Simulating the Power Factor of an AC System

load 1 (motor)

R ohms

0.5

X

L

ohms

1

load 2 (lighting)

R ohms

5

load 3 (capacitor bank)

X

C

ohms

12

view

phase plot

vector plot

schematic

Vary the loads of a simple power system to see how they affect the power factor. A phase plot and a vector diagram provide a visual representation of the effects of the load changes; numeric values of the system parameter totals are also shown.

You can vary the parameters for three load types. The motor load (load 1) has resistive and inductive load characteristics. The lighting load (load 2) provides resistive characteristics. Finally, the capacitor bank adds the reactive power of a leading current nature.