E – 1641 Shunt Capacitor Bank Design & Protection Basics

Shunt capacitor units are typically used to deliver capacitive reactive compensation or power factor correction. The use of shunt capacitor units has gained popularity because they are quite affordable, simple to install and commission and can be placed anywhere in the electrical distribution system. Its usage has additional advantages on the electrical distribution system such as: enhancement of the voltage at the load side, increased voltage regulation, decrease of power losses and decrease or postponement of investments in electrical transmission network. The primary weakness of the shunt capacitor units is that its reactive power generation is relative to the square of the voltage and accordingly when the voltage is low and the electrical system needs them most, they are delivering the least amount of the reactive power.

This course is suitable for electrical engineers with a desire to understand the fundamentals of capacitor units’ operation and associated protection principles. Presented information cover issues related to technical implementation and exploitation of capacitor bank systems. Upon successful completion engineers will be able to address different capacitor bank systems, configurations and their protection schemes.