A new expression for power factor under nonsinusoidal conditions

Power factor and harmonic pollution are inseparable entities in power systems and both of them affect the overall efficiency of operation of the system. To increase the utilization factor of the system a power factor based billing scheme is already in place and a similar disincentive scheme is envisaged for the harmonic pollution as well. In this paper a new frequency domain expression for power factor is presented. The method involves acquisition of voltage and current waveforms at the measuring point and an analysis based on the waveform data. The expression is presented as a common index for determining power factor and its variation due to harmonic contents in voltage and current.