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Reactive power does not do any work, so it is represented as the imaginary axis of the vector diagram. Active power does do work, so it is the real axis. The unit for power is the watt (symbol: W). Apparent power is often expressed in volt-amperes (VA) since it is the product of RMS voltage and RMS current. The unit for reactive power is var ...
Electrical loads consuming alternating current power consume both real power and reactive power. The vector sum of real and reactive power is the complex power, and its magnitude is the apparent power. The presence of reactive power causes the real power to be less than the apparent power, and so, the electric load has a power factor of less ...
The amount of reactive power supplied by a shunt capacitor is proportional to the square of the line voltage, so the capacitor contributes less under low-voltage conditions (frequently caused by the lack of reactive power). This is a serious drawback, as the supply of reactive power by a capacitor drops when it is most needed; [11]
Where a reactive (capacitive or inductive) component is present in the load, the apparent power is greater than the real power as voltage and current are no longer in phase. In the limiting case of a purely reactive load, current is drawn but no power is dissipated in the load.
Angle notation can easily describe leading and lagging current: . [1] In this equation, the value of theta is the important factor for leading and lagging current. As mentioned in the introduction above, leading or lagging current represents a time shift between the current and voltage sine curves, which is represented by the angle by which the curve is ahead or behind of where it would be ...
In practice, the prime mover (a power source that drives the generator) is designed for less active power than the generator is capable of (due to the fact that in real life generator always has to deliver some reactive power [2]), so a prime mover limit (a vertical dashed line on the illustration) changes the constraints somewhat (in the ...
The reactive power like the real power must balance (that is the reactive power produced on a system must equal the reactive power consumed) and can be supplied from the generators, however it is often more economical to supply such power from capacitors (see "Capacitors and reactors" below for more details).
For a fixed reactive source, the maximum power theorem maximizes the real power (P) delivered to the load by complex conjugate matching the load to the source. For a fixed reactive load , power factor correction minimizes the apparent power (S) (and unnecessary current) conducted by the transmission lines, while maintaining the same amount of ...