Mirus
International Inc. [2008-06-04]

1-888-TO MIRUS
www.mirusinternational.com
MIRUS-FAQ002-A3
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14.

Is the LINEATOR suitable for generator applications?

In general, generators are reasonably well equipped to handle resistive or inductive loads but do not perform well under
highly capacitive loading. This is primarily due to the inability of the generators excitation controls to adjust to the voltage
boost that the capacitors will introduce.

Figure 14-1 shows a typical Reactive
Capability Curve for a generator.
Reactive power in kVAR as a % of
the generators rated kVA is shown on
the X-axis with lagging or inductive
loads on the left side and leading or
capacitive loads on the right side.
Generator loading in KW as a % of
rated kVA is shown on the Y-axis.
The generator will operate properly
with any loading that falls inside the
outer curves.

Figure 14-1: Typical Generator Reactive Power Capability Curve

As can be seen, the generator handles
well any heavy inductive loads over
its entire load range, accepting up to
85% inductive reactance at no load
and 60% at full load. It performs less
well however, when the loading is
capacitive. At no load, capacitive
reactive must be less than 20%.

Most competitive passive filters require large capacitor banks in order to achieve the harmonic reduction performance of the
LINEATOR AUHF. As a result, they are very rarely suitable for generator applications. The unique configuration of the
LINEATOR reactor, on the other hand, allows for a much smaller capacitor bank which ensures that it is compatible with
the generator. The green trace in Figure 14-1 shows the maximum capacitive reactance of the LINEATOR AUHF. Even at
no load, it is very comfortably lower than the maximum allowed (<15%). The red trace shows the typical capacitive
reactance values of competitive filters which falls outside the acceptable limits. As a result, the LINEATOR can be
guaranteed to operate without problems on any generator application whereas competitive filters cannot.