The Power Factor is an indicator of the quality of design and management of an electrical installation. It relies on two very basic notions: active and apparent power.
The active power P (kW) is the real power transmitted to loads such as motors, lamps, heaters, and computers. The electrical active power is transformed into mechanical power, heat or light.
In a circuit where the applied r.m.s. voltage is Vrms and the circulating r.m.s. current is Irms, the apparent power S (kVA) is the product: Vrms x Irms.
The apparent power is the basis for electrical equipment rating.
The Power Factor λ is the ratio of the active power P (kW) to the apparent power S (kVA):
The load may be a single power-consuming item, or a number of items (for example an entire installation).
The value of power factor will range from 0 to 1.
Asking "What is the use of power factor?" is a bit like asking "What is the use of poor eyesight?". It is is an undesirable state of affairs which should be corrected to make it closer to full efficiency.
Having to use a device having a poor power factor - without doing anything to correct it - is very similar to a person who has poor eyesight who is trying see properly without using the correct eyeglasses!
The power factor of a device is what determines how much useful power is used out of the total amount of power which is supplied to it from the source.
A power factor as close to 1 as possible is desirable because then most of the power transferred from the source to the load is useful power.
1. If a device has a power factor much less than 1, that means more total input current must be supplied for a given output power dissipation and a more powerful source is required to deliver the required output power. This means the device must draw a higher amount of volt-amps (VA) compared to the actual load power it is delivering, which means its conversion of input power VA to output power VA is inefficient.
2. The closer to a power factor of 1 that a device has, the better the total current which has to be supplied will match the output from the device, and the more efficient it will be in its conversion of input power VA to output power VA.
For more information see the Related Link shown below.
By definition, power factor is the cosine of the angle by which the load current lags or leads the supply voltage in an AC circuit. It is also the ratio of true power to apparent power. A lagging power factor occurs in an resistive-inductive circuit, where the load current lags the supply voltage. A leading power factor occurs in an resistive-capacitive circuit, where the load current leads the supply voltage
In alternating-current power transmission and distribution, the cosine of the phase angle between the voltage and current is called Power Factor.
Rated power factor
A wattmeter reads the true power of a load, regardless of its power factor.
Power factor is defined as the ratio of real power over total power. Total power is the vector sum of real and reactive power.
The power factor depends on the properties of the load, and if any power factor correction is done it has to happen at the load, so that the current in the transmission lines is reduced. Correcting the power factor at the sending end fails to address the problem.
A resistor doesn't have a power factor. However, if a circuit is pure resistance in nature the power factor will be one when a voltage is applied and a current flows in the circuit. The power factor is a measure of the relative phases of the current and voltage in a circuit.
power factor means kw/kva
Output Power divided by Power Factor.
There is no disadvantage of unity power factor, because at unity power factor all the electrical power is efficiently utilized by the the load, and at lagging power factor some power is lost in the load's magneticfield.
When looking at power factor, it is the ratio of watts (true power) to VA. The power factor is how we measure power systems. A person with a low power factor like .26 will have a higher electricity bill.
There is no significance to a power factor of 0.82.
power factor means kw/kva
power factor means kw/kva
There is no such thing as a 'low power-factor' wattmeter. A wattmeter always reads true power, regardless of the load's power factor.
Power Factor Improvement Panel. It controls power factor
Rated power factor
automatic power factor controller
A base number is used as a factor in a power.