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What is Power Factor?

In electrical engineering, the power factor (PF) of an AC electrical power system is defined as the ratio of working power (measured in kilowatts, kW) absorbed by the load to the apparent power (measured in kilovolt amperes, kVA) flowing through the circuit. Power factor is a dimensionless number in the closed interval of −1 to 1.

The “ideal” power factor is one (also referred to as “unity”). This is when there is no reactive power through the circuit, and hence apparent power (kVA) is equal to real power (kW). A load with a power factor of 1 is the most efficient loading of the supply. That said this is not realistic, and the power factor will in practice be less than 1. Various power factor correction techniques are used to help increase the power factor to this ideal state.

To help explain this better, let's take a step back and talk about what power is.

Power is the capacity to do work. In the electrical domain, electrical power is the amount of electrical energy that can be transferred to some other form (heat, light, etc) per unit of time.

 

What is Power Factor?

In electrical engineering, the power factor (PF) of an AC electrical power system is defined as the ratio of working power (measured in kilowatts, kW) absorbed by the load to the apparent power (measured in kilovolt amperes, kVA) flowing through the circuit. Power factor is a dimensionless number in the closed interval of −1 to 1.

The “ideal” power factor is one (also referred to as “unity”). This is when there is no reactive power through the circuit, and hence apparent power (kVA) is equal to real power (kW). A load with a power factor of 1 is the most efficient loading of the supply. That said this is not realistic, and the power factor will in practice be less than 1. Various power factor correction techniques are used to help increase the power factor to this ideal state.

To help explain this better, let's take a step back and talk about what power is.

Power is the capacity to do work. In the electrical domain, electrical power is the amount of electrical energy that can be transferred to some other form (heat, light, etc) per unit of time.