Design of shunt capacitor circuits for power factor compensation in electrical systems supplying nonlinear loads: a probabilistic approach

An optimization criterion is presented which allows proper calculation of reactive power steps in a power factor compensation installation consisting of capacitors and/or filters. Optimization minimizes power losses on supply transformer and cables. The criterion is based on mean value estimation of load reactive power, which is enabled by sampling measurements performed on the examined electrical plant, as well as by probabilistic processing of data. Even the aspect of harmonic pollution is considered in the optimization process, determining the choice between filters and capacitors.