Chapter 1: Power

Sub Topics:
Instantaneous Power (p)
Active Power (P)
Reactive Power (Q)
Apparent Power (S)
Relationship between P, Q, S
Power Factor
Examples

Instantaneous Power
The instantaneous power supplied to a device is simply the product of the
instantaneous voltage across its terminals multiply the instantaneous
current that flows through it.
e=
i=

Em*sin () (Volts or V), Em = peak value

Im*sin ( - ) (Ampere or A), Im

= peak value

Equation: p = e*I (Watts or W)

The instantaneous power may be (+) or (-)
If (+), power flows into the device. If (-), power flows out of the
device

Example 1:
A sinusoidal voltage having a peak value of 162 V and a
frequency of 60 Hz is applied to the terminals of an AC
Motor. The resulting current has a peak value of 7.5 A
and lags with an angle of 50 behind the voltage.
a) Express the voltage & current in terms of electrical
angle, .
b) Calculate the value of the instantaneous voltage and
current at
an angle of 120.
c) Calculate the value of the instantaneous power at an

Active Power
Definition:
Symbol:
Unit:

Also known as Real Power

P

Watts or W (kW, MW, GW)

Type of Load:

Resistor (R), Unit: Ohms or

Position of V & I: Voltage and current are in phase

Formulas:

P = I2R, V2/R, VI (DC Circuits)

P = V*I*cos () (1 phase AC Circuit)

Reactive Power
Definition: Power that bounces back & forth between source
and load. (Simply called as Use-less Power)
Symbol:
Unit:

Volt-Ampere Reactive or VAR (kVAR, MVAR)

Type of Load:

Capacitor (C), Unit: Farad or F

C XC =(1/(j*2**f*C)) ()
Inductor (L), Unit: Henry or H
L XL = j*2**f*L ()
Position of V & I: I lags V by 90 (Inductor)
I leads V by 90 (Capacitor)
Formulas:

Q = V*I*sin () (1 phase AC Circuit)

Q = I2XL, V2/XC

(DC Circuit)

Impedance (Z)
Impedance is defined as the combination of Resistance
with Reactive Reactance.
The Reactive Reactance can be Inductive, Capacitive or
the combination of both Inductive & Capacitive
Reactance
Example:
Z = R + j*XL

or Z = R + j*XC

or

Z = R + j*XL + j*XC

Definition of Reactive Load &

Reactive
Source

A reactor is considered to be a reactive load because it

absorbs reactive power.
A capacitor is considered as a reactive source. WHY?

Its a passive component able of storing energy

temporary for brief periods & releasing it again in
the
form ofissource
of power
A inductor
considered
as a reactive load. WHY?
Its a passive component able of storing current
temporary for brief periods & releasing it again in
the form of magnetic field

Example 2:
A reactor having an inductive reactance of 4 is
connected to the terminals of a 120 V AC Generator.
a) Calculate the value of the current in the reactor
b) Calculate the power associated with the reactor
c) Calculate the power associated with the AC Generator
d) Draw the phasor diagram for the circuit

Example 3:
An AC generator is connected to a group of R, L, & C
circuit elements. The respective elements carry the
currents shown below. Calculate the active and
reactive power associated with the generator.
(Circuit will be given in the class)

Apparent Power
Definition:
Power
Symbol:

Combination of Active Power & Reactive

Unit: Volt-Ampere or VA (kVA, MVA)

Type of Load:

Combination of R, L & C

Position of V & I: Depending on the total power

achieved (Can be lead or lag)
Formulas: S = V I
Apparent Power: (Active power2+ Reactive
Power2)

Relationship between P, Q, & S

Example 4:
An AC Motor absorbs 40 kW of active
power & 30 kVAR of reactive power.
Calculate the apparent power supplied
to the motor.

Example 5:
A Wattmeter and VARmeter are connected into a 120 V,
single phase line that feeds an AC motor. They
respectively indicate 1800 W and 960 VAR. Calculate:
a) The Ip & Iq
b) I
c) The apparent power supplied by the load
d) The phase angle between E & I

Power Factor (pf)

The Cosine of angle between Current and Voltage is
called Power Factor
Example: P = VI Cos or Cos = P / V I
The ratio between resistance and Impedance is Called
Power Factor
Example: Cos = R/Z
The ratio between Actual Power andApparent Power
Example: Cos = kW / kVA
The power factor is unit-less & can be a number

Example 6:
A single phase motor draws a current of 5 A from a 120 V, 60 Hz
line. The power factor (pf) of the motor is 65%. Calculate:
a) The active power absorbed by the motor
b) The reactive power absorbed by the motor
c) Draw the power triangle to indicate the values of P, Q, S

Power Factor Correction

To improve the power factor and make the value closer
to 1.
By placing a capacitor in parallel with the load. The presence
How?
of the capacitor will reduce the overall reactive power value,
at the same time leading the pf closer to 1.

Example 7:
A 50 F paper capacitor is placed across the motor
terminals based on Example 6. Calculate:
a) The reactive power generated by the capacitor
b) The active power absorb by the motor
c) The reactive power absorbed from the line
d) The new power factor

Examples involving multiple

loads
Example 8:
Based on the diagram shown,
calculate:
a) Total active power
b) Total reactive power
c) Apparent power
d) Power factor
e) Draw the power triangle

Example 9:
A single phase 12.47 kV transmission line, several km
long, feeds a load from a substation. The line has a
resistance of 2.4 & a reactance of
15 . Instruments
at the substation indicate that the active and reactive
power inputs to the line are 3 MW & 2 MVAR, respectively.
a) Draw a simple line diagram to show the information
provided
b) Calculate the line current and phase angle with to the
line voltage at the substation
c) Calculate the active power absorbed by the load
d) Calculate the reactive power absorbed by the load