Service Entrance Capacitors

Service entrance capacitor banks raise facility Power Factor so customers avoid paying a utility tariff penalty. Some electric utility companies add an additional charge to customer electric bills if Power Factor in the customer’s facility is lower than a minimum, as defined by the utility company tariff. Adding a capacitor at the facility’s electrical service entrance raises Power Factor and reduces or eliminates this penalty, based on the amount of reactive power (Kilovars) added by the capacitor. Avoidance of this penalty can often result in project paybacks of 1 to 2 years, depending on the utility company tariff.
Additionally, by reducing reactive energy flowing through the facility’s service transformer, electrical capacity is freed up. This extra capacity can then be utilized if additional load is added in the facility. For example, a typical industrial facility has a Power Factor of 80%. By adding a capacitor bank that raises the facility Power Factor to 95%, an additional 15% of transformer capacity is freed up. Adding capacitors can be a cost-effective way to add facility loads without having to increase the service transformer size. Capacitors also raise facility voltage, typically by about 1%, and have a smoothing affect on power quality irregularities.

Service Entrance Capacitors provide the following benefits:

• Reduces or eliminated electric utility Power Factor penalty charges
• Reduces loading on the service entrance transformer
• Improves facility voltage and smoothes out power quality variations
• Typically have a 1 year warranty and a life of about twenty years