In electrical engineering, the power factor of an AC power system is defined as the ratio of the real power absorbed by the load to the apparent power flowing in the circuit. Real power is the average of the instantaneous product of voltage and current and represents the capacity of the electricity for performing work. Apparent power is the product of root mean square (RMS) current and voltage. Due to energy stored in the load and returned to the source, or due to a non-linear load that distorts the wave shape of the current drawn from the source, the apparent power may be greater than the real power, so more current flows in the circuit than would be required to transfer real power alone. A power factor magnitude of less than one indicates the voltage and current are not in phase, reducing the average product of the two. A negative power factor occurs when the device generates real power, which then flows back towards the source.
A power inverter, inverter, or invertor is a power electronic device or circuitry that changes direct current (DC) to alternating current (AC). The resulting AC frequency obtained depends on the particular device employed. Inverters do the opposite of rectifiers which were originally large electromechanical devices converting AC to DC.
A Flexible Alternating Current Transmission System (FACTS) is a family of Power-Electronic based devices designed for use on an Alternating Current (AC) Transmission System to improve and control Power Flow and support Voltage. FACTs devices are alternatives to traditional electric grid solutions and improvements, where building additional Transmission Lines or Substation is not economically or logistically viable.
In Electrical Engineering, a static VAR compensator (SVC) is a set of electrical devices for providing fast-acting reactive power on high-voltage electricity transmission networks. SVCs are part of the flexible AC transmission system device family, regulating voltage, power factor, harmonics and stabilizing the system. A static VAR compensator has no significant moving parts. Prior to the invention of the SVC, power factor compensation was the preserve of large rotating machines such as synchronous condensers or switched capacitor banks.
A bandgap voltage reference is a voltage reference circuit widely used in integrated circuits. It produces an almost constant voltage corresponding to the particular semiconductor's theoretical band gap, with very little fluctuations from variations of power supply, electrical load, time, temperature.
A variable-frequency drive is a type of AC motor drive that controls speed and torque by varying the frequency of the input electricity. Depending on its topology, it controls the associated voltage or current variation.
In electrical engineering, a synchronous condenser is a DC-excited synchronous motor, whose shaft is not connected to anything but spins freely. Its purpose is not to convert electric power to mechanical power or vice versa, but to adjust conditions on the electric power transmission grid. Its field is controlled by a voltage regulator to either generate or absorb reactive power as needed to adjust the grid's voltage, or to improve power factor. The condenser’s installation and operation are identical to large electric motors and generators.
A power conditioner is a device intended to improve the quality of the power that is delivered to electrical load equipment. The term most often refers to a device that acts in one or more ways to deliver a voltage of the proper level and characteristics to enable load equipment to function properly. In some uses, power conditioner refers to a voltage regulator with at least one other function to improve power quality
Doubly fed electric machines, Doubly fed induction generator (DFIG), or slip-ring generators, are electric motors or electric generators, where both the field magnet windings and armature windings are separately connected to equipment outside the machine.
In Electrical Engineering, a static synchronous compensator (STATCOM) is a shunt-connected, reactive compensation device used on transmission networks. It uses power electronics to form a voltage-source converter that can act as either a source or sink of reactive AC power to an electricity network. It is a member of the FACTS family of devices.
In the field of EMC, active EMI reduction refers to techniques aimed to reduce or to filter electromagnetic noise (EMI) making use of active electronic components. Active EMI reduction contrasts with passive filtering techniques, such as RC filters, LC filters RLC filters, which includes only passive electrical components. Hybrid solutions including both active and passive elements exist. Standards concerning conducted and radiated emissions published by IEC and FCC set the maximum noise level allowed for different classes of electrical devices. The frequency range of interest spans from 150 kHz to 30 MHz for conducted emissions and from 30 MHz to 40 GHz for radiated emissions. Meeting these requirements and guaranteeing the functionality of an electrical apparatus subject to electromagnetic interference are the main reason to include an EMI filter. In an electrical system, power converters, i.e. DC/DC converters, inverters and rectifiers, are the major sources of conducted EMI, due to their high-frequency switching ratio which gives rise to unwanted fast current and voltage transients. Since power electronics is nowadays spread in many fields, from power industrial application to automotive industry, EMI filtering has become necessary. In other fields, such as the telecommunication industry where the major focus is on radiated emissions, other techniques have been developed for EMI reduction, such as spread spectrum clocking which makes use of digital electronics, or electromagnetic shielding.
An electric power system is a network of electrical components deployed to supply, transfer, and use electric power. An example of a power system is the electrical grid that provides power to homes and industries within an extended area. The electrical grid can be broadly divided into the generators that supply the power, the transmission system that carries the power from the generating centers to the load centers, and the distribution system that feeds the power to nearby homes and industries.
In electromagnetism, excitation is the process of generating a magnetic field by means of an electric current.
Dynamic voltage restoration (DVR) is a method of overcoming voltage sags and swells that occur in electrical power distribution. These are a problem because spikes consume power and sags reduce efficiency of some devices. DVR saves energy through voltage injections that can affect the phase and wave-shape of the power being supplied.
A unified power flow controller (UPFC) is an electrical device for providing fast-acting reactive power compensation on high-voltage electricity transmission networks. It uses a pair of three-phase controllable bridges to produce current that is injected into a transmission line using a series transformer. The controller can control active and reactive power flows in a transmission line.
Active power filters (APF) are filters, which can perform the job of harmonic elimination. Active power filters can be used to filter out harmonics in the power system which are significantly below the switching frequency of the filter. The active power filters are used to filter out both higher and lower order harmonics in the power system.
Wide-area damping control (WADC) is a class of automatic control systems used to provide stability augmentation to modern electrical power systems known as smart grids. Actuation for the controller is provided via modulation of capable active or reactive power devices throughout the grid. Such actuators are most commonly previously-existing power system devices, such as high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission lines and static VAR compensators (SVCs) which serve primary purposes not directly related to the WADC application. However, damping may be achieved with the utilization of other devices installed with the express purpose of stability augmentation, including energy storage technologies. Wide-area instability of a large electrical grid unequipped with a WADC is the result of the loss of generator rotor synchronicity, and is typically envisioned as a generator oscillating with an undamped exponential trajectory as the result of insufficient damping torque.
Voltage control and reactive power management are two facets of an ancillary service that enables reliability of the transmission networks and facilitates the electricity market on these networks. Both aspects of this activity are intertwined, so within this article the term voltage control will be primarily used to designate this essentially single activity, as suggested by Kirby & Hirst (1997). Voltage control does not include reactive power injections to dampen the grid oscillations; these are a part of a separate ancillary service, so-called system stability service. The transmission of reactive power is limited by its nature, so the voltage control is provided through pieces of equipment distributed throughout the power grid, unlike the frequency control that is based on maintaining the overall active power balance in the system.
An inverter-based resource (IBR) is a source of electricity that is asynchronously connected to the electrical grid via an electronic power converter ("inverter"). The devices in this category, also known as converter interfaced generation (CIG), include the variable renewable energy generators and battery storage power stations. These devices lack the intrinsic behaviors and their features are almost entirely defined by the control algorithms, presenting specific challenges to system stability as their penetration increases, for example, a single software fault can affect all devices of a certain type in a contingency. IBRs are sometimes called non-synchronous generators. The design of inverters for the IBR generally follows the IEEE 1547 and NERC PRC-024-2 standards.
In an electrical grid, the short circuit ratio is the ratio of: the short circuit apparent power (SCMVA) in the case of a line-line-line-ground (3LG) fault at the location in the grid where some generator is connected, to: the power rating of the generator itself (GMW).
