Power Factor Improvement in the New Civil Engineering Building at State Polytechnic of Samarinda

: The State Polytechnic of Samarinda is grappling with reactive power issues, primarily stemming from the considerable number of electrical loads, including computers, fluorescent lamps, printers, air conditioners, and electric motors, present in its buildings and laboratories. As a solution, the installation of a static var compensator (SVC) is proposed to enhance the electrical power factor at the Samarinda State Polytechnic, with a specific focus on the new Civil Engineering Department building. To assess the impact on the power factor, simulations were conducted using MATLAB R2021a Simulink software. The findings reveal that the utilization of a static var compensator resulted in an average power factor increase of 25% across all experiments. However, the targeted power factor of 0.99 was not attained. Furthermore, employing the SVC led to a reduction in current in the R phase by an average of 1.8%, in the S phase by an average of 35%, and in the T phase by an average of 37%. Concurrently, there was an average increase in active power by 3.5%, while apparent power decreased by an average of 14%, and reactive power decreased by an average of 74%. Despite encountering some limitations, the implementation of SVC proved successful in enhancing the power factor in the simulation, presenting a viable solution for improving power quality in the buildings of Samarinda State Polytechnic.

variable capacitance) and coils, allowing it to operate in both inductive and capacitive modes (Persero, n.d.).Its primary function is to regulate voltage and reactive power in the power system.Additionally, this device can generate or absorb reactive power in various ranges.Because it is a more affordable FACTS device, SVC often becomes the focus of power studies (Ćalasan et al., 2020).Technical colleges like the State Polytechnic of Samarinda (POLNES) currently have various loads such as computers, fluorescent lights, printers, air conditioners (AC), electronic and power electronics laboratory modules, and in laboratories and workshops, there are electric motors controlled by static converters (Rusda et al., 2017).This can generate reactive power, which ultimately lowers the power factor value.Based on these issues, it is proposed to improve the power factor in the installation at the State Polytechnic of Samarinda by planning the installation of static var compensators (Karim et al., n.d.).The Department of Civil Engineering at the State Polytechnic of Samarinda in the new building has facilities such as classrooms, faculty rooms, departmental administrative rooms, prayer rooms, auditoriums, and computer laboratories.This Civil Engineering building is equipped with electrical equipment such as LED lights, air conditioners, printers, computers, speakers, digital clocks, and water pumps.These devices have the potential to lower power quality by contributing faulty voltage and current.

Research Object
The objective of this research is to compensate for reactive power using a static var compensator in the new Civil Engineering building at the State Polytechnic of Samarinda to enhance the power factor in the building.The simulation will be conducted using MATLAB R2021a.

Research Operational Framework
Fig. 1 illustrates the operational framework of the research.It depicts that the research process commences with a literature review, encompassing an examination of existing literature and case studies.Subsequently, reference data and field data are acquired from the New Civil Engineering building at the State Polytechnic of Samarinda.The analysis will be conducted using MATLAB R2021a (Simulink), with the literature review furnishing specifications and functions of the static var compensator.The research then advances to the data processing stage, where both reference and field data will be analyzed using Simulink, yielding processed data in the form of power flow.Subsequently, this processed data will undergo further analysis to determine the compensation for reactive power.Finally, the last stage involves results and discussion, which will present the research findings in the form of a model and simulation demonstrating the improvement in power factor before and after using the SVC in the New Civil Engineering building at the State Polytechnic of Samarinda.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Electrical Simulation Design Results Without Static Var Compensator
The first result come in Monday february 20, 2023     The experiment conducted on the electrical system in the new Civil Engineering building without using a static var compensator for one week at 17:00, simulated using Matlab Simulink, yielded outputs of voltage, current, active power, apparent power, reactive power, and power factor that closely approximate the measured results used as a reference.This experiment serves as evidence that the electrical system simulation in the new Civil Engineering building without using a static var compensator can function effectively.

Power Factor Improvement
Based on the measurement data, the average values for active power are 1504 Watts, apparent power is 1882 VA, reactive power is 981 Var, and the power factor is 0.79.From the results of the average values, further processing will be conducted to obtain the reactive power compensation value as follows: Based on the calculation results for power factor improvement, it is found that the required reactive power compensation is 944 Var.To achieve this value, compensation is done in 3 stages, and each stage requires a capacitor of 341 Var.The capacitance used for each stage is 20.557 μF.

Results of Electrical Simulation Design with Static Var Compensator
The result when SVC added It can be observed that the voltage response on Monday, February 20, 2023, at 17:00 in the new Civil Engineering building did not change.Previously, phase R voltage was 237 V, phase S was 235 V, and phase T was 237 V in the simulation without static var compensator.In the simulation with static var compensator, the phase R voltage remained at 237 V, phase S at 235 V, and phase T at 237 V, as seen in Fig. 8.

Fig.9. Current Response on Monday, February 20, 2023, with Static Var Compensator
Next, the current response on Monday, February 20, 2023, at 17:00 in the new Civil Engineering building experienced a decrease.Phase R current was 0.2 A, phase S was 0.3 A, and phase T was 0.37 A, whereas in the simulation without static var compensator, phase R current was 0.78 A, phase S was 1.7 A, and phase T was 0.72 A. In the simulation with static var compensator, phase R current became 0.58 A, phase S became 1.36 A, and phase T became 0.35 A, as shown in Figure 9. Furthermore, on Monday, February 20, 2023, at 17:00 in the new Civil Engineering building, the active power increased by 51 Watts.Initially, in the simulation without static var compensator, the active power was 445 Watts, which then became 496 Watts in the simulation with static var compensator, as seen in Figure 10.

Table 1 . Simulation Results of the Electrical System in the New Civil Engineering Building without SVC
1.