ABB’s new range of capacitor banks for power factor correction

10 July 2017

The new APCQ range of low voltage automatic capacitor banks has been developed to provide the ideal power factor correction solution for a wide variety of industrial and commercial applications.

Installing the APCQ capacitor banks enables ABB’s customers to optimise the power factor (PF) of their site’s electricity network – which measures how efficiently they use the power from their electricity supplier. Ideally, they should have a PF of 1 (unity). In practice, ABB has carried out surveys at many customer sites where the PF has fallen to 0.8 or even lower.

This means that customers are paying for electricity they are not actually using. The APCQ capacitor banks therefore offer three main benefits:

• Optimised energy consumption
• Reduction in utility penalties for low PF (where they apply)
• Freeing up capacity on overloaded networks to enable the installation of new equipment

The APCQ range offers three type of capacitor banks:

• APCQ-L, a wall-mounted and compact cubicle,
• APCQ-M, a free floor standing cabinet for networks slightly polluted by harmonics,
• APCQ-R, a free floor standing cabinet, with detuned reactors for networks polluted by harmonics.

The APCQ series is easy to install, operate and service and offers reliability and safety. Installation of the APCQ is fast because of its easy access to all electrical connections. The modular design allows easy maintenance and has space provision to increase the power rating if required in the future.

The new APCQ range of capacitor banks use proven and innovative ABB technology which includes ABB's new QCap low voltage capacitor. The reliability and the safety of this range is further ensured by other ABB components produced in line with strict specifications: ABB reactors with a specific design for electrical robustness in networks with harmonics and the ABB UA range of contactors optimised for capacitor switching. The APCQ-R range is capable of handling voltage distortion pollution levels of eight percent, in line with voltage distortion levels on the low voltage (LV) bus that can appear in industrial networks. The APCQ range has an intuitive interface when used with ABB RVC or RVT power factor controllers.

The APCQ range can be used to control the PF in diverse types of customer networks including residential/commercial buildings, and in diverse industries like mining, steel, chemical, pulp and paper, cement, plastics, printing, automotive, food and beverage and light-to-medium manufacturing.