Aim

To understand the concept of electrical energy measurements and techniques of energy

measurement. To get introduced to electrical tariff system.

Apparatus
Resistive loads
Inductive loads
Three phase power supply unit
Power circuit breaker
Power meter
Maximum demand meter
Three phase active & reactive energy meter
Moving iron ammeter
Moving iron voltmeter
Electronic stop clock

Theory
Electrical power is of two types: Active power and reactive power. The differences and the
applications were discussed with instructor. Since the power is derived from the voltage and
current vectors, it can be measured by employing a setup to measure those two parameters.
Electricity consumers are charged based on the amount of electrical energy consumed which
is measured in units of kilowatt- hours (kWh). The principal of the energy meter is discussed
with the instructor.
Depending on various types of consumers: domestic, industrial, commercial etc., energy
measurement and electricity tariff system varies. Sri Lanka has an increasing block tariff
system for domestic consumers, where there is a constant unit price for a block of electricity
units and unit price increases with increasing blocks. When consumers use maximum power
during the peak hours of the day (7.00 pm – 9.00 pm and around 12 noon), the utility has an
extra burden to generate electricity by running their expensive oil plants. Hence large
electricity consumers are charged based on the time of use, where there is a high unit price
for peak hours and low unit price for off peak house. Non-domestic consumers who use
reactive power (kVAr) are effectively charged for this through a maximum demand (in units
of kVA) charge in addition to the average active power consumption (kWh value). It is also
important to note that one of the main objectives of a tariff system is to encourage the
consumers to save electricity. Further about Sri Lankan tariff system was discussed with
instructor. Various types of tariff system throughout the world was discussed.
Procedure
1. The circuit components were connected as shown in fig 1
2. After ensuring the correct connections, the circuit was powered and the parameters of
the energy counter of the energy meter was reset before proceeding with the
experiment.
3. The resistance of the three-phase balanced resistive load was changed from R1 to R7
at the regular time intervals stated by the instructor. The readings of the meters were
taken.
Discussion
We plotted the graphs for power consumption vs resistance and energy consumption
vs resistance for both experimental vs theoretical values. Experimental values gave us per
phase readings and we needed them to convert it to three phases by multiplying it by 3. As
we look at the graph we may see some similarities and also differences between both
theoretical and experimental values. To be more specific, the power graph is almost similar in
both cases and the energy graph doesn’t match exactly to the theoretical graph. Different
factors may cause these differences. Energy consumption needed to be converted into kWh
for the graph and there could have happened some calculation errors also some errors may be
occurred due to the measurement errors. Connecting wires could had some kind of resistance
on it. This may also cause the readings to be different from expected.
As we said in introduction, AC power consumption is consisting of two elements.
One is Active power and the other one is reactive power. Active power is consumed by
resistive elements and the reactive power is consumed by inductive loads and capacitive
loads. In this practical we mainly considered in resistive loads. So the active power
consumption was aimed.
Another important element that contain AC circuits are the reactance. This power is
created by the electric or magnetic field that created by the components of the load. This is
much more different than the pure resistive components. This power is stored and then again
returned to the supply as the sinusoidal waveform goes through one complete periodic cycle.
As the instantaneous power is constantly changing over the time the measurements will be
much difficult. So the average mean value of the power is taken over a fixed number of
cycles. the average value of the instantaneous power of the sinusoid is given by,

P = VIcosφ
where V is the sinusoidal rms value of the voltage and I is the sinusoidal rms value of
the current and φ is the phase angle between voltage and the current. P is measured in W. In a
pure resistive load φ will be zero and the phase angle will be 1. In our calculations pure
resistive is used and any reactive power component was neglected. Then in a purely resistive
circuit, electrical power is consumed all the time that current is flowing through the resistor
and is given as: P = VI = I2R watts. V and I are the rms values of each.
To get a clear picture of power consumption in AC circuits the power triangle was
introduced.

Where,
• P is the I2R or Real power that performs work measured in watts, W
• Q is the I2X or Reactive power measured in volt-amperes reactive, VAr
• S is the I2Z or Apparent power measured in volt-amperes, VA
• θ is the phase angle in degrees. The larger the phase angle, the greater the reactive
power
• Cos(θ) = P/S = W/VA = power factor.

The vector sum of P and Q will be equal to the apparent power. Real power is measured in
watts. it defines the power consumed by the resistive part of the circuit. it’s also known as
real power. Real power calculation is same as DC power simply by multiplying V and I.
Because the phase angle between voltage and current in resistive load is always zero. This
power causes the circuit to get heated. Reactive power effectively does not do any work in
circuit, it produced by inductors and capacitors in the circuit. Power factor is calculated by
the ratio of real power to the apparent power.

Sunday’s Active power demand curve

Active power demand curve of Sunday was studied in detail, since it is different from
typical load curve of a week day. The intention of this particular study was to find the time
intervals where the active power demand goes below the average off-peak power demand
of a typical week day. In some other countries in the world, tariff rates on Sundays and
public holidays are different from normal week days due to the low power demand. With
this study, the relevance of this fact to Sri Lanka was examined.

The Off peak power demand of a typical Sunday is less than that of a typical weekday
during the time periods 00:00 to 06:00 and from 23:00 to 00:00. Therefore, average power
demand on Sundays during “Day” and “Peak” intervals is higher than the average “Off-
Peak” demand of a typical weekday. Therefore, going for new definition of time intervals
for Sundays and Public Holidays is irrelevant to Sri Lanka.
Electricity Demand Duration Curve
Electricity Demand Duration curve was plotted using the received data from CEB for 14
days period. However, since the Demand curve for Sunday is differ from that of a week
day, separate curves for week days and Sundays were considered. The respective Demand
Duration Curves are given

Week Day Curve

Minimum Demand of 40% of the maximum can be considered as related to the base active
power demand of the country. Also demand goes above 80% of the maximum during a period
of 4 hours. By examining the usual Active power demand curve, it can be decided that this 4
hour period covers most of the demand during the “Peak” period (18:30 to 22:30). Demand
varies from 40% of the Maximum to 80% of the Maximum for 84% of the time (About 20
hours).
Sunday Curve
In Sundays the base Active power demand is 40%, which is same as that of Week days.
However, during 4 hours period, the power demand sustain above 70% of the maximum.
Again, as same as in week days, this 4 hour period covers the “Peak” interval.

Tariff system is a block type of diagram that shows the amount of money that need to
payed by the consumer. Units are separated into blocks and each block has a unit price for
electric power.
Conclusion
Energy consumption
Resistance Value Experimental value (kWh) Theoretical value
(x10-3 kWh)
R1 0.01 9.09

R2 0.01 12.80

R3 0.02 21.95

R4 0.04 31.93

R5 0.05 44.69

R6 0.06 64.02

R7 0.08 76.83

Power Consumption
Resistance Value Experimental value (W) Theoretical value (W)

R1 144.78 136.34

R2 203.1 192.06

R3 340.2 329.25

R4 496.8 478.89

R5 686.7 670.36

R6 993.9 960.32

R7 1163.4 1152.38

The Experimental three phase power consumption is almost similar to the theoretical power
consumption. Little variations can be seen in energy consumption theoretical and practical
values. But a negligible variation. These variations could be caused by some calculation and
measurements errors.
References
https://www.electronics-tutorials.ws
http://www.pucsl.gov.lk/english/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/STUDY-REPORT-ON-
ELECTRICITY-DEMAND-CURVE-AND-SYSTEM-PEAK-REDUCTION.pdf