ACpower

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Powerinanelectriccircuitistherateofflowofenergypastagiven
pointofthecircuit.Inalternatingcurrentcircuits,energystorage
elementssuchasinductorsandcapacitorsmayresultinperiodic
reversalsofthedirectionofenergyflow.Theportionofpowerthat,
averagedoveracompletecycleoftheACwaveform,resultsinnet
transferofenergyinonedirectionisknownasrealpower.The
portionofpowerduetostoredenergy,whichreturnstothesourcein
eachcycle,isknownasreactivepower.

Contents
1Real,reactive,andapparentpower
2Powerfactor

Theblinkingofnonincandescentcity
lightsisshowninthismotionblurred
longexposure.TheACnatureofthe
mainspowerisrevealedbythe
dashedappearanceofthetracesof
movinglights.

3Reactivepower
4Reactivepowercontrol
5Unbalancedpolyphasesystems
6Basiccalculationsusingrealnumbers
7Multiplefrequencysystems
8Seealso
9References

Real,reactive,andapparentpower
Inasimplealternatingcurrent(AC)circuitconsistingofasourceandalinearload,boththecurrentand
voltagearesinusoidal.Iftheloadispurelyresistive,thetwoquantitiesreversetheirpolarityatthesametime.
Ateveryinstanttheproductofvoltageandcurrentispositive,indicatingthatthedirectionofenergyflowdoes
notreverse.Inthiscase,onlyrealpoweristransferred.
Iftheloadsarepurelyreactive,thenthevoltageandcurrentare90degreesoutofphase.Forhalfofeach
cycle,theproductofvoltageandcurrentispositive,butontheotherhalfofthecycle,theproductisnegative,
indicatingthatonaverage,exactlyasmuchenergyflowstowardtheloadasflowsback.Thereisnonet
energyflowoveronecycle.Inthiscase,onlyreactiveenergyflowsthereisnonettransferofenergytothe
load.
Practicalloadshaveresistance,inductance,andcapacitance,sobothrealandreactivepowerwillflowtoreal
loads.Powerengineersmeasureapparentpowerasthemagnitudeofthevectorsumofrealandreactivepower.
Apparentpoweristheproductoftherootmeansquareofvoltageandcurrent.

Engineerscareaboutapparentpower,becauseeventhoughthecurrentassociatedwithreactivepowerdoesno
workattheload,itheatsthewires,wastingenergy.Conductors,transformersandgeneratorsmustbesizedto
carrythetotalcurrent,notjustthecurrentthatdoesusefulwork.
Anotherconsequenceisthataddingtheapparentpowerfortwoloadswillnotaccuratelygivethetotal
apparentpowerunlesstheyhavethesamedisplacementbetweencurrentandvoltage(thesamepowerfactor).
Conventionally,capacitorsareconsideredtogeneratereactivepowerandinductorstoconsumeit.Ifa
capacitorandaninductorareplacedinparallel,thenthecurrentsflowingthroughtheinductorandthe
capacitortendtocancelratherthanadd.Thisisthefundamentalmechanismforcontrollingthepowerfactorin
electricpowertransmissioncapacitors(orinductors)areinsertedinacircuittopartiallycancelreactivepower
'consumed'bytheload.
Engineersusethefollowingtermstodescribeenergyflowinasystem
(andassigneachofthemadifferentunittodifferentiatebetween
them):
Realpower,P,oractivepower:[1]watt(W)
Reactivepower,Q:voltamperereactive(var)
Complexpower,S:voltampere(VA)
Apparentpower,|S|:themagnitudeofcomplexpowerS:volt
ampere(VA)
Phaseofvoltagerelativetocurrent,:theangleof
difference(indegrees)betweencurrentandvoltagecurrent
laggingvoltage(quadrantIvector),currentleadingvoltage
(quadrantIVvector)

Thecomplexpoweristhevectorsum
ofrealandreactivepower.The
apparentpoweristhemagnitudeof
thecomplexpower.
Realpower,P
Reactivepower,Q
Complexpower,S
Apparentpower,|S|
Phaseofcurrent,

Inthediagram,Pistherealpower,Qisthereactivepower(inthis
casepositive),SisthecomplexpowerandthelengthofSisthe
apparentpower.Reactivepowerdoesnotdoanywork,soitisrepresentedastheimaginaryaxisofthevector
diagram.Realpowerdoesdowork,soitistherealaxis.
Theunitforallformsofpoweristhewatt(symbol:W),butthisunitisgenerallyreservedforrealpower.
Apparentpowerisconventionallyexpressedinvoltamperes(VA)sinceitistheproductofrmsvoltageand
rmscurrent.Theunitforreactivepowerisexpressedasvar,whichstandsforvoltamperereactive.Since
reactivepowertransfersnonetenergytotheload,itissometimescalled"wattless"power.Itdoes,however,
serveanimportantfunctioninelectricalgridsanditslackhasbeencitedasasignificantfactorintheNortheast
Blackoutof2003.[2]
Understandingtherelationshipamongthesethreequantitiesliesattheheartofunderstandingpower
engineering.Themathematicalrelationshipamongthemcanberepresentedbyvectorsorexpressedusing
complexnumbers,S=P+jQ(wherejistheimaginaryunit).

Powerfactor

Theratiobetweenrealpowerandapparentpowerinacircuitiscalledthepowerfactor.It'sapracticalmeasure
oftheefficiencyofapowerdistributionsystem.Fortwosystemstransmittingthesameamountofrealpower,
thesystemwiththelowerpowerfactorwillhavehighercirculatingcurrentsduetoenergythatreturnstothe
sourcefromenergystorageintheload.Thesehighercurrentsproducehigherlossesandreduceoverall
transmissionefficiency.Alowerpowerfactorcircuitwillhaveahigherapparentpowerandhigherlossesfor
thesameamountofrealpower.
Thepowerfactorisunity(one)whenthevoltageandcurrentareinphase.Itiszerowhenthecurrentleadsor
lagsthevoltageby90degrees.Powerfactorsareusuallystatedas"leading"or"lagging"toshowthesignof
thephaseangleofcurrentwithrespecttovoltage.
Purelycapacitivecircuitssupplyreactivepowerwiththecurrentwaveformleadingthevoltagewaveformby
90degrees,whilepurelyinductivecircuitsabsorbreactivepowerwiththecurrentwaveformlaggingthe
voltagewaveformby90degrees.Theresultofthisisthatcapacitiveandinductivecircuitelementstendto
canceleachotherout.
Wherethewaveformsarepurelysinusoidal,thepowerfactoristhecosineofthephaseangle()betweenthe
currentandvoltagesinusoidwaveforms.Equipmentdatasheetsandnameplatesoftenwillabbreviatepower
factoras"
"forthisreason.
Example:Therealpoweris700Wandthephaseanglebetweenvoltageandcurrentis45.6.Thepower
factoriscos(45.6)=0.700.Theapparentpoweristhen:700W/cos(45.6)=1000VA.[3]

Reactivepower
Fundamentally,electricalpowerisdeveloped,deliveredandconsumedasvoltageandcurrent.Inasimple
directcurrent(DC)device(likeaflashlight)thepower(thebrightnessofthebulb)isthevoltagetimesthe
currentandismeasuredinWatts.Wattsareameasureoftheabilityofadevicetoperformusefulwork.Thisis
whatiscalledrealpowerbecauseitcanproduceuseful(real)work.
Inalternatingcurrent(AC)systemslikeallmodernpowersystemsthingsbecomeabitmorecomplicated.
Commoncustomerloaddevicesespeciallymotorscausetherelationshipbetweencurrentandvoltageto
shift.Sincemostoftheelectricpowersystemloadisfrommotorsusedinfactories,businessesandhomes,this
becomesasignificantissueforutilities.
ThisshiftintherelationshipofvoltageandcurrentinACsystemsreducestheabilityofthesystemtodeliver
powertoperformusefulwork.Inextremecases,thevoltageandcurrentcanshiftsomuchthatalmostno
usefulworkcanbedelivered.(Therearealsootherundesirableeffectsonthepowersystemwhenthisshift
getslargelikelowvoltages,andincreasedequipmentheatingandsystemlosses.)
Thisshiftiswhatcausesaneedforreactivepower.Itismeasuredinvars(fromtheFrenchtermVolt
Amperereactive).Whilereactivepowerdoesnotprovideusefulwork,itisessentialformotorsand
transformerstowork.Reactivepowerrequiredbycustomerloadmustbesuppliedinsomeway.
Reactivepowerflowisneededinanalternatingcurrenttransmissionsystemtosupportthetransferofreal
poweroverthenetwork.Inalternatingcurrentcircuits,energyisstoredtemporarilyininductiveandcapacitive
elements.ACconnecteddevicesthatstoreenergyintheformofamagneticfieldincludeinductors(alarge

coilofwire).Whenavoltageisinitiallyplacedacrossthecoil,amagneticfieldbuildsup,andittakesaperiod
oftimeforthecurrenttoreachfullvalue.Thiscausesthecurrenttolagbehindthevoltageinphasehence,
thesedevicesaresaidtobesourcesoflaggingreactivepower.
AcapacitorisanACdevicethatstoresenergyintheformofanelectricfield.Whencurrentisdriventhrough
thecapacitor,ittakesaperiodoftimeforachargetobuilduptoproducethefullvoltagedifference.Onan
ACnetwork,thevoltageacrossacapacitorisconstantlychangingthecapacitorwillopposethischange,
causingthevoltagetolagbehindthecurrent.Inotherwords,thecurrentleadsthevoltageinphasehence,
thesedevicesaresaidtobesourcesofleadingreactivepower.
Thepowersystemrequiresbothtypesofpowerrealandreactiveinordertofunctionproperly.Electric
generatorssupplyreactivepower(inadditiontorealpower)thatisconsumedbycustomerload.
Theshiftingeffectofmotorscanalsobeoffsetusingdevicesthatcounteractthisshiftthemostcommonare
capacitors.Suchcapacitorsarethelargestsourceofthisoffsettingreactivepowerandarecommonlyused
throughoutthepowersystem.
Anothersourceofreactivepowerisasynchronouscondenserakindofelectricgeneratorthatdoesnot
producerealpower,onlyreactivepower.Therearealsootherdevicesthatusehighpowerelectronicsto
rapidlycontrolreactivepowerfromlargebanksofcapacitors.
Energystoredincapacitiveorinductiveelementsofthenetworkgiverisetoreactivepowerflow.Reactive
powerflowstronglyinfluencesthevoltagelevelsacrossthenetwork.Voltagelevelsandreactivepowerflow
mustbecarefullycontrolledtoallowapowersystemtobeoperatedwithinacceptablelimits.

Reactivepowercontrol
Transmissionconnectedgeneratorsaregenerallyrequiredtosupportreactivepowerflow.Forexampleonthe
UnitedKingdomtransmissionsystemgeneratorsarerequiredbytheGridCodeRequirementstosupplytheir
ratedpowerbetweenthelimitsof0.85powerfactorlaggingand0.90powerfactorleadingatthedesignated
terminals.Thesystemoperatorwillperformswitchingactionstomaintainasecureandeconomicalvoltage
profilewhilemaintainingareactivepowerbalanceequation:
Generator_MVARs+System_gain+Shunt_capacitors=MVAR_Demand+Reactive_losses+
Shunt_reactors
TheSystemgainisanimportantsourceofreactivepowerintheabovepowerbalanceequation,whichis
generatedbythecapacitivenatureofthetransmissionnetworkitself.Bymakingdecisiveswitchingactionsin
theearlymorningbeforethedemandincreases,thesystemgaincanbemaximizedearlyon,helpingtosecure
thesystemforthewholeday.
Tobalancetheequationsomeprefaultreactivegeneratorusewillberequired.Othersourcesofreactive
powerthatwillalsobeusedincludeshuntcapacitors,shuntreactors,StaticVARCompensatorsandvoltage
controlcircuits.MrSiyabongaakaSoloMdlalosecameupwiththeideaofreactivepower.

Unbalancedpolyphasesystems

Whilerealpowerandreactivepowerarewelldefinedinanysystem,thedefinitionofapparentpowerfor
unbalancedpolyphasesystemsisconsideredtobeoneofthemostcontroversialtopicsinpowerengineering.
Originally,apparentpowerarosemerelyasafigureofmerit.Majordelineationsoftheconceptareattributedto
Stanley'sPhenomenaofRetardationintheInductionCoil(1888)andSteinmetz'sTheoreticalElementsof
Engineering(1915).However,withthedevelopmentofthreephasepowerdistribution,itbecameclearthatthe
definitionofapparentpowerandthepowerfactorcouldnotbeappliedtounbalancedpolyphasesystems.In
1920,a"SpecialJointCommitteeoftheAIEEandtheNationalElectricLightAssociation"mettoresolvethe
issue.Theyconsideredtwodefinitions:

thatis,thequotientofthesumsoftherealpowersforeachphaseoverthesumoftheapparentpowerforeach
phase.

thatis,thequotientofthesumsoftherealpowersforeachphaseoverthemagnitudeofthesumofthe
complexpowersforeachphase.
The1920committeefoundnoconsensusandthetopiccontinuedtodominatediscussions.In1930another
committeeformedandonceagainfailedtoresolvethequestion.Thetranscriptsoftheirdiscussionsarethe
lengthiestandmostcontroversialeverpublishedbytheAIEE(Emanuel,1993).Furtherresolutionofthis
debatedidnotcomeuntilthelate1990s.

Basiccalculationsusingrealnumbers
Aperfectresistorstoresnoenergy,socurrentandvoltageareinphase.Thereforethereisnoreactivepower
and
.Thereforeforaperfectresistor

Foraperfectcapacitororinductorthereisnonetpowertransfer,soallpowerisreactive.Thereforefora
perfectcapacitororinductor:

WhereXisthereactanceofthecapacitororinductor.
IfXisdefinedasbeingpositiveforaninductorandnegativeforacapacitorthenwecanremovethemodulus
signsfromSandXandget

Instantaneouspowerisdefinedas:

wherev(t)andi(t)arethetimevaryingvoltageandcurrentwaveforms.
Thisdefinitionisusefulbecauseitappliestoallwaveforms,whethertheyaresinusoidalornot.Thisis
particularlyusefulinpowerelectronics,wherenonsinusoidalwaveformsarecommon.
Ingeneral,weareinterestedintherealpoweraveragedoveraperiodoftime,whetheritisalowfrequency
linecycleorahighfrequencypowerconverterswitchingperiod.Thesimplestwaytogetthatresultistotake
theintegraloftheinstantaneouscalculationoverthedesiredperiod.

Thismethodofcalculatingtheaveragepowergivestherealpowerregardlessofharmoniccontentofthe
waveform.Inpracticalapplications,thiswouldbedoneinthedigitaldomain,wherethecalculationbecomes
trivialwhencomparedtotheuseofrmsandphasetodeterminerealpower.

Multiplefrequencysystems
SinceanRMSvaluecanbecalculatedforanywaveform,apparentpowercanbecalculatedfromthis.
Forrealpoweritwouldatfirstappearthatwewouldhavetocalculateloadsofproducttermsandaverageall
ofthem.Howeverifwelookatoneoftheseproducttermsinmoredetailwecometoaveryinterestingresult.

howeverthetimeaverageofafunctionoftheformcos(t+k)iszeroprovidedthatisnonzero.Thereforethe
onlyproducttermsthathaveanonzeroaveragearethosewherethefrequencyofvoltageandcurrentmatch.In
otherwordsitispossibletocalculatereal(average)powerbysimplytreatingeachfrequencyseparatelyand
addinguptheanswers.

Furthermore,ifweassumethevoltageofthemainssupplyisasinglefrequency(whichitusuallyis),this
showsthatharmoniccurrentsareabadthing.Theywillincreasethermscurrent(sincetherewillbenonzero
termsadded)andthereforeapparentpower,buttheywillhavenoeffectontherealpowertransferred.Hence,
harmoniccurrentswillreducethepowerfactor.
Harmoniccurrentscanbereducedbyafilterplacedattheinputofthedevice.Typicallythiswillconsistof
eitherjustacapacitor(relyingonparasiticresistanceandinductanceinthesupply)oracapacitorinductor
network.Anactivepowerfactorcorrectioncircuitattheinputwouldgenerallyreducetheharmoniccurrents
furtherandmaintainthepowerfactorclosertounity.

Seealso
WarofCurrents
Electricpowertransmission
Transformer
Mainselectricity

References
1. ^IEEE100:theauthoritativedictionaryofIEEEstandardsterms.7thed.ISBN0738126012,page23
2. ^"August14,2003OutageSequenceofEvents"
(http://web.archive.org/web/20071020070028/http://www.ferc.gov/industries/electric/indusact/blackout/091203
blackoutsum.pdf).FERC.20030912.Archivedfromtheoriginal(http://www.ferc.gov/industries/electric/indus
act/blackout/091203blackoutsum.pdf)on20071020.Retrieved20080218.
3. ^"ACpowercalculation"
(http://web.archive.org/web/20120618165213/http://encon.fke.utm.my/courses/see1023/AC_CircuitAnaysis2.ppt).
091123encon.fke.utm.my(googlecache)

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