[James_H._Harlow]_Electric_Power_Transformer_Engin(BookSee.org)
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FIGURE 2.7.28 Voltage profile using voltage-level setting without LDC.<br />
2.7.7.4 Line-Drop Resistive and Reactive Compensation<br />
Quite often regulators are installed some distance from a theoretical load center or the location at which<br />
the voltage is regulated. This means the load will not be served at the desired voltage level due to the<br />
losses (voltage drop) on the line between the regulator and the load. Furthermore, as the load increases,<br />
line losses also increase, causing the lowest-voltage condition to occur during the time of heaviest loading.<br />
This is the least desirable time for this to occur.<br />
To provide the regulator with the capability to regulate at a “projected” load center, a line-dropcompensation<br />
feature is incorporated in the control. Of all the devices in the step-voltage regulator<br />
control system, none is more important — and at the same time less understood — than line-drop<br />
compensation. This circuitry consists of a secondary supply from the internal current transformer,<br />
proportional to the load current, and resistive and reactive components through which this current flows.<br />
As the load current increases, the resulting secondary current flowing through these elements produces<br />
voltage drops, which simulate the voltage drops on the primary line. This causes the “sensed” voltage to<br />
be correspondingly altered; therefore, the control responds by operating upon this pseudo load-center<br />
voltage. To select the proper resistive and reactive values, the user must take into account several factors<br />
about the line being regulated.<br />
When line-drop compensation is not used, the step-voltage regulator reads the voltage at its own<br />
terminals and compares it with a reference voltage level and bandwidth setting. If the sensed voltage is<br />
outside the set bandwidth, the regulator automatically responds to bring the load-side voltage in line<br />
with the programmed settings. This is the normal operation of a step-voltage regulator that is not using<br />
line-drop compensation. Adjusting the voltage level at the regulator to compensate for a low voltage away<br />
from the regulator near a load center is only a temporary solution for a specific load. Figure 2.7.28 shows<br />
an example of a power-system voltage profile using the voltage-level setting in lieu of line-drop compensation<br />
to improve voltage at a load center.<br />
Therefore, the step-voltage regulator, without line-drop compensation, can hold a reasonably constant<br />
voltage at the regulator location only. This is not likely to be the best scenario for most applications that<br />
need a reliable voltage for the entire length of the feeder. The ideal situation is to provide the value of<br />
the voltage-level setting at the primary side of the distribution transformer for all consumers. Since this<br />
is not realistically attainable, the objective would be to provide each consumer a voltage as close as possible<br />
to the voltage-level value for all loads. To do this, the point on the line at which the voltage is regulated<br />
should not be at the regulator but at an area at the center of the majority of the consumers, the load<br />
center. It is not always possible to locate a regulator at the exact location where the regulation is most<br />
needed. Also, the system changes as loads are added and removed over time, and the desired point of<br />
FIGURE 2.7.29 Voltage profile using voltage-level setting with LDC.<br />
regulation may change. However, it may not be feasible to relocate the regulator bank. By having linedrop-compensation<br />
devices, the regulation point can be changed without having to physically move a<br />
bank of regulators.<br />
In any mode, the regulator monitors a specific voltage and changes taps as needed based on that voltage<br />
level and the existing settings. With line-drop compensation, this monitored voltage can be modified in<br />
such a way as to simulate the voltage at some point further out on the distribution system. Knowing the<br />
peak-load current expected on the line and the size and length of the line to the load center, the voltage<br />
drop at the load center due to resistive and reactive components can be calculated. Inside the regulator<br />
control, the line-drop-compensation device will model that portion of the system between the load center<br />
and the step-voltage regulator. Figure 2.7.29 shows an example of a power-system voltage profile resulting<br />
from a regulator set up with the line-drop-compensation feature.<br />
When line-drop compensation is used, the correct polarity of the resistance and reactance components<br />
is necessary for proper regulation. On four-wire wye-connected systems, the polarity selector is always<br />
set for +X and +R values. On delta-connected systems, however, the line current is 30 displaced from<br />
the line-to-line voltage (assuming 100% power factor). On open-delta-connected regulator banks, one<br />
regulator is 30 leading, the other is 30 lagging. On closed-delta regulator banks, all regulators in a given<br />
bank will be either leading or lagging. As a result of this displacement, the polarity of the appropriate<br />
resistive or reactive element must sometimes be reversed. The setting of the selector switch would be set<br />
on the +X+R, –X+R, or +X–R setting. A number of publications are available from manufacturers to<br />
assist in determining the variables needed and the resulting calculations.<br />
2.7.8 Unique Applications<br />
Most step-voltage regulators are installed in circuits with a well-defined power flow from source to load.<br />
However, some circuits have interconnections or loops in which the direction of power flow through the<br />
regulator may change. For optimum utility system performance, step-voltage regulators, installed on such<br />
circuits, have the capability of detecting this reverse power flow and then sensing and controlling the<br />
load-side voltage of the regulator, regardless of the direction of power flow.<br />
In other systems, increasing levels of embedded (dispersed) generation pose new challenges to utilities<br />
in their use of step-voltage regulators. Traditionally, distribution networks have been used purely to<br />
transport energy from the transmission system down to lower voltage levels. A generator delivering<br />
electricity directly to the distribution network can reverse the normal direction of power flow in a<br />
regulator. Options in the electronic control of the step-voltage regulator are available for handling<br />
different types of scenarios that give rise to reverse power-flow conditions.<br />
© 2004 by CRC Press LLC<br />
© 2004 by CRC Press LLC