One major strategy to improve energy efficiency in energy-intensive facilities is enhancing the power factor. In many cases, a less-than-ideal power factor is unavoidable due to the nature of the electrical loads involved. This is especially critical for facilities with high and continuous energy demands, where a poor power factor can drive up energy costs, reduce system efficiency, and strain the electrical infrastructure.

Examples of such facilities include:

• Data centres – high-density servers and cooling equipment create continuous heavy loads.
• Healthcare facilities – operate 24/7 with constant lighting, climate control, stable power, and critical medical equipment; strict requirements for air quality, sterilization, and safety further increase energy demand.
• Manufacturing plants – extensive machinery, HVAC, and round-the-clock operations; specialised plants (semiconductor, pharmaceutical, biotech) require even higher energy for cleanrooms, precise climate control, and process equipment.

To address these challenges, businesses can implement power factor correction (PFC), a set of strategies designed to improve the ratio between real power (used to perform work) and apparent power (supplied to the circuit), ultimately lowering costs and improving electrical system reliability.

In this blog, we’ll cover the fundamentals of power factor, common methods of power factor correction, and how ebm‑papst supports efficient energy use through its latest line of EC fans, which help businesses reduce power losses and improve overall performance.

Think of your electrical system like a fizzy soda. Your equipment, such as a fan, is the person trying to drink it efficiently.

The goal is to take in as much of the actual soda as possible, without spilling, creating too much foam, or leaving waste behind. That’s essentially what power factor is about: using the available electrical power efficiently, with minimal losses.

Imagine pouring a can of soda into a glass, pssshhh… That’s your electrical system powering on.

• Foam = Reactive Power
  • The foam is a by-product of pouring. It doesn’t do any useful work or quench our thirst.
  • Reactive Power is generated when the equipment draws power; it doesn’t contribute to actual work.
• Soda = Real Power
  • The soda is the fizzy liquid in the glass that you actually want to drink. It quenches our thirst and the more there is, the better.
  • Real power represents the actual power consumed by electrical equipment to perform work; usable.
• Foam + Soda (Glass) = Apparent Power
  • The entire contents of the glass (soda + foam) represent apparent power — the total power that must be supplied to the system. It includes both the usable and wasted parts.
• Power Factor
  • Power Factor (PF) is like checking how well we’re enjoying our soda. If we’re sipping the soda and not drinking any foam, our PF is good. If we’re just drinking the foam and not the soda, our PF isn’t great.
  • PF is represented as the ratio of real power to apparent power (PF = kW/kVA) drawn by an electrical load.
    • It is expressed a percentage of efficiency. 100% or 1 is perfect.

Power factor correction (PFC) is a way for you to maximize the amount of real power in your electrical system by minimizing the reactive power. Essentially, PFC allows you to get more value (power) out of the same amount of electricity, reducing your overall energy consumption.

PFC can be broadly categorised into two categories, passive PFC and active PFC.

Passive PFC is a technique used in power supplies to improve the power factor by using passive components. Examples include…

• Installing Capacitor Banks: Capacitors help improve the power factor by supplying reactive power locally, which reduces the amount that must be drawn from the utility. This is typically the most cost-effective.
• Installing Detuned Filters: A combination of inductors and capacitors that both supply reactive power and filter harmonics, preventing resonance and improving power factor in distorted electrical environments.
• Using Synchronous Condensers: These provide leading current that partially neutralizes the reactive power and improves the power factor. Due to their high cost, synchronous condensers are typically used by large-scale power users.

Active PFC, in contrast, improves power factor by reshaping the input current to align with the voltage waveform, reducing harmonics and improving energy efficiency. There are a number of ways to implement active PFC, such as installing EC fans with built-in active PFC.

To learn more on this topic, download our “Understanding Active PFC & Low THDI” Playbook.

This playbook includes:

• What is Power Factor?
• Power Factor: Causes, Effects, and Correction Methods
• Understanding Total Harmonic Distortion of Current (THDi)
• Addressing Low Power Factor and High THDi with Fan Systems
• Comparison of PF outcomes: No Correction vs. Passive PFC vs. Active PFC
• Case Study: Improving Data Centre Efficiency with Active PFC Fans

Article by

Marketing Department of ebm‑papst SEA Pte Ltd.