Detuned Dynamic Power Factor Correction System Reduces Fruit Distributor’s Electricity Costs by 7.5%

Data Reticulation, a specialist provider of power distribution, power correction and maintenance solutions, was contracted to reduce the onsite kVA demand for a Western Cape fruit packhouse. Using our products and equipment, an appropriate solution was developed and installed in a short turnaround time.

Site power logging and analyses determined that the 18 000 m2 plant was experiencing rapid load transition, which created excessive wear on the traditional contactor-based power factor system. The installation of our detuned dynamic power factor correction system was selected as the solution. This specialised system enables rapid capacitor switching via an intelligent solid-state contactor. By correcting the power factor closer to unity, the result is a 7.5% reduction to the packhouse’s monthly electricity bill.

An advantage of the solid-state contactor is its inherent intelligence, which allows for the power factor correction steps to react much faster to the varying loads on site and provide capacitance when needed. It is this intelligence combined with the Lovato DCGR8F fast response power factor controller that facilitates the multiple per second switching.

The scope of work included a customised rack assembly, incorporating specialised thyristor switches, fundamental to the fast switching of the dynamic system, system installation and commissioning. Data Reticulation placed the thyristor power factor rack order with us.

Data Reticulation partnered with a Cape Town based board builder to fabricate the panels, which were customised from their normal 900 mm-deep enclosure to 750 mm-deep to accommodate site layout.

“The fruit packhouse was extremely impressed by the silence of our solution, having become accustomed to high noise levels typically associated with this type of solution,” says Brendan Joynt, Data Reticulation General Manager. Annual site inspections are included as an aftersales service offering, and Data Reticulation provides ongoing surveillance via remote monitoring to ensure continued system integrity.

The project was awarded in May 2020, during the height of level III lockdown, and completed only two months later in July 2020.

“The ElectroMechanica team was pivotal in helping us to meet this short turnaround time,” Joynt enthuses. “They were proactive in ensuring we got the required equipment on time, which was a challenging task as many of the required componentry could not be offloaded at the docks during this period. They kept us informed every step of the way during the sales and value chain processes, which enabled us to manage client expectations – extremely important with such a specialised system.”