Effects of solar photovoltaic generation and air conditioning systems on the power factor of an electrical installation

Considering the expansion in the power of photovoltaic systems in Brazil, which has grown exponentially and presented 70% of increase in 2021 compared to 2020, the search for comfort in a tropical countries like Brazil and the consequent diffusion of refrigeration system, this work aims to evaluate how a variable refrigerant flow and a photovoltaic system affect the power quality of a college building in Federal University of Goias. Therefore, the thermal load was calculated, to check the sizing of the air conditioning (AC) system. Additionally, a real case study was carried out considering the current, voltage, power and power factor data of a photovoltaic system and the refrigeration system. The cooling capacity of the AC system seems accurate, indicating a correct sizing. It was noted a reduction in the power factor, which has values below 0.92, at times that are only part of the air conditioning system is turned on, indicating the oversize of the bank of capacitors installed to compensate the inductive energy of the condensing units. Thus, it is suggested to install two capacitors for each phase and an additional automation and monitoring system, so the capacitors are activated according to the number of condensing units functioning.