Improving energy consumption of an induction motor by design of a power factor correction system and estimation of it's saving on a large scale

Abstract

Power factor correction (PFC) is common in commercial and industrial applications. A need to extend its application increased with the dwindling natural resources used for power generation and also exceeding energy demand, hence more efficient motor systems and power usage are required at the forefront of utility's demand side management system. The aim is to design and build an active PFC using a boost DC/DC converter and implement it on a single phase induction motor for residential and small industrial applications. However it can be developed to a three phase system for bigger industrial applications. The basic architecture includes a power supply, a rectifier, DC/DC boost converter (for the system with PFC), an inverter, control circuitry, and a single split phase induction motor. The energy usage of the motor without PFC is recorded and compared with energy of a motor with PFC. The cost analysis of the two energy usage is compared and the objective is to realise some savings. This paper discusses system design, influence of the PFC on the system's power consumption and power factor, comparing the results between two systems, and cost evaluation