Electrical Engineering › Section L · Power (ac) and resonance › Topic L.3

Power-factor correction

Motors and other inductive loads draw more current than the real power they use would need. A capacitor placed across them supplies their reactive power on the spot, so the supply delivers less current for exactly the same work.

In this topic

  • Why the supply wants less current
  • The idea: supply the VAR locally
  • The phasor picture
  • Sizing the capacitor
  • Worked example: correcting a motor to unity
  • Worked example: a workshop raised to 0.95
  • Why stop at 0.95 lagging?
  • What correction does and does not do
  • Common mistakes to avoid
  • Key takeaways

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