IEEE 1584 · Engineering

Regulate Power Losses With Load Flow Analysis

Load flow analysis solves the steady-state operating condition of your power system — node voltages, branch power flows, real and reactive power, and line losses — for a specified generation and network configuration. For a Vietnamese facility this means confirming your network can carry required loads during planned outages without exceeding rated capacity, and identifying where reactive power compensation and transformer tap settings should sit for efficient operation. Carelabs performs the study in ETAP, modelling your network as nodes connected by impedances and solving it iteratively, and delivers findings aligned with TCVN 7447.

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What the study establishes

Load flow answers whether the network can carry what you intend to connect, at acceptable voltage, without overloading anything on the way.

What We Deliver

Voltage profile across the network

Bus voltages are calculated under the loading conditions the site actually runs, so voltage drop at the end of long feeders is quantified against the limits in TCVN 7447 rather than estimated from cable length.

WHY IT MATTERS

Capacity is not what the nameplate says

A transformer rated well above measured demand can still be the binding constraint once voltage drop, reactive flow and switching arrangement are accounted for. Load flow is what converts assumed headroom into a figure you can plan against.

Modelled against measured demand where metering exists, rather than against connected load, which overstates requirement and hides the real constraint.
Voltage drop assessed at the furthest point of each feeder, since compliance at the board says nothing about conditions at the machine.
Motor starting assessed where large drives are present, because starting current depresses voltage across the whole bus for its duration.
Future load modelled as its own case, so an expansion decision rests on the constrained scenario and not on today's comfortable one.
Reactive compensation assessed for resonance risk before it is recommended, since capacitors and transformer inductance can amplify existing harmonics.

DELIVERABLES

What you receive

Issued against TCVN 7447 with the modelling assumptions and load basis stated explicitly.

1Bus voltage table per scenario, with deviation from nominal shown against the applicable limit
2Branch loading summary identifying every element above its rating and the margin on those approaching it
3Losses by branch, so compensation and reconductoring can be targeted rather than applied broadly
4A stated spare capacity figure for the constraining element, expressed in kVA you can plan against
5The calibrated ETAP model, so the next expansion is a re-run rather than a new engagement

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How the study runs

Define the questions

We agree what the study must decide: whether a planned load can connect, why voltage is low at a specific point, or how much headroom remains before reinforcement is needed.

Establish the load basis

Metered demand data is collected where available and reconciled against connected load, since the difference between the two is usually where poor capacity decisions originate.

Build the network model

Transformers, cables and busbars are modelled from verified data in ETAP, with impedances taken from test certificates rather than from typical values where certificates exist.

Run the scenarios

Each agreed operating case is solved, including alternative switching arrangements and any standby supply the site can run on.

Identify the constraint

The element that binds first is identified for each scenario, along with the margin remaining on it, which is the number capacity planning actually needs.

Report and options

Findings are reported with reinforcement, reconfiguration and compensation options, each with the constraint it relieves and the one it does not.

Frequently asked questions

Maximum demand tells you how much you draw, not whether the network can deliver it everywhere at acceptable voltage. Load flow locates the constraint, which is often a feeder or a switching arrangement rather than the transformer everyone assumes. It also shows what binds next once the present constraint is relieved.

That is its most common use. The planned load is modelled as its own scenario, including motor starting where large drives are involved, and the study reports whether existing infrastructure carries it and at what voltage. Where it does not, the specific element requiring reinforcement is named rather than the supply being uprated wholesale.

Not usually. Where permanent metering exists we use it, and where it does not we log demand temporarily during the site visit. A short logging period is enough for most decisions, though a plant with strong seasonal or campaign variation is better measured across a representative cycle.

They share a model and answer opposite questions. Load flow asks whether the network carries normal load at acceptable voltage; short circuit asks whether equipment survives abnormal current. Running them together is more economical than separately, since the network data capture is the expensive part and is done once.

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