What is Power Factor, Reactive Power, Real Power, True Power, and why do power companies issue reactive power penalty charges. How do you correct bad power factor. What causes bad power factor. How do you calculate power factor, real power, apparent power and reactive power.
source.image: The Engineering Mindset
In electrical engineering, the power factor of an AC power system is defined as the ratio of the real power absorbed by the load to the apparent power flowing in the circuit. Real power is the average of the instantaneous product of voltage and current and represents the capacity of the electricity for performing work. Apparent power is the product of root mean square (RMS) current and voltage.
Due to energy stored in the load and returned to the source, or due to a non-linear load that distorts the wave shape of the current drawn from the source, the apparent power may be greater than the real power, so more current flows in the circuit than would be required to transfer real power alone. A power factor magnitude of less than one indicates the voltage and current are not in phase, reducing the average product of the two. A negative power factor occurs when the device (normally the load) generates real power, which then flows back towards the source.
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In an electric power system, a load with a low power factor draws more current than a load with a high power factor for the same amount of useful power transferred. The larger currents increase the energy lost in the distribution system and require larger wires and other equipment. Because of the costs of larger equipment and wasted energy, electrical utilities will usually charge a higher cost to industrial or commercial customers with a low power factor.
