Motors@Work creates alerts when a measurement for your motor’s power factor is below a certain threshold. The default threshold is 95%, but this value can be overridden through Motors@Work settings.
When a motor has a low power factor, it may be accompanied by a large voltage drop and large line losses. This will cause the motor or system to run at low efficiency due to high magnetic excitation.
Because reactive power still requires capacity on the system even though it doesn’t do any useful work, some utilities charge more for it.
Poor power factor is also an indicator of motor inefficiency. Extremely low power factor could be an indicator of phase imbalance in three-phase systems, which can be due to improper wiring. Capacitor correction can help the power factor, but may mask the underlying problem with the motor system.
Suggested actions
- Verify measurement and data reaching Motors@Work
- If this motor has a VSD, controller, starter, or other electronic controller, check this device for faults. Many motor controllers provide power-factor correction; hence, a low power factor alert may indicate a malfunctioning controller.
- Consider implementing power-factor correction, such as replacing the motor with a higher efficiency one, installing a VSD or other electronic controller, or facility capacitor bank. Raising your facility’s power factor both eliminates any power factor charges as well as lowers your demand charges.