Powerfactor

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Inelectricalengineering,thepowerfactorofanACelectricalpowersystemisdefinedas
theratiooftherealpowerflowingtotheloadtotheapparentpowerinthecircuit,[1][2]and
isadimensionlessnumberintheclosedintervalof1to1.Apowerfactoroflessthanone
meansthatthevoltageandcurrentwaveformsarenotinphase,reducingtheinstantaneous
productofthetwowaveforms(VI).Realpoweristhecapacityofthecircuitfor
performingworkinaparticulartime.Apparentpoweristheproductofthecurrentand
voltageofthecircuit.Duetoenergystoredintheloadandreturnedtothesource,ordueto
anonlinearloadthatdistortsthewaveshapeofthecurrentdrawnfromthesource,the
apparentpowerwillbegreaterthantherealpower.Anegativepowerfactoroccurswhen
thedevice(whichisnormallytheload)generatespower,whichthenflowsbacktowards
thesource,whichisnormallyconsideredthegenerator.[3][4][5]
Inanelectricpowersystem,aloadwithalowpowerfactordrawsmorecurrentthanaload
withahighpowerfactorforthesameamountofusefulpowertransferred.Thehigher
currentsincreasetheenergylostinthedistributionsystem,andrequirelargerwiresand
otherequipment.Becauseofthecostsoflargerequipmentandwastedenergy,electrical
utilitieswillusuallychargeahighercosttoindustrialorcommercialcustomerswherethere
isalowpowerfactor.
Linearloadswithlowpowerfactor(suchasinductionmotors)canbecorrectedwitha
passivenetworkofcapacitorsorinductors.Nonlinearloads,suchasrectifiers,distortthe
currentdrawnfromthesystem.Insuchcases,activeorpassivepowerfactorcorrection
maybeusedtocounteractthedistortionandraisethepowerfactor.Thedevicesfor
correctionofthepowerfactormaybeatacentralsubstation,spreadoutoveradistribution
system,orbuiltintopowerconsumingequipment.

Contents
1 Linearcircuits
1.1 Definitionandcalculation
1.2 Powerfactorcorrectionoflinearloads
2 Nonlinearloads
2.1 Nonsinusoidalcomponents
2.2 Distortionpowerfactor
2.3 Distortioninthreephasenetworks
2.4 Switchedmodepowersupplies
2.5 Powerfactorcorrection(PFC)innonlinearloads
2.5.1 PassivePFC
2.5.2 ActivePFC
2.5.3 DynamicPFC
3 Importanceofpowerfactorindistributionsystems
4 Techniquesformeasuringthepowerfactor
5 Mnemonics
6 References

7 Externallinks

Linearcircuits
InapurelyresistiveACcircuit,voltage
andcurrentwaveformsareinstep(or
inphase),changingpolarityatthesame
instantineachcycle.Allthepower
enteringtheloadisconsumed(or
dissipated).
Wherereactiveloadsarepresent,such
aswithcapacitorsorinductors,energy
storageintheloadsresultsinaphase
differencebetweenthecurrentand
voltagewaveforms.Duringeachcycle
oftheACvoltage,extraenergy,in
additiontoanyenergyconsumedinthe
load,istemporarilystoredintheload
inelectricormagneticfields,andthen
returnedtothepowergridafractionof
theperiodlater.
Becausehighvoltagealternating
current(HVAC)distributionsystems
areessentiallyquasilinearcircuit
systemssubjecttocontinuousdaily
variation,thereisacontinuous"ebb
andflow"ofnonproductivepower.
Nonproductivepowerincreasesthe
currentintheline,potentiallytothe
pointoffailure.
Thus,acircuitwithalowpowerfactor
willusehighercurrentstotransfera
givenquantityofrealpowerthana
circuitwithahighpowerfactor.A
linearloaddoesnotchangetheshape
ofthewaveformofthecurrent,but
maychangetherelativetiming(phase)
betweenvoltageandcurrent.
Electricalcircuitscontaining
dominantlyresistiveloads
(incandescentlamps,heatingelements)
haveapowerfactorofalmost1.0,but

Instantaneousandaveragepowercalculatedfrom
ACvoltageandcurrentwithazeropowerfactor(
,
).Thebluelineshowsallthe
powerisstoredtemporarilyintheloadduringthe
firstquartercycleandreturnedtothegridduring
thesecondquartercycle,sonorealpoweris
consumed.

Instantaneousandaveragepowercalculatedfrom
ACvoltageandcurrentwithalaggingpowerfactor
(
,
).Thebluelineshows
someofthepowerisreturnedtothegridduringthe
partofthecyclelabeled .

circuitscontaininginductiveorcapacitiveloads(electricmotors,solenoidvalves,
transformers,fluorescentlampballasts,andothers)canhaveapowerfactorwellbelow1.

Definitionandcalculation
ACpowerflowhasthreecomponents:
Realpoweroractivepower(P),expressedinwatts(W)
Apparentpower(S),usuallyexpressedinvoltamperes(VA)
Reactivepower(Q),usuallyexpressedinreactivevoltamperes(var)[6]
TheVAandvararenonSIunitsmathematicallyidenticaltotheWatt,butareusedin
engineeringpracticeinsteadoftheWattinordertostatewhatquantityisbeingexpressed.
TheSIexplicitlydisallowsusingunitsforthispurposeorastheonlysourceofinformation
aboutaphysicalquantityasused.[7]
Thepowerfactorisdefinedastheratioofrealpowertoapparentpower.Aspoweris
transferredalongatransmissionline,itdoesnotconsistpurelyofrealpowerthatcando
workoncetransferredtotheload,butratherconsistsofacombinationofrealandreactive
power,calledapparentpower.Thepowerfactordescribestheamountofrealpower
transmittedalongatransmissionlinerelativetothetotalapparentpowerflowinginthe
line.
ThePowerTriangle:

WecanrelatethevariouscomponentsofACpowerbyusingthepowertriangle.Real
powerextendshorizontallyinthedirectionasitrepresentsapurelyrealcomponentofAC
power.Reactivepowerextendsinthedirectionofasitrepresentsapurelyimaginary
componentofACpower.Apparentpowerrepresentsacombinationofbothrealand
reactivepower,andthereforecanbecalculatedbyusingthevectorsumofthesetwo
components.Wecanconcludethatthemathematicalrelationshipbetweenthese
componentsis:

IncreasingthePowerFactor:

Asthepowerfactor(i.e.cos)increases,theratioofrealpowertoapparentpower(which
=cos),increasesandapproachesunity(1),whiletheangledecreasesandthereactive
powerdecreases.[Ascos1,itsmaximumpossiblevalue,0andsoQ0,asthe
loadbecomeslessreactiveandmorepurelyresistive].
DecreasingthePowerFactor:

Asthepowerfactordecreases,theratioofrealpowertoapparentpoweralsodecreases,as
theangleincreasesandreactivepowerincreases.
LaggingandLeadingPowerFactors:
Inaddition,thereisalsoadifferencebetweenalaggingandleadingpowerfactor.A
laggingpowerfactorsignifiesthattheloadisinductive,astheloadwillconsume
reactivepower,andthereforethereactivecomponentQispositiveasreactivepower
travelsthroughthecircuitandisconsumedbytheinductiveload.Aleadingpowerfactor
signifiesthattheloadiscapacitive,astheloadsuppliesreactivepower,andthereforethe
reactivecomponentQisnegativeasreactivepowerisbeingsuppliedtothecircuit.

Ifisthephaseanglebetweenthecurrentandvoltage,thenthepowerfactorisequaltothe
cosineoftheangle,
:

Sincetheunitsareconsistent,thepowerfactorisbydefinitionadimensionlessnumber
between1and1.Whenpowerfactorisequalto0,theenergyflowisentirelyreactiveand
storedenergyintheloadreturnstothesourceoneachcycle.Whenthepowerfactoris1,
alltheenergysuppliedbythesourceisconsumedbytheload.Powerfactorsareusually
statedas"leading"or"lagging"toshowthesignofthephaseangle.Capacitiveloadsare
leading(currentleadsvoltage),andinductiveloadsarelagging(currentlagsvoltage).
Ifapurelyresistiveloadisconnectedtoapowersupply,currentandvoltagewillchange
polarityinstep,thepowerfactorwillbeunity(1),andtheelectricalenergyflowsina
singledirectionacrossthenetworkineachcycle.Inductiveloadssuchastransformersand
motors(anytypeofwoundcoil)consumereactivepowerwithcurrentwaveformlagging
thevoltage.Capacitiveloadssuchascapacitorbanksorburiedcablegeneratereactive
powerwithcurrentphaseleadingthevoltage.Bothtypesofloadswillabsorbenergy
duringpartoftheACcycle,whichisstoredinthedevice'smagneticorelectricfield,only
toreturnthisenergybacktothesourceduringtherestofthecycle.
Forexample,toget1kWofrealpower,ifthepowerfactorisunity,1kVAofapparent
powerneedstobetransferred(1kW1=1kVA).Atlowvaluesofpowerfactor,more
apparentpowerneedstobetransferredtogetthesamerealpower.Toget1kWofreal
powerat0.2powerfactor,5kVAofapparentpowerneedstobetransferred(1kW0.2=
5kVA).Thisapparentpowermustbeproducedandtransmittedtotheloadinthe
conventionalfashion,andissubjecttotheusualdistributedlossesintheproductionand
transmissionprocesses.
Electricalloadsconsumingalternatingcurrentpowerconsumebothrealpowerandreactive
power.Thevectorsumofrealandreactivepoweristheapparentpower.Thepresenceof
reactivepowercausestherealpowertobelessthantheapparentpower,andso,theelectric
loadhasapowerfactoroflessthan1.
Anegativepowerfactor(0to1)canresultfromreturningpowertothesource,suchasin
thecaseofabuildingfittedwithsolarpanelswhentheirpowerisnotbeingfullyutilised
withinthebuildingandthesurplusisfedbackintothesupply.

Powerfactorcorrectionoflinearloads
Ahighpowerfactorisgenerallydesirableinapowerdeliverysystemtoreducelossesand
improvevoltageregulationattheload.Itisoftendesirabletoadjustthepowerfactorofa
systemtonear1.0,suchthatonlyrealpowerisgeneratedorconsumed.Whenreactive
elementsneartheloadsupplyorabsorbthatloadsreactivepowerdemand,theapparent
powerdemandonthegeneratorisreduced.Powerfactorcorrectionmaybeappliedbyan
electricpowertransmissionutilitytoimprovethestabilityandefficiencyofthenetwork.
Althoughnotusuallythecase,individualelectricalcustomerswhoarechargedbytheir
utilityforreactivepowermayinstallcorrectionequipmenttoincreasetheirpowerfactorso
astoreducecosts.

PowerfactorcorrectionbringsthepowerfactorofanACpowercircuitcloserto1by
supplyingorabsorbingreactivepower,addingcapacitorsorinductorsthatacttocancelthe
inductiveorcapacitiveeffectsoftheload,respectively.Inthecaseofoffsettingthe
inductiveeffectofmotorloads,capacitorscanbelocallyconnected.Thesecapacitorshelp
togeneratereactivepowertomeetthedemandoftheinductiveloads.Thiswillkeepthat
reactivepowerfromhavingtoflowallthewayfromtheutilitygeneratortotheload.Inthe
electricityindustry,inductorsaresaidtoconsumereactivepowerandcapacitorsaresaidto
supplyit,eventhoughreactivepowerisjustenergymovingbackandforthoneachAC
cycle.
Bycancellingsomereactivepowerdrawnbytheinductiveloadorbyreducingthereactive
powersuppliedbythegenerator,therewillbelessenergytransferbetweentheloadandthe
utilitygenerator.Inturn,thishelpstoreducethecostsbyutilityboardsastheydonothave
togenerateasmuchpowerasneeded.However,forthepersonalconsumersthemselves,
powerandmonetarysavingsmightbeinsignificantandthisdependsonhowtheyare
chargedforpowerandthephysicalsetupoftheirsystems.
Whenhouseholdsarechargedforthereactivepowertheyconsume,whichisgenerallynot
thecasetoday,therewillbealmostnomonetaryincentivesforthemtoinstallpowerfactor
correctionequipment.Thisisgenerallythecase,ashouseholdelectricmetersdonot
measurevarsbutonlyrealpower.Addingpowerfactorcorrectiontoolsmerelyaffectthe
reactivepowersuppliedordrawnandnotrealpower.Thustheamountofrealpowerdrawn
willremainthesameandtotalcostsofutilitybythehouseholdwillnotbeaffected.
However,itispossibleforhouseholdstoenjoysavings,albeitsmall,frompowerfactor
correctioniftherearelongandhighresistancelinesconnectingbetweentheutilitymeter
andtheload.Infact,usingpowercorrectiontoolsreducesthecurrentflowingthroughthe
lines.Hence,powerlossbehindthemetercanbereducedbyasmallamountandwilllead
tocostsavings.However,ithastobenotedthatthisisusuallyinsignificantforthe
consumers.
Thereactiveelementsinpowerfactorcorrectiondevicescancreatevoltagefluctuations
andharmonicnoisewhenswitchedonoroff.Theywillsupplyorsinkreactivepower
regardlessofwhetherthereisacorrespondingloadoperatingnearby,increasingthe
system'snoloadlosses.Intheworstcase,reactiveelementscaninteractwiththesystem
andwitheachothertocreateresonantconditions,resultinginsysteminstabilityandsevere
overvoltagefluctuations.Assuch,reactiveelementscannotsimplybeappliedwithout
engineeringanalysis.
Anautomaticpowerfactorcorrectionunitconsistsofanumberofcapacitorsthatare
switchedbymeansofcontactors.Thesecontactorsarecontrolledbyaregulatorthat
measurespowerfactorinanelectricalnetwork.Dependingontheloadandpowerfactorof
thenetwork,thepowerfactorcontrollerwillswitchthenecessaryblocksofcapacitorsin
stepstomakesurethepowerfactorstaysaboveaselectedvalue.
Insteadofusingasetofswitchedcapacitors,anunloadedsynchronousmotorcansupply
reactivepower.Thereactivepowerdrawnbythesynchronousmotorisafunctionofits
fieldexcitation.Thisisreferredtoasasynchronouscondenser.Itisstartedandconnected
totheelectricalnetwork.Itoperatesataleadingpowerfactorandputsvarsontothe
networkasrequiredtosupportasystem'svoltageortomaintainthesystempowerfactorat
aspecifiedlevel.

Thesynchronouscondenser'sinstallationand
operationareidenticaltolargeelectricmotors.Its
principaladvantageistheeasewithwhichthe
amountofcorrectioncanbeadjusteditbehaves
likeavariablecapacitor.Unlikecapacitors,the
amountofreactivepowersuppliedisproportional
tovoltage,notthesquareofvoltagethis
improvesvoltagestabilityonlargenetworks.
Synchronouscondensersareoftenusedin
connectionwithhighvoltagedirectcurrent
transmissionprojectsorinlargeindustrialplants
suchassteelmills.

1.ReactivePowerControlRelay2.
Networkconnectionpoints3.Slow
blowFuses4.InrushLimiting
Contactors5.Capacitors(singlephase
orthreephaseunits,deltaconnection)
6.Transformer(forcontrolsand
ventilationfans)

Forpowerfactorcorrectionofhighvoltagepower
systemsorlarge,fluctuatingindustrialloads,
powerelectronicdevicessuchastheStaticVAR
compensatororSTATCOMareincreasinglyused.
Thesesystemsareabletocompensatesudden
changesofpowerfactormuchmorerapidlythan
contactorswitchedcapacitorbanks,andbeingsolidstaterequirelessmaintenancethan
synchronouscondensers.

Nonlinearloads
Examplesofnonlinearloadsonapowersystemarerectifiers(suchasusedinapower
supply),andarcdischargedevicessuchasfluorescentlamps,electricweldingmachines,or
arcfurnaces.Becausecurrentinthesesystemsisinterruptedbyaswitchingaction,the
currentcontainsfrequencycomponentsthataremultiplesofthepowersystemfrequency.
Distortionpowerfactorisameasureofhowmuchtheharmonicdistortionofaloadcurrent
decreasestheaveragepowertransferredtotheload.

Nonsinusoidalcomponents
Inlinearcircuitshavingonlysinusoidalcurrentsandvoltagesofonefrequency,thepower
factorarisesonlyfromthedifferenceinphasebetweenthecurrentandvoltage.Thisis
"displacementpowerfactor".[8]
Nonlinearloadschangetheshapeofthecurrentwaveformfromasinewavetosomeother
form.Nonlinearloadscreateharmoniccurrentsinadditiontotheoriginal(fundamental
frequency)ACcurrent.Thisisofimportanceinpracticalpowersystemsthatcontainnon
linearloadssuchasrectifiers,someformsofelectriclighting,electricarcfurnaces,
weldingequipment,switchedmodepowersuppliesandotherdevices.Filtersconsistingof
linearcapacitorsandinductorscanpreventharmoniccurrentsfromenteringthesupplying
system.
AtypicalmultimeterwillgiveincorrectresultswhenattemptingtomeasuretheACcurrent
inanonsinusoidalwaveform[9]theinstrumentssensetheaveragevalueoftherectified
waveform.TheaverageresponseisthencalibratedtotheeffectiveRMSvalue.AnRMS
sensingmultimetermustbeusedtomeasuretheactualRMScurrentsandvoltages(and

thereforeapparentpower).Tomeasure
therealpowerorreactivepower,a
wattmeterdesignedtoworkproperly
withnonsinusoidalcurrentsmustbe
used.

Distortionpowerfactor
Thedistortionpowerfactoristhe
distortioncomponentassociatedwith
theharmonicvoltagesandcurrents
presentinthesystem.

Sinusoidalvoltageandnonsinusoidalcurrentgivea
distortionpowerfactorof0.75forthiscomputer
powersupplyload.

isthetotalharmonicdistortionoftheloadcurrent.
isthefundamental
componentofthecurrentand
isthetotalcurrentbotharerootmeansquarevalues
(distortionpowerfactorcanalsobeusedtodescribeindividualorderharmonics,usingthe
correspondingcurrentinplaceoftotalcurrent).Thisdefinitionwithrespecttototal
harmonicdistortionassumesthatthevoltagestaysundistorted(sinusoidal,without
harmonics).Thissimplificationisoftenagoodapproximationforstiffvoltagesources(not
beingaffectedbychangesinloaddownstreaminthedistributionnetwork).Totalharmonic
distortionoftypicalgeneratorsfromcurrentdistortioninthenetworkisontheorderof1
2%,whichcanhavelargerscaleimplicationsbutcanbeignoredincommonpractice.[10]
Theresultwhenmultipliedwiththedisplacementpowerfactor(DPF)istheoverall,true
powerfactororjustpowerfactor(PF):

Distortioninthreephasenetworks
Inpractice,thelocaleffectsofdistortioncurrentondevicesinathreephasedistribution
networkrelyonthemagnitudeofcertainorderharmonicsratherthanthetotalharmonic
distortion.
Forexample,thetriplen,orzerosequence,harmonics(3rd,9th,15th,etc.)havethe
propertyofbeinginphasewhencomparedlinetoline.Inadeltawyetransformer,these
harmonicscanresultincirculatingcurrentsinthedeltawindingsandresultingreater

resistiveheating.Inawyeconfigurationofatransformer,triplenharmonicswillnotcreate
thesecurrents,buttheywillresultinanonzerocurrentintheneutralwire.Thiscould
overloadtheneutralwireinsomecasesandcreateerrorinkilowatthourmeteringsystems
andbillingrevenue.[11][12]Thepresenceofcurrentharmonicsinatransformeralsoresultin
largereddycurrentsinthemagneticcoreofthetransformer.Eddycurrentlossesgenerally
increaseasthesquareofthefrequency,loweringthetransformer'sefficiency,dissipating
additionalheat,andreducingitsservicelife.[13]
Negativesequenceharmonics(5th,11th,17th,etc.)combine120degreesoutofphase,
similarlytothefundamentalharmonicbutinareversedsequence.Ingeneratorsand
motors,thesecurrentsproducemagneticfieldswhichopposetherotationoftheshaftand
sometimesresultindamagingmechanicalvibrations.[14]

Switchedmodepowersupplies
Aparticularlyimportantclassofnonlinearloadsisthemillionsofpersonalcomputersthat
typicallyincorporateswitchedmodepowersupplies(SMPS)withratedoutputpower
rangingfromafewwattstomorethan1kW.Historically,theseverylowcostpower
suppliesincorporatedasimplefullwaverectifierthatconductedonlywhenthemains
instantaneousvoltageexceededthevoltageontheinputcapacitors.Thisleadstoveryhigh
ratiosofpeaktoaverageinputcurrent,whichalsoleadtoalowdistortionpowerfactorand
potentiallyseriousphaseandneutralloadingconcerns.
AtypicalswitchedmodepowersupplyfirstconvertstheACmainstoaDCbusbymeans
ofabridgerectifierorasimilarcircuit.TheoutputvoltageisthenderivedfromthisDC
bus.Theproblemwiththisisthattherectifierisanonlineardevice,sotheinputcurrentis
highlynonlinear.Thatmeansthattheinputcurrenthasenergyatharmonicsofthe
frequencyofthevoltage.
Thispresentsaparticularproblemforthepowercompanies,becausetheycannot
compensatefortheharmoniccurrentbyaddingsimplecapacitorsorinductors,asthey
couldforthereactivepowerdrawnbyalinearload.Manyjurisdictionsarebeginningto
legallyrequirepowerfactorcorrectionforallpowersuppliesaboveacertainpowerlevel.
RegulatoryagenciessuchastheEUhavesetharmoniclimitsasamethodofimproving
powerfactor.Decliningcomponentcosthashastenedimplementationoftwodifferent
methods.TocomplywithcurrentEUstandardEN6100032,allswitchedmodepower
supplieswithoutputpowermorethan75Wmustincludepassivepowerfactorcorrection,
atleast.80Pluspowersupplycertificationrequiresapowerfactorof0.9ormore.[15]

Powerfactorcorrection(PFC)innonlinearloads
PassivePFC
Thesimplestwaytocontroltheharmoniccurrentistouseafilterthatpassescurrentonly
atlinefrequency(50or60Hz).Thefilterconsistsofcapacitorsorinductors,andmakesa
nonlineardevicelookmorelikealinearload.AnexampleofpassivePFCisavalleyfill
circuit.

AdisadvantageofpassivePFCisthatitrequireslargerinductorsorcapacitorsthanan
equivalentpoweractivePFCcircuit.[16][17][18]Also,inpractice,passivePFCisoftenless
effectiveatimprovingthepowerfactor.[19][20][21][22][23]
ActivePFC
ActivePFCistheuseofpowerelectronicsto
changethewaveformofcurrentdrawnbyaloadto
improvethepowerfactor.[24]Sometypesofthe
activePFCarebuck,boost,buckboostand
synchronouscondenser.Activepowerfactor
correctioncanbesinglestageormultistage.
Inthecaseofaswitchedmodepowersupply,a
Specificationstakenfromthe
boostconverterisinsertedbetweenthebridge
packagingofa610WPCpower
rectifierandthemaininputcapacitors.Theboost
supplyshowingactivePFCrating
converterattemptstomaintainaconstantDCbus
voltageonitsoutputwhiledrawingacurrentthatis
alwaysinphasewithandatthesamefrequencyasthelinevoltage.Anotherswitchedmode
converterinsidethepowersupplyproducesthedesiredoutputvoltagefromtheDCbus.
Thisapproachrequiresadditionalsemiconductorswitchesandcontrolelectronics,but
permitscheaperandsmallerpassivecomponents.Itisfrequentlyusedinpractice.
ForathreephaseSMPS,theViennarectifierconfigurationmaybeusedtosubstantially
improvethepowerfactor.
SMPSswithpassivePFCcanachievepowerfactorofabout0.70.75,SMPSswithactive
PFC,upto0.99powerfactor,whileaSMPSwithoutanypowerfactorcorrectionhavea
powerfactorofonlyabout0.550.65.[25]
Duetotheirverywideinputvoltagerange,manypowersupplieswithactivePFCcan
automaticallyadjusttooperateonACpowerfromabout100V(Japan)to230V(Europe).
Thatfeatureisparticularlywelcomeinpowersuppliesforlaptops.
DynamicPFC
Dynamicpowerfactorcorrection(DPFC),sometimesreferredtoas"realtimepowerfactor
correction,"isusedforelectricalstabilizationincasesofrapidloadchanges(e.g.atlarge
manufacturingsites).DPFCisusefulwhenstandardpowerfactorcorrectionwouldcause
overorundercorrection.[26]DPFCusessemiconductorswitches,typicallythyristors,to
quicklyconnectanddisconnectcapacitorsorinductorsfromthenetworkinorderto
improvepowerfactor.

Importanceofpowerfactorindistributionsystems
Powerfactorsbelow1.0requireautilitytogeneratemorethantheminimumvoltamperes
necessarytosupplytherealpower(watts).Thisincreasesgenerationandtransmission
costs.Forexample,iftheloadpowerfactorwereaslowas0.7,theapparentpowerwould

be1.4timestherealpowerusedbytheload.Linecurrent
inthecircuitwouldalsobe1.4timesthecurrentrequiredat
1.0powerfactor,sothelossesinthecircuitwouldbe
doubled(sincetheyareproportionaltothesquareofthe
current).Alternativelyallcomponentsofthesystemsuchas
generators,conductors,transformers,andswitchgearwould
beincreasedinsize(andcost)tocarrytheextracurrent.
Utilitiestypicallychargeadditionalcoststocommercial
customerswhohaveapowerfactorbelowsomelimit,
whichistypically0.9to0.95.Engineersareoften
interestedinthepowerfactorofaloadasoneofthefactors
thataffecttheefficiencyofpowertransmission.
Withtherisingcostofenergyandconcernsoverthe
75Mvarcapacitorbankina
efficientdeliveryofpower,activePFChasbecomemore
150kVsubstation
commoninconsumerelectronics.[27]CurrentEnergyStar
guidelinesforcomputers[28]callforapowerfactorof0.9
at100%ofratedoutputinthePC'spowersupply.Accordingtoawhitepaperauthoredby
IntelandtheU.S.EnvironmentalProtectionAgency,PCswithinternalpowersupplieswill
requiretheuseofactivepowerfactorcorrectiontomeettheENERGYSTAR5.0Program
RequirementsforComputers.[29]
InEurope,EN6100032requirespowerfactorcorrectionbeincorporatedintoconsumer
products.

Techniquesformeasuringthepowerfactor
Thepowerfactorinasinglephasecircuit(orbalancedthreephasecircuit)canbe
measuredwiththewattmeterammetervoltmetermethod,wherethepowerinwattsis
dividedbytheproductofmeasuredvoltageandcurrent.Thepowerfactorofabalanced
polyphasecircuitisthesameasthatofanyphase.Thepowerfactorofanunbalancedpoly
phasecircuitisnotuniquelydefined.
Adirectreadingpowerfactormetercanbemadewithamovingcoilmeterofthe
electrodynamictype,carryingtwoperpendicularcoilsonthemovingpartofthe
instrument.Thefieldoftheinstrumentisenergizedbythecircuitcurrentflow.Thetwo
movingcoils,AandB,areconnectedinparallelwiththecircuitload.Onecoil,A,willbe
connectedthrougharesistorandthesecondcoil,B,throughaninductor,sothatthecurrent
incoilBisdelayedwithrespecttocurrentinA.Atunitypowerfactor,thecurrentinAis
inphasewiththecircuitcurrent,andcoilAprovidesmaximumtorque,drivingthe
instrumentpointertowardthe1.0markonthescale.Atzeropowerfactor,thecurrentin
coilBisinphasewithcircuitcurrent,andcoilBprovidestorquetodrivethepointer
towards0.Atintermediatevaluesofpowerfactor,thetorquesprovidedbythetwocoils
addandthepointertakesupintermediatepositions.[30]
Anotherelectromechanicalinstrumentisthepolarizedvanetype.[31]Inthisinstrumenta
stationaryfieldcoilproducesarotatingmagneticfield,justlikeapolyphasemotor.The
fieldcoilsareconnectedeitherdirectlytopolyphasevoltagesourcesortoaphaseshifting

reactorifasinglephaseapplication.Asecondstationaryfieldcoil,perpendiculartothe
voltagecoils,carriesacurrentproportionaltocurrentinonephaseofthecircuit.The
movingsystemoftheinstrumentconsistsoftwovanesthataremagnetizedbythecurrent
coil.Inoperationthemovingvanestakeupaphysicalangleequivalenttotheelectrical
anglebetweenthevoltagesourceandthecurrentsource.Thistypeofinstrumentcanbe
madetoregisterforcurrentsinbothdirections,givingafourquadrantdisplayofpower
factororphaseangle.
Digitalinstrumentscanbemadethateitherdirectlymeasurethetimelagbetweenvoltage
andcurrentwaveformsandsocalculatethepowerfactor,orthatmeasurebothtrueand
apparentpowerinthecircuitandcalculatethequotient.Thefirstmethodisonlyaccurateif
voltageandcurrentaresinusoidal.Loadssuchasrectifiersdistortthewaveformsfromthe
sinusoidalshape.

Mnemonics
Englishlanguagepowerengineeringstudentsareadvisedtoremember:"ELItheICEman"
or"ELIonICE"thevoltageEleadsthecurrentIinaninductorLthecurrentleadsthe
voltageinacapacitorC.
AnothercommonmnemonicisCIVILinacapacitor(C)thecurrent(I)leadsvoltage(V),
voltage(V)leadscurrent(I)inaninductor(L).

References
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andElectricalMachines.ElsevierScience.pp.432.ISBN9780128009888."TheDPFit
thecosineoftheanglebetweenthesetwoquantities"
9.J.B.DixitAmitYadav(1January2010).ElectricalPowerQuality.LaxmiPublications,Ltd.
pp.123.ISBN9789380386744.

10.Sankaran,C.(1999),EffectsofHarmonicsonPowerSystems,ElectroTest,"...andvoltage
timerelationshipdeviatesfromthepuresinefunction.Thedistortionatthepointofgeneration
isverysmall(about1%to2%),butnonethelessitexists."
11."Singlephaseloadharmonicsvs.threephaseloadharmonics",PowerSystemHarmonics
(PDF),PacificGasandElectric.
12."HarmonicEffects",HarmonicsandIEEE519(PDF),CA:EnergyLogixSolutions.
13.Sankaran,C.(1999),"Transformers",EffectsofHarmonicsonPowerSystems,ElectroTest.
14.Sankaran,C.(1999),"Motors",EffectsofHarmonicsonPowerSystems,ElectroTest,"The
interactionbetweenthepositiveandnegativesequencemagneticfieldsandcurrentsproduces
torsionaloscillationsofthemotorshaft.Theseoscillationsresultinshaftvibrations."
15."Whatisan80PLUScertifiedpowersupply?",CertifiedPowerSuppliesandManufacturers,
80Plus
16.Schramm,Ben(Fall2006),"PowerSupplyDesignPrinciples:TechniquesandSolutions,Part
3",Newsletter,Nuvation
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practice",Xplore,IEEE.
18.Wlfle,W.H.Hurley,W.G.,"QuasiactivePowerFactorCorrection:TheRoleofVariable
Inductance",Powerelectronics(project),IE:Nuigalway
19.ATXPowerSupplyUnitsRoundup,xBitlabs,"Thepowerfactoristhemeasureofreactive
power.Itistheratioofactivepowertothetotalofactiveandreactivepower.Itisabout0.65
withanordinaryPSU,butPSUswithactivePFChaveapowerfactorof0.970.99.[]
hardwarereviewerssometimesmakenodifferencebetweenthepowerfactorandtheefficiency
factor.Althoughboththesetermsdescribetheeffectivenessofapowersupply,itisagross
mistaketoconfusethem.[]ThereisaverysmalleffectfrompassivePFCthepower
factorgrowsonlyfrom0.65to0.70.75."
20.TheActivePFCMarketisExpectedtoGrowatanAnnuallyRateof12.3%Till2011,Find
articles,Mar16,2006,"HigherpoweredproductsarealsolikelytouseactivePFC,sinceit
wouldbethemostcosteffectivewaytobringproductsintocompliancewiththeENstandard."
21.PowerFactorCorrection,TECHarp,"PassivePFC[]thepowerfactorislowat6080%.
[]ActivePFC...apowerfactorofupto95%".
22.WhyweneedPFCinPSU,SilverstoneTechnology,"Normally,thepowerfactorvalueof
electronicdevicewithoutpowerfactorcorrectionisapproximately0.5.[]PassivePFC[]
70~80%[]ActivePFC[]90~99.9%".
23.Brooks,Tom(Mar2004),"PFCoptionsforpowersupplies",Taiyo,Electronicproducts,"The
disadvantagesofpassivePFCtechniquesarethattheytypicallyyieldapowerfactorofonly
0.60to0.70[]DualstageactivePFCtechnology[yields]apowerfactortypicallygreater
than0.98".
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Semiconductor,2004.
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onactiveandpassivePFCcircuits",INTELEC97,19thInternationalTelecommunications
EnergyConference,pp.57178,doi:10.1109/INTLEC.1997.646051.
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correction".IEE.ElectricalPowerQuality.doi:10.1109/EPQU.2007.4424144.
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Implementation(PDF)(whitepaper),EnergyStar.
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ed.),NewYork:McGrawHill,p.329paragraph80,ISBN007020974X
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York:GeneralElectric,MeterandInstrumentDepartment,1949,pp.6668,GET1087A

Externallinks

Harmonicsandhowtheyrelatetopowerfactor(PDF),UTexas.
NISTTeamDemystifiesUtilityofPowerFactorCorrectionDevices,NIST,
December15,2009.
Powerfactorcalculationandcorrection,US.
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