• Sudharani
• M.S Aspalli

The thirst for new sources of energy is unquenchable, but we seldom realize that we are wasting a part of the electrical energy everyday due to the lagging power factor in the inductive loads we use. Hence, there is an urgent need to avoid this wastage of energy. Before getting into the details of Power Factor Correction, let us just brush our knowledge about the term ―power factor‖. In simple words, power factor basically states how far the energy provided has been utilized. The maximum value of power factor is unity. So the closer the value of power factor to unity, better is the utility of energy or lesser is the wastage. In electrical terms, power factor is basically defined as the ratio of active power to reactive power or it is the phase difference between voltage and current. Active power performs useful work while reactive power does no useful work but is used for developing the magnetic field required by the device. Most of the devices we use have power factor less than unity.

Power factor, Capacitor banks, Reactive Power Compensation, Microcontroller (16F877A).

"Automated Power Factor Correction and Energy Monitoring System Using Static Compensation Method ", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.6, Issue 5, page no.76-82, May-2019, Available :http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR1905L12.pdf

"Automated Power Factor Correction and Energy Monitoring System Using Static Compensation Method ", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org | UGC and issn Approved), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.6, Issue 5, page no. pp76-82, May-2019, Available at : http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR1905L12.pdf