Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!ncar!umigw!mthvax.cs.miami.edu!wb8foz From: wb8foz@mthvax.cs.miami.edu (David Lesher) Newsgroups: sci.electronics Subject: Re: Watt Hour Meters Message-ID: <1452@umigw.MIAMI.EDU> Date: 10 Jan 90 23:31:39 GMT References: <25675@cup.portal.com> <1262@island.uu.net> <1105@rsiatl.UUCP> Sender: news@umigw.MIAMI.EDU Reply-To: wb8foz@mthvax.cs.miami.edu (David Lesher) Distribution: usa Lines: 29 One question I never asked a utility when I should have... Virtually everything causes inductive power factor problems. You correct for it (typically) with capacitors (some old-timers may call'em condensers, but I think those belong to steam engines and HVAC units :-}). What does the utility think if you offer to correct other people's leading PF by having too many farads? This came up when I had to improve the pf at a pump station. It had one each: 500, 1000, and 1600 hp 4160 volt motors. We went to great expense to switch the correct # of cans in for each motor. But if we had left the worst case setup connected at all times, we would have helped out with all the leading factor from the nearby farms. I never was able to get my boss to understand this, and so we never did get any feedback from the utility. So anyone with direct knowledge of a utility's position on this case? I suspect that the posture would be the same penalty, if only because their pf meter didn't read direction, only scaler amount. -- A host is a host & from coast to coast...wb8foz@mthvax.cs.miami.edu no one will talk to a host that's close..............(305) 255-RTFM Unless the host (that isn't close)......................pob 570-335 is busy, hung or dead....................................33257-0335