The Hidden Cost of Dirty Power: Why Harmonics Crash Your Power Factor
Beyond Cos(Phi): Understanding the True Power Factor Drop If you're an engineer or technician working with modern electrical systems, you already know the basics of Power Factor (PF): it’s the measure of how efficiently your electrical power is converted into useful work. Traditionally, we focused on the phase shift—the lagging or leading current caused by inductive or capacitive loads—measured by the Displacement Power Factor (DPF) . But times have changed. With the proliferation of non-linear loads—Variable Frequency Drives (VFDs), LED lighting, and server farms—a new, more insidious enemy is at work: Harmonic Distortion . Understanding how harmonics sabotage your Power Factor is essential to avoiding massive hidden costs and system failures. The Harmonic Hijack Harmonic currents are generated when non-linear loads draw current in sharp, periodic pulses instead of a smooth sinusoidal wave. These pulses inject frequencies that are integer multiples of your fundamental frequency (...