Walking into a steel melting shop, you feel the raw power. Arc furnaces roar, induction furnaces hum at high frequencies, and the electricity demand is staggering. But behind this impressive industrial might lies a hidden cost – poor power quality that drains profits and threatens equipment. The Real Trouble: Reactive Power and Start-Up Mayhem Electric arc furnaces and medium-frequency induc...
A facility can operate normally on utility power and develop power quality problems after transferring to a standby generator. Drives trip, UPS systems report input faults and lights flicker—even though the load has not changed. Nonlinear loads are usually already generating harmonic current. The generator provides a weaker source, allowing the same current distortion to create greater volta...
APFC Panel Troubleshooting: 7 Common Faults and How to Fix Them An automatic power factor correction panel may begin switching incorrectly, miss its target or repeatedly trip capacitor stages. A newly commissioned APFC panel can also fail from its first day. The cause is not always a defective capacitor. CT installation, controller settings, harmonics, switching components and changing load...
Why a Solar Plant Needs Active Compensation A Static Var Generator (SVG) is an active, IGBT-based power-electronics compensator that stabilises voltage, supplies or absorbs reactive power and filters harmonic current at the point of common coupling (PCC) of a solar plant. It turns unstable PV output into grid-compliant power for EPC contractors, electrical engineers, procurement teams and power-qu...
When Power Quality Equipment Must Also Be Quiet A Static Var Generator is normally evaluated by reactive power capacity, response time, power factor control and harmonic compensation. In many installations, the equipment room adds another requirement: the solution must also control noise, dust exposure and maintenance demands. YT Electric’s Fanless Static Var Generator uses natural he...
A fixed capacitor bank is often the most economical way to correct power factor — provided the load stays reasonably steady. When motors cycle or production changes by shift, it may overcompensate overnight and undercompensate at peak. An Automatic Power Factor Correction (APFC) panel switches capacitor steps as demand changes; a Static Var Generator (SVG) adjusts reactive power continuously...
Quick Answer An APFC panel is not simply permitted or forbidden on generator power. Compatibility depends on generator capacity, the power factor of the load that stays online, the size of each load step, harmonic distortion, available short-circuit capacity, governor and excitation response, the generator manufacturer’s limits, and the logic inside the APFC controller. On many standby syste...
SVG Reactive Power Compensation: Beyond PF Correction For decades, plant electrical engineers and facility managers viewed reactive power compensation through a single, narrow lens: avoiding utility low power factor penalty surcharges. Traditional solutions—primarily fixed capacitor banks and automatic power factor correction (APFC) panels—were designed solely to supply bulk capacitive...