Chapter 17

Power in AC Circuits
 Active Power
In dc circuits, for example, the only power relationship
you encounter is P VI watts.

This is referred to as real power or active power and

is the power that does useful work such as light a
lamp, power a heater, run an electric motor, and so on.

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 Reactive Power
 In ac circuits, you also encounter this type of power. For ac circuits that
contain reactive elements however, (i.e., inductance or capacitance), a
second component of power also exists.

 This component, termed reactive power, represents energy that

oscillates back and forth throughout the system.

 For example, during the buildup of current in an inductance, energy

flows from the power source to the inductance to create its magnetic
field. When the magnetic field collapses, this energy is returned to the
circuit.

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 Reactive Power
 This movement of energy in and out of the inductance constitutes a
flow of power. However, since it flows first in one direction, then in
the other, it contributes nothing to the average flow of power from the
source to the load.

 For this reason, reactive power is sometimes referred to as wattless

power. (A similar situation exists regarding power flow to and from the
electric field of a capacitor.)

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 Apparent Power
For a circuit that contains resistive as well as
reactive elements, some energy is dissipated while
the remainder is shuttled back and forth as
described above; thus, both active and reactive
components of power are present.

This combination of real and reactive power is

termed apparent power.

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 Active Power
Instantaneous power to a load is p = v • i
In an ac circuit
p may be positive sometimes and negative other times
Average value of the power, P
Real power

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 Active Power
A positive value for p means that power transfer is in
the direction of the reference arrow, while a negative
value means that it is in the opposite direction.

Thus, during positive parts of the power cycle, power

flows from the source to the load, while during
negative parts, it flows out of the load back into the
circuit.

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 Active Power
 Since p represents the power flowing to the load, its average will be the
average power to the load. Denote this average by the letter P.

 If P is positive, then, on average, more power flows to the load than is returned
from it. (If P is zero, all power sent to the load is returned.)

 Thus, if P has a positive value, it represents the power that is really dissipated
by the load. For this reason, P is called real power. In modern terminology,
real power is also called active power.

 Thus, active power is the average value of the instantaneous power, and the
terms real power, active power, and average power mean the same thing.

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 Active Power
Average value of instantaneous power, real power, active
power, and average power mean the same thing

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 Reactive Power
Consider again Figure 17–2. During the intervals that
p is negative, power is being returned from the load.
(This can only happen if the load contains reactive
elements: L or C.)

The portion of power that flows into the load then back
out is called reactive power. Since it first flows one
way then the other, its average value is zero; thus,
reactive power contributes nothing to the average
power to the load.

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 Reactive Power
 Although reactive power does no useful work, it cannot be ignored.

 Extra current is required to create reactive power, and this current must
be supplied by the source; this also means that conductors, circuit
breakers, switches, transformers, and other equipment must be made
physically larger to handle the extra current.

 This increases the cost of a system. At this point, it should be noted that
real power and reactive power do not exist as separate entities. Rather,
they are components of the power waveform shown in Figure 17–2.

 However, as you will see, we are able to conceptually separate them for
purposes of analysis.

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 Reactive Power

During times when p is negative, power is being

returned from load
This can happen for inductive or capacitive loads

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 Reactive Power

Power that flows into these loads and back out is called
the reactive power
Average value of reactive power is zero

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 Power to a Resistive Load

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 Power to a Resistive Load

- Current is in phase with voltage

p  vi  Vm sint  I m sint 

p  Vm I m sin 2t
Vm I m
p 1  cos2t 
2

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 Power to a Resistive Load

p is always positive (except when zero)

Power flows only from source to load
Power is absorbed by the load
Power to a pure resistance consists of active power only

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 Average Power

Average value of power is halfway between zero and

peak value of VmIm
P = VmIm/2
If V and I are in RMS values
Then P = VI

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 Average Power

Also, P = I2R and P = V2/R

Active power relationships for resistive circuits are the
same for AC as for DC

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 Power to an Inductive Load
Voltage and current of an inductor are 90°out of phase
Average power to an inductance over a full cycle is zero
There are no power losses associated with a pure
inductance

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 Power to an Inductive Load
 Power that flows into and out of a pure inductance is reactive power only

 Note that during the first quarter-cycle, p is positive and hence power flows to the
inductance, while during the second quarter-cycle, p is negative and all power
transferred to the inductance during the first quarter-cycle flows back out.

 Similarly for the third and fourth quarter-cycles. Thus, the average power to an
inductance over a full cycle is zero, i.e., there are no power losses associated with a
pure inductance. Consequently, PL 0 W and the only power flowing in the circuit is
reactive power.

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 Power to an Inductive Load
pL = VI sin 2t (V and I rms values)
Product VI is the reactive power, QL
QL = VI = I2XL = V2/XL
Units are VARs

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 Power to an Inductive Load
 VAR means Volt-Amperes-Reactive
 Inductive reactive power is represented as positive

 Because it represents “power” that alternately flows into, then

out of the inductance, QL contributes nothing to the average
power to the load and, as noted earlier, is sometimes referred to
as wattless power.

 As you will soon see, however, reactive power is of major

concern in the operation of electrical power systems.

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 Power to a Capacitive Load
Voltage and current are 90°out of phase
Average power over one complete cycle is equal to zero
There are no power losses associated with a pure
capacitance

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 Power to a Capacitive Load
Power that flows into and out of a pure capacitance is
reactive power only
This power cycle is 180°out of phase with the inductive
cycle

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 Power to a Capacitive Load
pC = –VI sin 2t
QC = VI
QC = I2XC = V2/XC
Capacitive reactive power is represented as negative
Units are VARs

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 Power in More Complex Circuits
It does not matter how a circuit or system is connected
Sum of the power is found by summing individual
powers
Total real power P is found by summing each of the
individual real powers

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 Power in More Complex Circuits
Total Reactive power Q is found by summing
individual Q’s
Inductive powers are positive
Capacitive powers are negative

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 Example

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 Example

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 Example

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 Example…contd…

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 Apparent Power
Power to a load is VI
If load has both resistance and reactance
Product is neither the real power nor the reactive power,
but a combination of both

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 Apparent Power
This is called the apparent power, S
S = VI = I2Z = V2/Z
Units are volt-amperes (VA)

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 Apparent Power

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 Relationship Between P,Q, and S
P, Q, and S are related by the “power triangle”

S
Q

P

S  P 2 Q2
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 Active and Reactive Power Equations
P = VI cos  = S cos 
Q = VI sin  = S sin 
V and I are RMS values
 is the phase angle between V and I
Q is positive for inductive circuits and negative for
capacitive circuits

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 Power Factor

Ratio of real power to apparent power is called the power

factor, Fp
Fp = P/S = cos 
Angle  is angle between voltage and current

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 Power Factor

For pure resistance  = 0°

For inductance,  = 90°
For capacitance,  = -90°
For a circuit containing a mixture,  is somewhere
between 0° and 90°

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 Power Factor

Unity power factor

For a purely resistive circuit, the power factor will be one
For load containing resistance and inductance
Power factor will be less than one and lagging
Current lags the voltage

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 Power Factor

For a circuit containing resistance and capacitance

Fp is less than one and is leading

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 Why Equipment Is Rated in VA
A highly reactive load
May seem to require a small amount of power while
requiring a large current
Equipment is rated in VA to prevent overloading the
circuit

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 VA Ratings
 We now examine why electrical apparatus is rated in VA instead of watts.
Consider Figure 17–18.

 Assume that the generator is rated at 600V, 120 kVA. This means that it is
capable of supplying I 120 kVA/600V 200 A. In (a), the generator is supplying
a purely resistive load with 120 kW.

 Since S, P for a purely resistive load, S 120 kVA and the generator is
supplying its rated kVA. In (b), the generator is supplying a load with P 120
kW as before, but Q 160 kVAR. Its apparent power is therefore S 200 kVA,
which means that the generator current is I 200 kVA/600 V 333.3 A.

 Even though it is supplying the same power as in (a), the generator is now
greatly overloaded, and damage may result as indicated in (b).

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 Why Equipment Is Rated in VA
Size of electrical apparatus required by a load
Governed by its VA requirements

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 Power Factor Correction
A load with a small power factor can draw a large current
Can be alleviated by
Cancelling some or all reactive components of power by
adding reactance of opposite type to the circuit
 This is power factor correction

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 Power Factor Correction
Industrial customers may pay a penalty for low power
factors due to large currents required for highly reactive
loads

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 AC Power Measurement
To measure power in an ac circuit you need a
wattmeter
Meter consists of
Current-sensing circuit
Voltage-sensing circuit
Multiplier circuit
Averaging circuit

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 AC Power Measurement
This will measure load voltage and current and find
the product and the angle between these

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 Effective Resistance

At high frequencies

Resistance of a circuit may change
Reff = P/I2
Anything that affects P will affect resistance

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 Effective Resistance

Changing magnetic fields may set up eddy currents in

conductors
These cause power losses that affect effective resistance

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 Effective Resistance

Ferromagnetic materials
Power losses due to hysteresis effects
Magnetically induced voltages created by a changing
magnetic field cause a non-uniform current called a skin
effect
Causes an increase in resistance
Energy escapes due to radiation resistance

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