Author(s)

John Karatzaferis, Nick Papanikolaou, Emmanuel Tatakis, Michael Loupis, John Spanoudakis

Department of Electrical Engineering, TEI of Lamia, Lamia, Greece.
Laboratory of Electromechanical Energy Conversion (LEMEC), Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Patras, Patras, Greece.
Laboratory of Electromechanical Energy Conversion (LEMEC), Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Patras, Patras, Greece.
MILTECH HELLAS S.A., Koropi, Greece.

Power factor correction is a major issue for all industries, since a typical industrial load is causing current delays, as well as higher order current harmonics. Power factor correction is often mandatory from the power companies, usually by charging the reactive power that the company consumes. Many solutions for power factor correction have been presented in the bibliography; in this paper, the most significant power factor correction topologies will be reviewed and simulated with SABER RD software. Finally, a prototype design will be presented, based on a mass/cost analysis of the selected topologies and with an aim to manufacture 10 kW modules. The main outcome of this work is the feasibility for an SME to manufacture a competitive modular power factor correction product for industrial applications.

Power Factor Correction; Industrial Load; Converter; Thermal Design; Mass/Volume Analysis

Karatzaferis, J. , Papanikolaou, N. , Tatakis, E. , Loupis, M. and Spanoudakis, J. (2013) Comparison and Evaluation of Power Factor Correction Topologies for Industrial Applications. Energy and Power Engineering, 5, 401-410. doi: 10.4236/epe.2013.56042.