The Thycon APR offers the highest performance/life-cycle-cost combinations as well as the highest reliability of any PFC equipment available today. Thycon has 30 years of experience with these proven technologies which play a growing role in today’s PQ-conscious environment.
Lower costs because of Thycon APR
While the solution of switched capacitor banks undoubtedly offers the lowest installation costs, the life-cycle costs are actually the highest. This is because only “rough” compensation can be achieved with switched capacitors and where penalties are applied for power factors other than unity, these charges will accumulate over time. Even suppliers who do not currently apply penalties within certain PF limits may have to change their policies in the future as grids are called upon to handle ever higher power densities and distribution standards are tightened.
Contactor-based solutions require regular maintenance and the finer the compensation must be, the higher the number of switched banks and hence, the higher the failure rate and maintenance requirements. These costs must also be factored into the overall capital and life-cycle costs and the targeted life should normally be under 20 years.
Thycon APR’s are designed to meet the following criteria:
- Seamless and accurate PFC
- Lagging and leading compensation
- Fixed capacitor bank means no capacitor switching
- No wear-out mechanisms
- No voltage spikes due to switching transients
- No step-changes in PF
- De-tuned capacitor bank means no harmonic resonance with the supply
- Constant harmonic attenuation spectrum, regardless of load PF
- Positive sequence, three-phase voltage regulation and PFC
- Negative sequence voltage elimination
- Improved load balancing
- Faster response time (as little as 1.66ms); rapid insertion of VARs into the line at the instant of load change, mitigating voltage sags and no risk of overvoltage at the supply bus
- Shunt-connected resistor across de-tuning reactors to eliminate notching
- Flicker reduction
- Improved system damping and transient stability
- Retrofit-enabled for upgrading existing TSC or SC sites
Thycon’s Active Power Factor Correction (APR) Unit
Thycon’s APR unit is microprocessor controlled and, as an active device, provides both real time power factor correction and harmonic reduction across the full operating range. It was designed to operate for 20-plus years virtually maintenance free.
Thycon has been supplying these units into the market for over 20 years, and has proven itself as reliable and able to meet the most demanding of applications.The Thycon APR uses a thyristor converter to regulate an inductor together with a capacitor bank to provide a fully controlled static VAR source.
The converter uses load sampled data to continuously vary the inductance to meet a user defined power factor set point. Leading, lagging or unity power factor can be selected. Thycon’s APR can also correct for both lagging and leading power factors.Being inverter based, the Thycon APR provides fast response to reactive load changes thereby providing voltage stability to the system by removing dips and sags.
Thycon APR features
- Maximum energy savings due to continuous, accurate Power Factor regulation
- Can control both leading and lagging power factors
- Improves the quality of your power with active Harmonic Reduction
- Individual phase control
- Microprocessor based diagnostics
- Fast transient response
- Voltage stabilisation
- Rapid disconnection on loss of supply
- Parallel operation
- Soft start control
- No moving parts
- Compact modular construction
Additional specific advantages of considering Thycon for your power factor correction include:
- Thycon’s unique ‘static flywheel’ enables the unit to cope with transient conditions to store energy and cope with short sags.
- Harmonic reduction improves the power quality of your installation and extends the life of all your electrical equipment, saving you more than just on your power bill.
- Thycon will continue to support our products for the duration of their operating life, including both availability of spares and service support. This will ensure you achieve maximum return on your capital investment.
