Power Factor

[Jack Jones]

What is Active Power and what is Apparent Power on a 3 phase system. How do I obtain the two?

 

[RUWired]

Active power is another name for KW.I found this link by yahoo search.

http://www.equitech.com/articles/power.html

 

[Jraef]

Apparent Power (kVA) is like the total volume of stuff in your beer mug. Active Power kW) is the beer you can drink, Reactive Power (kVAR) is the foam that came with it. It's all beer, but some of it is useless except to let you know it isn't flat! Active Power does the work and is what you pay for, Reactive Power is necessary to make the motor function and comes with the territory, but the total vector sum of the two is the Apparent Power and is what the utility needs to supply.

http://www.energy-in-motion.com/PFC.html

 

[72.5kv]

power companies delivers real power ( P=Watts) and reactive power (Q=VAR= volt amp reactive). the magnitude of both is apparent power (S).

real power is what does the work. for eg. the power at the shaft of an electric motor. Inorder to get work out of that motor, a magnetic field must be established within the motor winding. this field require reactive power (var). the motor (var) requirement is constant reguardless of the load placed on it.

from the utility standpoint S=P-jQ this them delivery real and reactive power, from a comsumer standpoint S=P+jQ comsuming real and reactive power.

check this link for a visual ihttp://www.ibiblio.org/obp/electricCircuits/AC/AC_11.htmlllustration