Electrical switchgear refers to a centralized collection of circuit breakers, fuses and switches (circuit protection devices) that function to protect, control and isolate electrical equipment. The circuit protection devices are mounted in metal structures. A collection of one or more of these structures is called a switchgear line-up or assembly.
The term LV Switchgear includes low voltage circuit breakers, switches, off load electrical isolators, HRC fuses, earth leakage circuit breakers, miniature circuit breakers (MCB) and molded case circuit breakers (MCCB) etc i.e. all the accessories required to protect the LV system.
Improving power factor means reducing the phase difference between voltage and current. Since the majority of loads are of inductive nature, they require some amount of reactive power for them to function. A capacitor or bank of capacitors installed parallel to the load provides this reactive power.
Load management, also known as demand-side management (DSM), is the process of balancing the supply of electricity on the network with the electrical load by adjusting or controlling the load rather than the power station output. This can be achieved by direct intervention of the utility in real time, by the use of frequency sensitive relays triggering the circuit breakers (ripple control), by time clocks, or by using special tariffs to influence consumer behavior. Load management allows utilities to reduce demand for electricity during peak usage times (peak shaving), which can in turn reduce costs by eliminating the need for peaking power plants. In addition, some peaking power plants can take more than an hour to bring on-line which makes load management even more critical shows a plant go off-line unexpectedly for example. Load management can also help reduce harmful emissions, since peaking plants or backup generators are often dirtier and less efficient than base load power plants. New load-management technologies are constantly under development — both by private industry and public entities