Capacitor Application:Released Capacity

Released Capacity

In addition to reducing losses and improving voltage, capacitors release capacity. Improving the power factor increases the amount of real-power load the circuit can supply. Using capacitors to supply reactive power reduces the amount of current in the line, so a line of a given ampacity can

carry more load. Figure 6.4 shows that capacitors release significant capacity, especially if the original power factor is low. Figure 6.5 shows another way to view the extra capacity, as a function of the size of capacitor added.