Application Guide

Power Factor Correction (PFC) Basics

Introduction current and voltage in phase with each other and
Power Factor, in simple terms, is a number the shape of the wave forms will be similar to one
between zero and one that represents the ratio of another. Figure 1 shows a simple resistive circuit
the real power to apparent power. Real power (P), and wave forms of voltage and current to better
measured in watts, is the capacity of the circuit for understand real power and how a power factor of
performing work in a particular time. Apparent one is achieved.
power is the product of input current and voltage of
a circuit and/or system. Since real power is actually
performing work, in an ideal case, real power would
be equal to apparent power. Thus, a circuit with a
low power factor will use higher currents to transfer
a given quantity of real power than a circuit with a
high power factor. In practical application, there will
be combinations of two or three different power
elements in a circuit or system.

Components of AC power flow

AC (Alternating Current) power flow has three
components: 1. Real Power (P) - measured in
Watts (W); 2. Apparent Power (S) – measured in
volts-amperes (VA); 3. Reactive Power (Q) –
measured in reactive volts-amperes (VAR). Real
power, also called True Power, is a function of a
circuit’s dissipative elements, usually resistances
(R). Reactive power is a function of a circuit’s
reactive elements, usually inductive and/or
capacitive (X). Apparent power is a function of a
circuit’s total impedance (Z). This can be
combinations of resistive, capacitive, and/ or
inductive elements. Figure 1. Simple resistive circuit.

Real Power P = true power = I2R = (0.2A)2*600Ω = 24W

With a pure resistive load, there exists only real Q = reactive power = I2X = 0 VAR
power. There will be no reactive powers in a pure S = apparent power = I2Z = (0.2A)2*600Ω
resistive load. Also, since there is no reactive = 24 VA
power, apparent power will be equal to real power,
which makes the Power Factor one for the circuit. A Since true power is equal to apparent power, the
circuit with a power factor of one will have the PF would be one, as expected in pure resistive

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 Application Guide
loads. current and voltage. It can be seen from the
waveform that current leads voltage by 90˚ in a
Also, the wave forms, current and voltage are in capacitive circuits. If this was an inductive circuit,
phase to each other and both have the same which would have also had only reactive power,
shape. When these two conditions are met, the current would have lagged voltage by 90˚. In
power factor of the circuit would be one. practical application, there are not many capacitive
or inductive circuits. What is common is a circuit
Reactive Power that is a combination of resistive, inductive, or
With pure reactive load, capacitive or inductive, capacitive in nature.
there will be no real power. There will only be
reactive power, measured in VAR. Figure 2 shows Apparent Power
a simple capacitive circuit and the reactive power of Apparent power is the total power of the circuit and
the circuit can be calculated as follows: it is the addition of real and reactive powers. As
mentioned before, this would be the practical
Xc = 1 / (2*¶*f*C), where f is the frequency of input situation as most circuits and systems would have
voltage and C is the capacitance of the circuit. resistive and reactive loads. Figure 3 shows a
simple LR (inductor-resistor) circuit and the
Xc = 1 / (2*3.14*60*2.2*10-6) apparent power for the circuit can be calculated as
= 1205.72Ω follows:

Reactive power (Q) = I2X XL = 2(2*¶*f*L), where f is the frequency of input

= (0.1A)2*1205.72 voltage and L is the inductance of the circuit.
= 12.06VAR
XL = 2*3.14*60*3.2
= 1206.37Ω

Z = (R2 + XL2)1/2
= 1200Ω2 + 1206.37Ω2
= 1.701KΩ

I = 120V/ 1.701KΩ = 70.55mA

Real power (P) = I2*R

= (.0755A)2*1.2KΩ
= 5.97W

Reactive power (Q) = I2*XL

= (0.0755)2*1206.37Ω
= 6 VAR

Apparent power = I2*Z

Figure 2. Simple reactive (capacitive) circuit. = (0.0755A)2*1.701KΩ
= 8.47VA
One thing to note is the phase angle shift between

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 Application Guide
Power factor in this case would be: reduce overall reactance of the circuit. The
waveform in Figure 3 shows the phase shift
PF = Real power/ Apparent power between the voltage and current for the circuit in
= 5.98W/ 8.47VA consideration. The phase shift causes the PF to be
= 70.5% poor. The idea is to make the waveforms, current
and voltage, in phase to each other and have the
A combined resistive-reactive circuit shown in same shape. Since the circuit only has linear loads,
Figure 3 dissipates more power than it returns to the shape of the waveforms is already similar.
the source. The reactance dissipates no power, but However, if the loads are non-linear in nature, the
the resistor does. PF correction becomes complicated and requires
complex circuit to improve PF. This will be detailed
later in the section of “Power Factor Correction in
non-linear loads”. Figure 4 shows the new circuit
with added capacitor that would improve PF on
Figure 3, close to unity

Figure 3. Simple LR circuit.

How to improve PF
As noted above, real power is what actually
Figure 4. Improved PF circuit.
performs work. Therefore, it is important to have a
reduced amount of total reactive power, in order to
As can be seen from the waveform, the voltage and
have an efficient system. In other words, the power
current are now in phase with each other and they
factor of a system or circuit should be improved
have similar shape with the same frequency. The
when possible. If we consider the circuit in Figure 3,
waveform also looks very similar to that of a
it has a PF of only 70.5% and there is room to
resistive load, even though the circuit has resistive,
improve the PF up to 99%. Since the circuit has an
capacitive, and inductive loads. This clearly
inductive reactance component, there needs to be
indicates that the PF is well improved.
a capacitive component added to the circuit to

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The following shows how the value of the capacitor
is calculated and the calculation of improved power Improved PF = 5.97W / 5.97VA
factor for the circuit. = 100%

First, the value of capacitance is calculated as As expected, because the above calculations are
follows: ideal cases per the concept, the PF is improved to
be 100%. In real cases, it is almost impossible to
Q = E2 / X have a PF of 100%, especially with passive
X = E2 / Q components. However, the PF can be well
= 1202/6.0 = 2.4KΩ improved to be within an acceptable level, if proper
design technique is used.
Xc = 1 / 2¶fC
C = 1 / Xc2¶
= 1 / (2*2.4K*¶*60) PF in non-linear loads
= 1.105uF So far, all the example circuits considered have
linear loads, meaning the current wave form
A standard 1.1 uF capacitor is chosen for this matches that of the voltage. Non-linear loads create
purpose. Calculation of PF: harmonic current on top of the original AC current
and the current wave form is no longer a sine wave.
Xc = 1 / (2*¶*60*1.1*10-6) The total harmonic distortion, known as THD,
= 2.411KΩ should be taken into consideration when dealing
with non-linear loads. Also, harmonics cannot be
XL = 2*¶*60*3.2 improved or cancelled by adding linear
= 1.206KΩ components, such as capacitors or inductors. In the
case of non-linear loads, different, yet more
R + XL = 1.206KΩ <90˚+1.2KΩ complex, methods need to be considered to
= 1.701 KΩ <45.14˚ improve PF correction and minimize THD. In many
cases, the method used is active power factor
IL = 120V / 1.701KΩ correction utilizing a dedicated Integrated Circuit,
= 70.55mA known as IC, which is much more complex than a
passive power factor correction method.
Ztotal = Zc // (ZL + ZR)
= 2.411KΩ <-90˚ // PF in non-linear loads
(1.2KΩ <0˚ + 1.206KΩ <90˚) So far, all the example circuits considered have
= 2.412KΩ <0.262˚ linear loads, meaning the current wave form
matches that of the voltage. Non-linear loads create
Itotal = 120 / 2.412 harmonic current on top of the original AC current
= 49.75mA and the current wave form is no longer a sine wave.
The total harmonic distortion, known as THD,
P = True power = (70.55mA)2*1.2 KΩ should be taken into consideration when dealing
= 5.97W with non-linear loads. Also, harmonics cannot be
improved or cancelled by adding linear
S = Apparent power = (49.75mA)2*2.412 KΩ components, such as capacitors or inductors. In the
= 5.97VA case of non-linear loads, different, yet more

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complex, methods need to be considered to from the picture that the current waveform is not a
improve PF correction and minimize THD. In many sine wave as it would be with linear loads. Also
cases, the method used is active power factor shown are the harmonic contents at different
correction utilizing a dedicated Integrated Circuit, frequencies, fundamental frequency, 3rd, 5th and 7th
known as IC, which is much more complex than a harmonics. Note that the magnitude of the
passive power factor correction method. harmonic contents decreases as level (1st, 3rd, 5th,
etc) increases.

How to improve PF and THD

As mentioned already, in this case, an active PFC
circuit would be utilized to improve PF and reduce
THD. The purpose of the active circuit is to shape
the input current to match that of the input voltage.
Figure 6 shows the operation of the circuit and the
resulting current waveforms.

Figure 5. Simple rectifier circuit. Figure 6. Active PFC circuit and current
waveform.
A typical non-linear load of a power system can be
rectifiers. Figure 5 shows a simple circuit that can The idea is to turn the switch (S1) on and off at a
be found in AC-DC power supplies. It can be seen different rates during the cycle, such that the

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 Application Guide
average inductor current follows the shape of the AC powered LEDs. When LEDs are DC powered,
input voltage. In a real circuit, the switch will be the AC main power should be converted into DC
replaced by the PF correction IC. The function of and attention should be paid when designing the
the IC would be to generate the appropriate duty power supply to meet the energy star PF
cycle of the PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) that will requirements. When AC LEDs are powered using
eventually perform the function of turning on/ off the AC, because LEDs are not resistive and non-linear
switch. in nature, the PF becomes very poor. In these
cases, special attention needs to be paid to PF and
In Figure 6, which is the resulting current waveform THD needs to be paid.
of an active PF correction circuit, the yellow curve
is the peak inductor current and red curve is the
average inductor current. The picture shows an Conclusion
expanded view of the waveform and, in general, the Power Factor is becoming more and more of a
frequency of such switch is in the micro or kilo hertz challenge due to energy star requirements for
range. electronic devices. LED luminaires are also bound
to this requirement if the luminaire were to qualify
Once the current and voltage waveforms are in for energy star certification. Understanding the
phase, with a non-linear load, the PF can be basics of PF and how to correct PF to improve it to
approximated using the following equation. an acceptable level will help address the issue in
the very early stages of the design. The additional
PF = 1 / SQRT[1 + (THD % / 100)2] circuitry required to have PF correction will add
cost, require more space, add more failure modes,
(where THD is the Total Harmonic Distortion) and slightly impacts the overall reliability of the
system. Addressing all these issues at the very
As mentioned earlier, once the voltage and current early stage of the design, especially if the system is
are in-phase with each other, the PF of the circuit to be certified by UL, energy star, etc..., will
would be closer to 100%. Since this application significantly contribute to the success of a system.
guide only explains the basics of PF, no further
examples on PF or THD is given.

Power Factor and Energy Star

Energy Star requirements for electronic devices
becomes more and more populous to address the
energy savings, green energy, CO2 reduction, and
a total green environment. For this reason, the
emerging Solid State Lighting luminaires are also
required be Energy Start rated. The Energy Star
requirement on Power Factor for residential and
commercial applications are >70% and >90%,
respectively. This means that any LED luminaire or
system power supply should have the required PF
in order to have the Energy Start status. LEDs are
DC current driven devices with the exception of few

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 Application Guide
Author: Muhinthan Murugesu, Applications
Engineer
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