In today’s world it’s important for each of us to conserve energy and be as efficient as possible. The demand for energy is growing day in and day out and its anticipated to grow faster in Asia as compared to the rest of the world within a short span of time. This could range anywhere from 15 to 20 years. As a person living in India or any Asian country are you prepared for this? Currently if you live in Asia you would probably agree that the prices we pay for electricity is pretty high and according to research we pay the highest as compared to the world. When we compares the prices of electricity in countries such as America or Canada its strange but India pays twice as much in electricity. So what are we going to do if this is the state of affairs. We need to start looking at this at a macro as well as a micro level so that we can be well prepared for the future. Before we get into any scientific aspects of how APFC can be part of the solution, let’s define what APFC Control Panels and capacitors mean. The full form of APFC is defined as automatic power factor control panel, this is used to improve the power factor which we shall define in a minute. The way to improve the Power Factor is by switching the required capacitor bank units ON and OFF.

Currently a variety of industries use APFC’s within their power supply infrastructure. Some of these industries are mentioned below: - Security Companies - Banks - Hospitals - Commercial Industries - Large Holiday Resorts - Information Technology Parks - Airports - Dockyards - And many others. To cater for such high and varied demands there are different types of suppliers that you can source APFC control Panels from. These range from - APFC Control Panel Manufacturers - Panel Builders - Integrators - Energy Services Companies Due to industries and businesses which operate 24 by 7 (also considering the entry of multi nationals within the country), these types of companies need to operate heavy electrical equipment on a continuous cycle. Naturally the demand for APFC Control Panels has increased dramatically. Currently large industries and businesses face electrical load fluctuations which result in wastage of energy. This energy load is created by large machinery, data centers, freezers, air conditioners, etc… These large electrical loads results in a lagging power factor which in turn wastes energy. Industry standards dictate that the Power Factor ideally should be maintained at Unity which is not something that businesses and industrial outlets can maintain. Historically the power factor has always been less than 1.

Since one of the key factor in saving energy is determined by the Power Factor, it’s necessary to understand the key role of Power factor and what it really means. According to Wikipedia the Power factor is defined as a ratio of Power Utilized (KW) to the Power Drawn (KVA). What this means is that when power is applied to any electrical motor usually the power is not entirely utilized as KW. Hence most often KVA is used excessively due to various factors especially with the induction design of electric motors. With manual intervention the load can be maintained as a fixed load and in such cases the power factor can be maintained at Unity. However this is usually highly impractical for large industrial businesses as most of the work done in these companies needs to be automated and run without supervision. In such cases APFC provides good value for money since the KVAR required is minimal in terms of investment as compared to that of fixed capacitors.

According to the State Electricity Board (SEB’s) in India there is a specific standard by which industries and businesses are required to abide by. The average Power Factor needs to be maintained above the specified limit of 0.85 to 0.90 PF. If this has not been followed through appropriately, companies in India face penalty charges on top of their current standard bill. This goes to show how conservation and appropriate use of electricity has gained momentum. It’s important that APFC manufactured are robust and do not face any issues which in turn may create loss of energy. The main issues that arise in any APFC are as follows: - Design as a few flaws - Component Size is inconsistent - Installation at client site has not been handed appropriately - Wrong connections to the Automatic Relay - A narrow band-width - Discharge Resistor - Choke coils burning out - Time Delay Relays have been bypassed - Improper ventilation - Leaks within capacitors.

Due to these factors the APFC being manufactured results in - Higher Maintenance - Regular visits for repair are often required - Poorer PF raises the KVA consumed Well designed APFC panels increase efficiency by reducing the lifetime cost of the panel. Some salient features that are found in APFC control panels manufactured in India are as follows: - The APFC Control Panel is made of rust proof steel material - Circuits are equipped with independent fuses - Equipped with capacitors with series reactors for minimizing harmonic current which may alter system voltage & current - Micro controller along with digital computation of various parameters - Monitoring of parameters like Line Voltage, Current, Active, reactive and Apparent Powers and energies - Protection of Capacitors against damage due to High Voltage, Low Voltage

We hope that you are able to gain some insight with regards to APFC control panels and capacitors. The best way to go about investing in APFC control panels is to deal with the manufacturer directly so that installations and warranties are taken care of. There are a variety of APFC manufacturers in India so do make sure that you deal with someone within the country. Either way make sure that some of the basics that have been discussed in the article are being covered in the information provided by the manufacturer

Tech-Mark Automation is an international Control Panel Manufacturers located in Pune India. We manufacture high quality electrical panels & instrumentation such as AMF Control Panels, APFC panels, Process Control Panels, etc…