What Redmond said is true,
In practice most circuits are inductive and as a result causes currents to
lag.
A circuit with a leading current (ie, a capacitive circuit) is seldom found,
although the effects tend to occurr in long distance transmission lines.
The major cause of low power factor are lightly loaded electric motors and
transformers, and fluro lighting circuits.
Motors and transformers should be designed to run at or near full load.
For fluro lighting circuits, as well as other special cases, steps have to
be taken to improve the power factor situation.
Having said that using fluro lights to ballance out a bum power factor will
require a absolute sheit load, if designers designed things correctly ( as
engineers seldom do ......... because they know better " then ballancing
would no be a hard thing to achieve .
In reality and speaking from experience running a power station the best
load to have is a resistive load ( ie light bulb or elements ), this does 2
things it makes it easier for the simation software and computers running
the generators and alternators to move the fields around leading or lagging
to bring up the powerfactor back to the desired point , and it also actually
runs the generators in a more efficent way getting the most spark for your
liter burnt in fuel, avoiding hot spots and glasing the piston sleeves.
No matter how much people reduce there energy consumption in a house hold
there is still some one(human) in front of a computer with a screaming spark
producing plant behind them, turning and burning fossel fuels in various
forms to maintain a spinning reserve for load fluctuations that might be
incounted.
Its all a big stinking steamer when i comes back to the person who generates
your power, having lightly loaded alternators does more harm then working
the to there designed level, more maintence, more blackouts due to failures,
and the end user You will cop the cost for this.
Load everthing up use energy efficent lighting and be prepared to bare the
costs of a government enforced phase out.
And soon (ill bet my right nut on it ) power providers will force a move to
digital power meters on you house, to finally charge for all the free power
people will be leeching using fluro's to light there home, as most fluro's
dont have enough draw to spin a conventional power meter, compare to the
humble and now marked bulb.
Ben
----- Original Message -----
From: "Redmond Quinn" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: RE: [Aus-soaring] Global warming
Actually Fluorescent light load helps the electicity generators since it
helps compensate for the induction motor power factor.
Redmond
-----Original Message-----
For a discussion of CFL vs incandescent read this. It is quite extensive
http://www.sound.westhost.com/articles/incandescent.htm and note the
author is a fan of CFL.
Having just spent several tens of thousands of dollars at work on
power factor correction and harmonic filtering in a large UPS system,
I reckon the recent announcements about phasing out incandescent bulbs
are hilarious.
The electrical utilities must be in conniptions. They have enough
trouble with leading power factors already, what are they going to do
when everyone's domestic lighting is running at ~ 0.5 ?
(To Dave Lawley: You're only paying 20% of what you used to pay for
lighting because the power company hasn't put the cost of power factor
correction into your bill yet. They will; they'll have to. The
price of electricity must necessarily go up as CFLs become commonplace).
- mark
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