Reference · built on requestOperator by FibricEnergy & demand

Power Factor

Reactive demand read from your power meters against the tariff's power-factor clause, with capacitor bank staging or a work order proposed.

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About

A low power factor shows up as a line on the bill and nowhere else. This operator reads power factor, reactive power, and apparent power from the registers your meters' register maps assign, over Modbus TCP, and the reactive charge your rate carries in the OpenEI Utility Rate Database as demandreactivepowercharge in dollars per kVAR. It sees which intervals drive the charge and which motors or transformers drive those intervals.

It proposes staging the capacitor banks you already have, or a corrective work order in your CMMS when a bank step stops changing the reading. A person approves each step or order, and the receipt holds the reading before and after.

This is a reference listing. It documents what Fibric would read from Power Factor and what it could propose, based on the vendor's published interfaces. Fibric builds it under a managed deployment when you request it; selecting it here installs nothing.

Inputs

  • Power factor, reactive power, and apparent power from the registers your power meters' register maps assign, read over Modbus TCP
  • kW demand and kWh from the same reads, so reactive demand is seen beside real demand for each interval
  • The reactive charge on your rate from URDB: demandreactivepowercharge in dollars per kVAR, with the record's startdate and enddate
  • Capacitor bank step state, where the bank controller exposes steps as registers or coils
  • Assets and open work orders in your CMMS for the switchgear, banks, and large motors involved
  • Bank switching history from the bridge's command receipts, so a step that stopped working is visible as a pattern

Proposed actions

  • Target capability: propose a staging plan for the existing banks: which steps to switch in during the intervals reactive demand is highest
  • Target capability: propose a write to a declared bank step through the PLC Command Bridge, inside its bounds, after approval
  • Target capability: propose a corrective work order in MaintainX, Limble CMMS, Fiix, or UpKeep when a step fails to change the reading
  • Target capability: propose an inspection order for a motor or transformer whose reactive draw rises week over week
  • Target capability: propose a monthly note showing the reactive charge exposure under the rate's demandreactivepowercharge

Proposed actions are target capabilities. Every action runs propose-first and needs a validated deployment and the appropriate permissions.

What you can build

  • Reactive charge on an industrial rate

    Meters at the main switchgear show reactive demand peaking with the morning motor starts. Against demandreactivepowercharge from URDB, the operator proposes switching in two bank steps before the starts.

    With Modbus TCP, OpenEI Utility Rate Database

  • A bank step that stopped working

    A step written through the bridge no longer moves the reactive reading. The operator proposes a MaintainX corrective work order on the bank asset, with the readings before and after each attempt attached.

    With PLC Command Bridge, MaintainX

  • Motor drift across a season

    A branch meter on a chiller motor shows reactive draw rising week over week at the same load. The operator proposes an inspection order in Limble CMMS with the trend attached.

    With Modbus TCP, Limble CMMS

Requirements

  • Power meters over Modbus TCP whose register map includes power factor and reactive power
  • The URDB record for your rate, or the tariff sheet, with its reactive or power-factor clause
  • A CMMS connector for work orders: MaintainX, Limble CMMS, Fiix, or UpKeep
  • For staging writes, the PLC Command Bridge with a declared write map for the bank controller, and sign-off that no protection relay is in scope
Authentication
It holds no meter, controller, or CMMS login. Meters are read through the Modbus TCP connector, steps written through the bridge's declared map, and orders created through the CMMS account you assign.

Limits

  • Many rates state the penalty as kVA demand or a power-factor adjustment that URDB's fields do not model. Those clauses are entered by hand.
  • It stages banks that already exist. Sizing a new bank or a harmonic filter is engineering work it hands to a person.
  • Harmonics can make a meter's power factor reading misleading. The operator reports what the meter says and names the meter.
  • A step that does not change the reading after switching is treated as a fault and an order is proposed. It is not retried.

Access and pricing

Reference listing. Fibric builds the operator under a managed deployment when you request it. Your quote covers the build, capabilities, usage, and support.

Request Power Factor ↗

Questions and answers

What does the electrical lead approve?
Either a staging plan, showing the intervals, the readings, the steps proposed, and the charge at stake, or a work order, showing the asset, the fault, and the readings behind it. The approver edits, approves, or declines.
What is kept for each staging step or order?
A receipt per action: the meters and readings, the URDB record, the steps written and the reading after each, or the work order id, who approved, and when. The previous step state is kept for undo.
Does it switch a bank on its own?
No. A step changes only after approval, once, through the bridge's declared map. Work orders are created only after approval. A failed step is proposed as a fault, not retried.
Ask about Power Factor

Ask about the capabilities and requirements in this listing.

For project-specific requirements, contact Fibric.

This operator is developed, published, and supported by Fibric. Third-party names and logos identify the systems an integration connects to; they are the property of their respective owners, who are not affiliated with Fibric and do not sponsor or endorse this listing. Trademark policy