribution lines.
This results in operational and financial losses for power companies. Therefore, power
companies require their customers, especially those with large loads, to maintain their power
factors above a specified amount especially around ally 0.92 or higher, or be subject to
additional charges.

CHAPTER 3
PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION

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3.1 BLOCK DIAGRAM

Figure 3.1: Block Diagram of Automatic power factor detector and corrector

3.2 DESCRIPTION

The above given circuit for Automatic Power Factor detection and
correction operates on the principal of constantly monitoring the power factor of the system
and to initiate the required correction in case the power factor is less than the set value of
power factor. As shown in figure 3.1, This is our system, which contains Supply IN, Contrast
Adjuster, LCD Display, reset switch, and Supply OUT. The inner block of system are
Potential Transformer, Current Transformer, Step down transformer, Power Supply section,
Main Control Unit, and Arduino UNO board.16x2 LCD can display 16 characters per line.
Each character is displayed in 5x7 pixel matrix. This LCD has two registers, instruction
register and data register. The principal element in the circuit is PIC microcontroller. The
current and voltage signal are acquired from the main AC line by using Current Transformer
and Potential Transformer. These acquired signals are then pass on the Zero crossing
detectors. Bridge Rectifier for both current and voltage signals transposes the analog signals
to the digital signal.

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Microcontroller read the RMS value for voltage and current used in its algorithm
to select the value of in demand capacitor for the load to correct the power factor and
monitors the behaviour of the enduring load on the basis of current depleted by the load.

In case of low power factor Microcontroller send out the signal to switching unit
that will switch on the in-demand value of capacitor. The tasks executed by the
microcontroller for correcting the low power factor by selecting the in demand value of
capacitor and load monitoring are shown in LCD.

3.3 CIRCUIT DIAGRAM

Figure 3.2 AUTOMATIC POWER FACTOR DETECTION AND CORRECTION

3.4 CIRCUIT DESCRIPTION

The voltage signal obtained is converted into the digital by comparator
circuit since micro controller accepts the digitized format only. This is given to the
microcontroller as one input. Similarly, for current signal, from the current transformer is

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converted into voltage signal by rectification. As previously digitized the voltage signal, this
current signal in the form of voltage is also digitized by the comparator circuit.
These two digitized signals i.e. voltage and currents are sent to the
microcontroller as the inputs. According to the program written microcontroller calculates the
time difference between the zero crossings of these two signals. This time difference is
indirectly proportional to the system power factor. The information about this power factor
and the power loss is displayed on the LCD display. And according to the range calculated by
the microcontroller program; this drives the relays which switches the shunt capacitors across
the load. While increasing of the inductive load by connecting the other loads like motors to
this circuit results in reduced power factor. This will make the microcontroller to drive the
more number of relays resulting in more shunt capacitors to be connected.
In this project simple method of capacitor requirement calculation used
based on the time delay between the voltage and current to bring the power factor near to
unity. But in real time applications it will not be so. It requires the calculations like load
current magnitude and KVAR requirement etc. Number of capacitors requirements depends
on the load on the particular system. These parameters must be considered while dealing with
the commercial power factor improvement or compensating products.

3.4.1 Zero crossing detector

A zero crossing is a point where the sign of a mathematical function

changes (e.g. from positive to negative), represented by the crossing of the axis (zero value)
in the graph of the function. It is a commonly used term in electronics, mathematics, sound
and image processing. In alternating current, the zero-crossing is the instantaneous point at
which there is no voltage present. In sine wave this condition normally occurs twice in a
cycle.
A zero crossing detector is an important application of op-amp comparator
circuit. It can also be referred to as a sine to square wave converter. Anyone of the inverting
or the non-inverting comparators can be used as a zero crossing detector. The reference
voltage in this case is set to zero. The output voltage waveform shows when and in what
direction some input signal crosses zero volts. If input voltage is a low frequency signal, then
output voltage will be less quick to switch from one saturation point to another. And if there
is noise in between the two input nodes, the output may fluctuate between positive and
negative saturation voltage ‗Vsat‘. .Here IC LM358 is used as a zero crossing detector.

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Fig:3.3 Zero Crossing Detector

3.5 COMPONENTS AND THEIR DESCRIPTION

3.5.1 Potential Transformer

A potential transformer, a voltage transformer or a laminated core
transformer is the most common type of transformer widely used in electrical power
transmission and appliances to convert mains voltage to low voltage in order to power low
power electronic devices. They are available in power ratings ranging from mW to MW. The
Insulated laminations minimize eddy current losses in the iron core. A potential transformer
is typically described by its voltage ratio from primary to secondary. A 600:120 potential
transformer would provide an output voltage of 120V when a voltage of 600V is impressed
across the primary winding. The potential transformer here has a voltage ratio of 230:24 i.e.,
when input voltage is the single phase voltage 230V, the output is 12V.
The potential transformer here is being used for voltage sensing in the line.
They are designed to present negligible load to the supply being measured and have an
accurate voltage ratio and phase relationship to enable accurate secondary connected
metering. The potential transformer is used to supply a voltage of about 12V to the Zero
Crossing Detectors for zero crossing detection. The outputs of the potential transformer are
taken from one of the peripheral terminals and the central terminal as only a voltage of about
12V is sufficient for the operation of Zero crossing detector circuit.

3.5.2 Current Transformer:

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The current transformer is an instrument transformer used to step-down the

current in the circuit to measurable values and is thus used for measuring alternating currents.
When the current in a circuit is too high to apply directly to a measuring instrument, a current
transformer produces a reduced current accurately proportional to the current in the circuit,
which can in turn be conveniently connected to measuring and recording instruments. A
current Transformer isolates the measuring instrument from what may be a very high voltage
in the monitored circuit. Current transformers are commonly used in metering and protective
relays.
Like any other transformer, a current transformer has a single turn wire of a
very large cross-section as its primary winding and the secondary winding has a large number
of turns, thereby reducing the current in the secondary to a fraction of that in the primary.
Thus, it has a primary winding, a magnetic core and a secondary winding. The alternating
current in the primary produces an alternating magnetic field in the magnetic core, which
then induces an alternating current in the secondary winding circuit.

3.5.3 Switch Bank Capacitor

Capacitor banks may also be used in direct current power supplies to increase
stored energy and improve the ripple current capacity of the power supply. The capacitor
bank consists of a group of four ac capacitors, all rated at 400V, 50 Hz i.e., the supply voltage
and frequency. The value of capacitors is different and it consists of four capacitors of
2.5micro farad. All the capacitors are connected in parallel to one another and the load. The
capacitor bank is controlled by the relay module and is connected across the line. The
operation of a relay connects the associated capacitor across the line in parallel with the load
and other capacitors.

3.5.4 LM358
The abbreviation LM358 indicates an integrated circuit to 8 feet, containing
two operational amplifiers at low power. The LM358 is designed for general use as
amplifiers, high-pass filters and low, band pass filters and analogue adders.
One of the particularities of this integrated is to be designed to be able to operate with a
single static power that ranges from a minimum of 3 V to a maximum of 32 V although
typically there settles at levels between 5 V and 15 V. In fact, while most of the integrated
circuits containing the operational needs two power supplies, a positive and a negative, the
LM358 can be connected to one positive supply while the negative supply is replaced by the
mass. However, depending on the needs, it can also introduce the negative power supply by

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connecting the leg called ground to the appropriate generator. In feeding regime double the
voltage range is ± 1.5 ÷ 16 V.

Fig:3.5.4 LM358 Op-amp

3.5.5 Summer/Adder (X-OR) gate:

They provide the system designer with a means for implementation of the
EXCLUSIVE OR function. Logic gates utilize silicon gate CMOS technology to achieve
operating speeds similar to LSTTL gates with the low power consumption of standard CMOS
integrated circuits. All devices have the ability to drive STTL loads. The HCT logic family is
functionally pin compatible with the standard LS logic family.

Fig:3.5.5 X-OR gate

3.5.6 Relay Driver:

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The ULN2003A are high voltage, high current Darlington arrays each
containing seven open collector Darlington pairs with common emitters. Each channel rated
at 500mA and can withstand peak currents of 600mA. Suppression diodes are included for
inductive load driving and the inputs are pinned opposite the outputs to simplify board layout.
The four versions interface to all common logic families:

Fig:3.5.6 ULN 2003A

These versatile devices are useful for driving a wide range of loads including
solenoids, relays, DC motors, LED displays filament lamps, thermal print heads and high
power buffers. The ULN2001A/2002A/2003A and 2004A are supplied in 16 pin plastic DIP
packages with a copper lead frame to reduce thermal resistance. They are available also in
small outline package (SO-16) as ULN2001D/2002D/2003D/2004D.

Fig:3.5.6 Pinout of uln2003a

3.5.7 RELAY
The relays used in the control circuit are high-quality Single Pole-Double
Throw (SPDT), sealed 6V Sugar Cube Relays. These relays operate by virtue of an
electromagnetic field generated in a solenoid as current is made to flow in its winding. The
control circuit of the relay is usually low power (here, a 6V supply is used) and the controlled
circuit is a power circuit with voltage around 230V ac.
The relays are individually driven by the relay driver through a 6V power supply. Initially the
relay contacts are in the Normally Open ‘state. When a relay operates, the electromagnetic

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field forces the solenoid to move up and thus the contacts of the external power circuit are
made. As the contact is made, the associated capacitor is connected in parallel with the load
and across the line. The relay coil is rated up to 8V, with a minimum switching voltage of
5V. The contacts of the relay are rated up to 7A @ 270C AC and 7A @ 24V DC

Fig:3.5.7 relay

3.5.8 LCD (Liquid Crystal Display)

LCD panel consist of two patterned glass panels in which crystal is filled
under vacuum. The thickness of glass varies according to end use. Most of the LCD modules
have glass thickness in the range of 0.70 to 1.1mm.
Normally these liquid crystal molecules are placed between glass plates to
form a spiral stair case to twist the light. These LCD cannot display any information directly.
These act as an interface between electronics and electronics circuit to give a visual output.
The values are displayed in the 2x16 LCD modules after converting suitably. The liquid
crystal display (LCD), as the name suggests is a technology based on the use of liquid crystal.
It is a transparent material but after applying voltage it becomes opaque. This property is the
fundamental operating principle of LCDs.

Fig:3.5.8 Liquid Crystal Display

3.5.9 Arduino Uno

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Fig:3.5.9 Arduino Uno

The Arduino Uno is a microcontroller board based on the ATmega328. It has
14 digital input/output pins (of which 6 can be used as PWM outputs), 6 analog inputs, a 16
MHz ceramic resonator, a USB connection, a power jack, an ICSP header, and a reset button.
It contains everything needed to support the microcontroller; simply connect it to a computer
with a USB cable or power it with a AC-to-DC adapter or battery to get started.
The Uno differs from all preceding boards in that it does not use the FTDI
USB-to-serial driver chip. Instead, it features the Atmega16U2 (Atmega8U2 up to version
R2) programmed as a USB-to-serial converter. The Arduino Uno can be powered via the
USB connection or with an external power supply. The power source is selected
automatically.
External (non-USB) power can come either from an AC-to-DC adapter (wall-
wart) or battery.
Microcontroller ATmega328
Operating Voltage 5V 7-12V
Input Voltage (recommended)
Input Voltage (limits) 6-20V
Digital I/O Pins 14 (of which 6 provide PWM output)
Analog Input Pins 6
DC Current per I/O Pin 40 mA
DC Current for 3.3V Pin 50 mA
Flash Memory 32 KB (ATmega328) of which 0.5 KB used
by bootloader
SRAM 2 KB (ATmega328)
EEPROM 1 KB (ATmega328)
Clock Speed 16 MHz

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3.6 COST ANALYSIS

Table 3.1 Cost Analysis

CHAPTER 4
RESULT ANALYSIS

4.1 RESULT

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The expected outcome of this project is to measuring the power factor value
displaying it in the LCD and to improve power factor using capacitor bank and reduce current
draw by the load using microcontroller and proper algorithm to turn on capacitor automatically,
determine and trigger sufficient switching of capacitor in order to compensate excessive reactive
components, thus bringing power factor near to unity ,there by improving the efficiency of the
system and reducing the electricity bill.
To verify the performance of the automatic power factor correction using
microcontroller a prototype is developed and tested. Figure shows the system setup for the
automatic power correction using microcontroller. The power supply is of 12-6V using step down
transformer. And it contains a microcontroller, LCD module which is displaying correct power
factor and relays which help to include capacitor banks to the circuit as per the necessity.
Prototype is verified using, an inductive load. Which initially gives a lagging power factor, which
by than gives an improved power factor close to unity by the proper working of the APFC unit.

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Fig 4.1,4.2,4.3 – supply PCB 3d view, tracking of supply PCB and main PCB
4.2 Experimental Model

Fig:4.4 Project Model on Breadboard(Experimental)

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4.3 Actual Model

Fig 4.5 Actual Project kit

4.4 Proteus Simulation

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Fig:4.4.1 ZCD output from inputs to the X-OR

Fig:4.4.1 ZCD outputs of current and voltage as inputs to the X-OR

CHAPTER 5

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FUTURE SCOPE

The automotive power factor correction using capacitive load banks is very efficient as it
reduces the cost by decreasing the power drawn from the supply. As it operates
automatically, manpower is not required and this Automated Power Factor Correction using
capacitive load banks can be used for the industries purpose in the future

5.1 ADVERSE EFFECT OF OVER CORRECTION

1. Power system becomes unstable
2. Resonant frequency is below the line frequency

3. Current and voltage increases

5.2 ADVANTAGES OF CORRECTED POWER FACTOR

1. Reactive power decreases

2. Avoid poor voltage regulation

3. Overloading is avoided

4. Copper loss decreases

5. Transmission loss decreases

6. Improved voltage control

7. Efficiency of supply system and apparatus increases

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CHAPTER 6
CONCLUSION

The Automatic Power Factor Detection and Correction provides an efficient technique to
improve the power factor of a power system by an economical way. Static capacitors are
invariably used for power factor improvement in factories or distribution line. However, this
system makes use of capacitors only when power factor is low otherwise they are cut off
from line. Thus, it not only improves the power factor but also increases the life time of static
capacitors. The power factor of any distribution line can also be improved easily by low cost
small rating capacitor.

It can be concluded that power factor correction techniques can be applied to the industries,
power systems and also households to make them stable and due to that the system becomes
stable and efficiency of the system as well as the apparatus increases. The use of
microcontroller reduces the costs. Due to use of microcontroller multiple parameters can be
controlled and the use of extra hard wares such as timer, RAM, ROM and input output ports
reduces.

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REFERENCE 

P. N. Enjeti and R Martinez, ―A high performance single phase rectifier with input
power factor correction, IEEE Trans. Power Electron.vol.11, No. 2, Mar.2003.pp 311-317

[2] J.G. Cho, J.W. Won, H.S. Lee, ―Reduced conduction loss zero-voltage-transition power
factor correction converter with low cost, IEEE Trans. Industrial Electron. vol.45, no 3, Jun.
2000, pp395-400

[3] V.K Mehta and Rohit Mehta, ―Principles of power system‖, S. Chand & Company Ltd,

[4] International Journal of Engineering and Innovative Technology (IJEIT) Volume 3, Issue
4, October 2013 272 Power Factor Correction Using PIC Microcontroller

 www.arduino.cc

Design and Implementation of Microcontroller-Based Controlling of Power Factor Using

Capacitor Banks with Load Monitoring, Global Journal of Researches in Engineering
Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Volume 13, Issue 2, Version 1.0 Year 2013 Type:
Double Blind Peer Reviewed International Research Journal Publisher: Global Journals Inc.
(USA) Online ISSN: 2249-4596 & Print ISSN: 0975-5861

[5] Electric power industry reconstructing in India, Present scenario and future prospects,
S.N. Singh, senior member, IEEE and S.C. Srivastava, Senior Member, IEEE.

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