Technology
Electrical demand changes as soon as a load switches on. An average misses the changes that matter to a working load. Software-Defined Electricity measures, models and corrects electricity as one changing system.
A light switch closes a circuit, and the load needs power immediately. Electrical signals travel rapidly through the network. The waveform changes continuously as loads start, stop and draw current.
RMS, or root mean square, reduces a changing waveform to one effective value over a measurement window. That is useful for ratings and monitoring. Some reports summarize readings over seconds or minutes, but a summary cannot show every change as it happens. SDE works from the changing waveform, measuring, modeling and correcting the electrical system as a whole. That is why we call it Software-Defined Electricity.
Technology comparison
| Technology | Operating principle | Power quality | Functional Enhancements | Maintenance | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Power factor | Harmonic distortion | Transients / surges | Phase balance | Efficiency gains† | |||
| 3DFS SDEVectorQ | Real-time precision correction, as fast as the waveform changes. | YesPF to 0.98+ | YesTHD <5% | YesClass B, integrated# | YesImbalance cut 86–93% | +20% gain0.2% own drawNo HVAC | NoneNo tuning required |
| Capacitor bank Automatic PF |
Stepped PF compensation. 10 s contactor delay or <3 cycles with thyristors‡ | YesResonance risk*Over / under compensation | NoAmplifies 5th harmonic ×1.8* | NoNo surge clamping | NoCannot move load between phases | −2 to −5%Cooling varies | HighContactor wear, capacitor aging |
| STATCOM with Active Filters | Active injection of harmonic current tuned to specific orders§ | YesOver / under compensation | YesOver / under compensation | NoNo surge clamping | NoFilters phases, does not balance | −2 to −4%Fans + cooling | HighFans, filters and tuning |
| Surge protection device (SPD) | Passive clamp for lightning and switching surges | NoNo reactive correction | NoDoes not filter harmonics | Yes | NoDoes not shape current | 0% gainStandby draw varies | DisposableDegrades at 1.5× rated surge¶ |
Sources and notes
* Capacitor banks can resonate with the supply and amplify harmonics.
‡ One leading maker’s capacitor bank controller guide: 10 s default step. Another maker’s thyristor-switched bank: closed loop under 3 cycles.
§ Three leading active filter makers state 2 cycles for harmonics and a quarter cycle for PF to the 51st order, 2 cycles to 90%, and a 25 µs control response with 2 cycles to correct.
¶ A leading maker’s surge protection guide SA01005003E. IAEI Magazine, March 2004: an MOV degrades from an 8/20 µs surge at 1.5× its rating, and end of life is a 10% shift in varistor voltage.
# R034B states integrated, non-degrading Class B surge protection; no surge current rating or UL 1449 / IEC 61643 test is listed.
† Up to 20% savings (water treatment facility study) at 0.2% own draw. Other classes are their own losses per the 3DFS Power Quality Impact white paper: capacitor banks 2 to 5%, active filters 2 to 4%; an SPD draws no working current.
A 7% detuning reactor dissipates about 6 W per kvar (a leading maker’s detuning reactor data sheet).
Active filter losses run under 3% at 480 V (a leading maker’s active filter catalog).
Efficiency gains are energy. Capacity is a separate return; Electric Optimization works it through.
Cell figures are from the 3DFS mining whitepaper, PQR Simulator cards and Power Quality Impact white paper, first-party, unless a vendor document is named.
Why all at once matters
Capacitor banks adjust power factor, while harmonic filters trap specific frequencies. Electrical properties are coupled in the circuit. Correcting one parameter in isolation shifts the others and creates new imbalances. SDE measures 26 parameters together in real time. It calculates a coordinated correction across the whole electrical system.
Why speed matters
Electricity moves at the speed of light. To work with it, correction must be faster than the disturbance. Averaging meters calculate their numbers after the cycles are over. Transient spikes damage equipment in the meantime. SDE measures, models and corrects the current waveform within the sub-cycle interval. It stabilizes the circuit before disturbances spread.
Current, not voltage
Most mitigation hardware waits for a voltage symptom. It then treats that symptom and leaves the distorted current behind it unmanaged. Distorted current causes excessive heat in transformer windings, trips breakers with no fault to find and raises neutral return currents. Software-Defined Electricity digitally corrects the current waveform directly at the load. When current draw is balanced and sinusoidal, bus voltage stabilizes naturally.
The result
SDE correction operates continuously without interruption at greater than 96% round-trip efficiency. It raises Power Quality Ratings in the 30% to 50% range to the 80% to 99% range. Clean current produces immediate physical results across the distribution system. Transformers recover lost capacity as harmonic heating drops. Neutral conductor currents fall toward zero. Bus voltage stabilizes under fluctuating production loads. A transformer is rated in kilovolt-amperes. Current that does no work fills that rating as surely as working current does. What a site gets back is the current removed at its own panel, so we measure it there.
“If you want to find the secrets of the universe, think in terms of energy, frequency and vibration.”
Nikola Tesla
Software-Defined Electricity corrects the whole waveform at once, wherever power flows. The loads behind each panel decide which problems it corrects first.