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How To Calculate Three Phase Amperage

Three phase power circuits are commonly used in power transmission and large electric motors because they allow for lower voltages and smoother power flow. A three phase circuit consists of three alternating current conductors that are 1/3 cycle out of phase with each other. To calculate the amperage of a three phase circuit, the power consumption is divided by the line voltage multiplied by the power factor, which for three phase circuits is the square root of 3.

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69 views

How To Calculate Three Phase Amperage

Three phase power circuits are commonly used in power transmission and large electric motors because they allow for lower voltages and smoother power flow. A three phase circuit consists of three alternating current conductors that are 1/3 cycle out of phase with each other. To calculate the amperage of a three phase circuit, the power consumption is divided by the line voltage multiplied by the power factor, which for three phase circuits is the square root of 3.

Uploaded by

FILID MAD
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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How to Calculate Three Phase Amperage

Three phase power circuits are often used in power transmission lines and large
electric motors because they allow lower line voltages and provide a smoother flow of
electricity. A three phase circuit consists of three alternating current conductors
combined into a single power line. Each conductor is 1/3 cycle out of phase with the
other two. Calculating three phase amperage or other electrical values is a little more
complicated than for conventional circuits because a “power factor” must be
incorporated into the computation.

Things You'll Need

Consult the operating manual or manufacturer’s specifications for the line


voltage.

Look at the power consumption indicator for the system. Everyday appliances
and motors don’t usually have a power consumption indicator. However, the
large systems that rely on three phase power circuits routinely come with
readouts. Make a note of the scale. Due to the size of the systems, the reading
may be in kilowatts rather than watts. If so, multiply by 1000 to convert kilowatts
to watts.

Divide the power consumption in watts by the line voltage multiplied by


the power factor to find the amperage. For three phase circuits the power
factor is the square root of 3. If your calculator doesn’t have a square root
function, use 1.73 as an approximation of the square root of 3. For
example, a three phase circuit using 25,000 watts of power and a line
voltage of 250 will have a current flow of 25,000/(250 x 1.73), which is
equal to 57.80 amperes.

How to Calculate 3-Phase Line-To-Ground


Voltage
Three-phase systems are prevalent in many power distribution systems.
This is because 3-phase systems have built in efficiencies for high power
transmission systems. The word 3-phase means the system has three
separate lines, spaced 120 degrees apart, where each line carries the
identical voltage. This identical voltage is the line to ground voltage.
Find the kilovolt-amperes or "KVA" rating associated with the three-phase
power distribution system. This is a standard rating associated with power
distribution systems. Refer to system specification and/or circuit diagram. As an
example, assume it's 20 KVA

Find the current rating, or "A", in units of amperes or amps. Refer to system
specifications and/or circuit diagram. As an example, assume it's 30 amps.

Calculate the line to ground voltage using the formula: V (line to ground) = (KVA
x 1000)/(I x 1.73). Continuing with the example:

V (line to ground) = (20 x 1000)/(30 x 1.73) = 20000/51.9 = 385.4 volts.

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