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Regenerative Drives - Effect of Power Factor

Former Community Member
Former Community Member

I am working on a small 16kW hydro system which is experiencing about 15% loss in the Regenerative VSD. To maximise efficiency the turbine operates at variable speed. The VSD controls a synchronous generator and supplies the grid.

The VSD is a Siemens G120. The datasheet states that the efficiency should be around 96%, whilst also stating that the Power Factor is 0.9. I am looking to replace this drive for an ABB ACS 880-11 which has similar efficiency but a unity power factor.

Firstly can I trust these datasheets since, I assume, they relate to the VSD delivering electrical energy to a motor rather receiving it from a generator? Is there an efficiency penalty for regenerative generation?

Secondly, with all else being equal, will the drive with a unity power factor equate to more electrical energy on the meter than the drive with a 0.9 power factor? 

Thanks

 

 

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  • Former Community Member
    0 Former Community Member
    Yes, with the scope we are able to measure both the current and the voltage simultaneously to get true VA. 


    We have attempted to measure this in the past with less sophisticated apparatus and struggled to get meaningful results (on the generator terminals) so I now also share you thoughts about the meter. Nevertheless I would still have hoped the output from the VSD to the grid would have provided fairly clean waveforms. 

     
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  • Former Community Member
    0 Former Community Member
    Yes, with the scope we are able to measure both the current and the voltage simultaneously to get true VA. 


    We have attempted to measure this in the past with less sophisticated apparatus and struggled to get meaningful results (on the generator terminals) so I now also share you thoughts about the meter. Nevertheless I would still have hoped the output from the VSD to the grid would have provided fairly clean waveforms. 

     
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