Detuned PFC Replacement in Central London.
We were asked to carry out a survey with the intention of replacing 1000kVAr worth of failed PFC equipment at a large office building in central London. Upon our initial visit to the site we found that the existing Power Factor Equipment had suffered some major component failures due to lack of servicing which had consequently led to a small fire and the units being isolated by the site.
The two PFC units on site, each on one supply, were split into a Master/Slave configuration with the existing mains cables coming into an expansion box on the side. These cables were still satisfactory and to help the customer keep costs down it was decided that they were to be re-used for the new equipment.
The new units would be from our FSi Deep range and consist of 2 stages of 30kVAr and 7 stages of 60kVAr each with its own 189hZ detuning reactor all controlled by a 10-stage Lovato Digital control relay.
Due to the location of the LV panels being on the roof of the 12-story building, once the new PFC panels had been built and tested the detuning reactors were removed to help reduce the total weight of the units making them more manoeuvrable for our engineers. Once the units were positioned the reactors were re-installed and the panel re-tested.
The installation took 4 engineers 2 days during normal working hours with no disruption to the site, and all waste was removed and disposed of as required. On the 3rd day, an engineer returned to commission the new panels and carry out some final tests.
