What will be the effect of a decreased power factor to an electrical equipment's performance / durability ?

Answer 1

Low power factor gives rise to unwanted magnetic fields which in turn use energy and produce heat.

For instance running a electric motor with a low pf will result in energy being wasted through eddy currents, the supply cables will become overheated and the total electrical efficiency of the system will be reduced.

So the answer to your question is that the electrical (and mechanical) efficency of your low pf device will be reduced overall with a marked operational temperature rise.

It is interesting to note that your true power usage is measured in Kw's and your apparent power in Kva, the supply authority is most interested in the Kva aspect. You can be penalised for a high Kva usage.

Answer 2

Not much. Power factor is defined as the cosine of the phase angle between the voltage and current as used by a particular piece of equipment. If the equipment in question has a PF of 1, it will actually improve the PF of the entire installation since the total current is the vector sum of the individual currents used by all of the equipment connected to the mains.


Doug

Answer 3

No but it makes me have a good cry every once in a while. Lately i've been getting really stressed out about our family finances. I feel like a loser because we can't seem to keep our heads above water. It seems that our bills are rising by the day. Between paying for higher gas and food prices, we're really stretched. Financially and spiritually speaking, I wanna scream every time I get a bill.