Balancing Phase Currents to Reduce Technical Losses
Q. What is phase balancing system?
- India we use three-phase, 4 wire system for distribution of electrical energy. From such system three as well as single phase loads are supplied.
- Three phase loads are mostly balanced loads and such balanced loads does not develop unbalance of Cute in the feeders.
- However, the domestic power supplied by three phase 4 wire connection will cause unbalance depending up the load used by consumer.
- Single phase supply is common in residential areas.When three phase section point is considered the to 2 loads associated with single phase supplies are more.
- The connections and loads connected on each phase of the system may not be properly balanced at the time connection Figure A shows three-phase feeder section.
- Figure A shows single phase loads on three phase feeder at different points. It is seen that a balanced load of 50 is taken on each phase at the starting end of feeder.
- But at other points the load is not balanced on all three phases. It is seen that phase is supplying 230 A, Y phase is supplying 125 A, while B phase is supplying 165 A.
- Thus, the system is unbalanced in supplying loads on each phase.
- This will result into circulating current and increased losses.
- If proper care is taken to supply different loads on different phases such that equal or nearly equal load current is supplied by each phase i.e. nearly 175 A by each phase, then the distribution system will be balanced and no additional losses will take place due to unbalance currents.
- To achieve this manually is difficult therefore to obtain this an appropriate optimization technique should be used.
- We have to observe that best balance is obtained by using the optimized load balancing procedure.
- The best balance is that which is achieved not just at the feeder supply point but also along the total feeder length.