What is reactive power?

Reactive power is an odd topic in AC (Alternating Current) power systems, and it's
usually explained with vector mathematics or phase-shift sine wave graphs. However, a non-
math verbal explanation is possible.
Note that Reactive power only becomes important when an "electrical load" or a home
appliance contains coils or capacitors. If the electrical load behaves purely as a resistor, (such
as a heater or incandescent bulb for example,) then the device consumes "real power" only.
Reactive power and "power factor" can be ignored, and it can be analyzed using an AC
version of Ohm's law.
Reactive power is simply this: when a coil or capacitor is connected to an AC power
supply, the coil or capacitor stores electrical energy during one-fourth of an AC cycle. But
then during the next quarter-cycle, the coil or capacitor dumps all the stored energy back into
the distant AC power supply. Ideal coils and capacitors consume no electrical energy, yet
they create a significant electric current. This is very different from a resistor which
genuinely consumes electrical energy, and where the electrical energy flows continuously in
one direction; moving from source to load.
In other words, if your electrical appliance contains inductance or capacitance, then
electrical energy will periodically return to the power plant, and it will flow back and forth
across the power lines. This leads to an extra current in the power lines, a current which heats
the power lines, but which isn't used to provide energy to the appliance. The coil or capacitor
causes electrical energy to begin "sloshing" back and forth between the appliance and the
distant AC generator. Electric companies must install heavier wires to tolerate the excess
current, and they will charge extra for this "unused" energy.
This undesired "energy sloshing" effect can be eliminated. If an electrical load
contains both a coil and capacitor, and if their resonant frequency is adjusted to exactly
60Hz, then the coil and capacitor like magic will begin to behave like a pure resistor. The
"energy sloshing" still occurs, but now it's all happening between the coil and capacitor, and
not in the AC power lines. So, if your appliance contains a large coil induction motor, you
can make the motor behave as a pure resistor, and reduce the current in the power lines by
connecting the right value of capacitance across the motor coil.

Why is reactive power so confusing? Well, the math is daunting if not entirely obscure.
And the concept of "imaginary power" puts many people off. But this is not the only
problem. Unfortunately most of us are taught in grade school that an electric current is a flow
of energy, and that energy flows back and forth in AC power lines. This is completely
wrong. In fact the energy flows constantly forward, going from source to load. It's only the
charges of the metal wires which flow back and forth.
Imagine that we connect a battery to a light bulb. Electric charges already present
inside the wires will begin to flow in the circle, and then electrical energy moves almost
instantly to the light bulb. The charge flow is circular like a belt, but the energy flow is one-
way. Now imagine that we suddenly reverse the connections to the battery. The voltage and
current will reverse... but the energy still flows in the same direction as before. It still goes
from battery to bulb. If we keep reversing the battery connections over and over, we'd have
an AC system. So, in an AC system, only the voltage and current are "alternating," while the
electrical energy flows one-way, going from source to load. Where AC resistive loads are
concerned, electrical energy does not "alternate." To understand energy flow in AC systems,
it's critically important that we understand the difference between charge flow (current,
amperes) and energy flow (power, watts.)

What is imaginary power? Simple: it's the unused power which flows backwards and
forwards in the power lines, going back and forth between the load's coil or capacitor and the
distant AC generator. If your appliance was a pure capacitor or inductor, then it would
consume no electrical energy at all, but instead all the flowing energy would take the form of
"sloshing energy," and we'd call it "imaginary power." Of course it's not actually imaginary.
Instead it's reflected by the load.

What is real power? Even more simple: it's the energy flow which goes continuously from
the AC generator and into the appliance, without any of it returning back to the distant
generator.
Finally, what is "reactive" power? It's just the combination of the above two ideas: it is the
continuous-forward-moving or "real" energy flow, combined with the sloshing or
"imaginary" energy flow.
What is the effect of frequency on reactive power?
This is not really a practical question because power systems run at an almost
constant frequency. But for equipment that runs with a lagging power factor, like induction
motors, the presence of inductance in the motor windings means that the reactance would go
up and the power factor down with increasing frequency. So the reactive power would
increase relative to the real power.
Why reactive power flow is undesired?
Reactive power is useless part of the energy supplied. A minimum value of reactive
power is always required to keep the voltage constant and supply the useful active power. In
order to understand the concept completely, do refer PV and QV curves which explains the
interdependency of active power, reactive power and voltage.
Why there is no reactive power in DC system?
In case of dc there is no reactive components and current drawn from the supply is
in phase with the voltage.due to absence of inductor and capacitor the reactive power
demand in dc is zero.
Importance of reactive power?

So as to start the motor because reactive power helps create the magnetic fields in rotor.


What is real power and reactive power?
'Real', 'active', or 'true' power describes the rate at which a load does work or dissipates
energy by heat transfer. This represents a permanent loss of energy from the supply.
'Reactive' power describes the rate at which energy is alternately stored in a load's
magnetic or electric field, and returned to the supply every quarter cycle.
True power is measured in watts, and reactive power is measured in reactive volt amperes.
The Relationship between Power, Voltage, and Computers

The ever-growing needs of devices drive up the power needs and consumption in
modern computers. Understanding a computer's power needs first requires that one
understand the underlying principles behind power as well as the common values employed
to calculate it. This entails a basic understanding of the way electricity works. Read on for
answers to common questions regarding power and voltage.
What is Power?

Power is the measurable unit that is commonly employed by electric companies to
base their rate of charge. It is also the value used to provide a rating number for power
supplies as an indicator of the top end of their supply capabilities. It is the primary
consideration when purchasing a power supply to be installed into a new or upgraded
computer.
What is the Relationship between Power, Voltage, and Current?

These values are all associated with one another from a mathematical standpoint.
There is an engineering principle called Ohm's Law that is able to describe the relationship
between the various features of a circuit. It is often displayed in a pie chart that breaks the
system up into various formulae. According to Ohm's Law, power equals voltage multiplied
by current and current can be determined by dividing voltage by resistance.
What are Common Power Values?

Computer power values have a wide range due to the rapid increase in power
needs that have occurred for hardware in the past couple of decades. Power supplies are
generally no lower than 250 watts, the measure of power in a circuit, and can be as high as
1600 watts, or 1.6 kilowatts. The proper power rating for your computer is largely
determined by what you will be using the computer for. High-end computers for gaming or
graphic design require power ratings in excess of 700 watts, while computers that are just
used for web surfing and email will operate exceptionally using a 200-250 watt power
supply.
What are advantages of reactive power?

1. Electric motors need reactive power to generate magnetic field for their operation.
2. Reactive power is advantageous to control the voltage sag.

Why does not wattmeter measure the reactive power?
A wattmeter is designed so that it measures the supply voltage and the in-
phase component of the load current. The product of these two quantities is the true power of
the load.

Why reactive power is named as reactive?
Actually reactive power is a power which flows in between load to source which
is a reactive action of the power given from source to load.the given power to load will not
be utilised fully.some power will be oscillating from load to source.this is called reactive
power.
What is the definiton of reactive power?

Power where the voltage and current are not in phase (specifically, they are 90
degrees out of phase with eachother).
How reactive power drives active power?

Reactive power depends on motor winding losses and the reason for increasing
of temperature. At running condition the motor power reduces by copper loss.
What is reactive power in power system?
Reactive power occurs in an AC system when it has a load with a poor power
factor such as an induction motor.
The power delivered is less than the voltage times the current by a factor called
the power factor.
The real power and the reactive power combine according to Pythgoras, in other
words if they are represented by two sides of a right-angle triangle, then the hypotenuse
represents the volt-amps. In the equation kW is the power in kilowatts, kVAR is the kilovolt-
amps of reactive power, and kVA is the kilovolt-amps:
(kW)2 + (kVAR)2 = (kVA)2
What is real power and reactive power in power systems?
Real power is power that is used to do work. This is the power a light bulb uses
to glow. Reactive power is power that is stored in one part of the AC voltage wave, and
released in another. This causes the power to appear as a phase shift, and is generally caused
by inductive or capacitive loads.
With regard to the power system, you can also get reactive power flowing due to
unequal source voltages. Under these conditions, the apparent impedance of one source to
the other will appear reactive/inductive, resulting in reactive power flow.
How synchronous generator a source of reactive power?
In the absence of any power electronic devices...
the mechanical input to a generator connected to grid, will be converter to real power...
the excitation which is provided acts as a source of reactive power...
The mechanical input cannot transform into reactive power (in the absence of
power electronic devices) and whatever comes in is transformed to real power. The
excitation provided stores energy in the air gap of the generator, this energy sloshes between
the load reactor (this is transferred back and forth between the generator air gap to load -
motor air gap or capacitor or inductor air gap). This energy is not spent in any form.
Thus source of reactive power is solely the excitation given to the generator.
What is meant by the active and reactive powers in electricity?
These terms describe the behaviour of energy in alternating-current circuits.
Active power (also known as 'true power' or 'real power') describes the rate at which
energy is permanently dissipated by the resistive component of a circuit or load.
Active power is measured in watts.

Reactive power describes the rate at which energy is alternately stored in the magnetic or
electric field and, then, returned to the source when the field collapses, during every quarter-
cycle. Reactive power is measured in reactive volt amperes.

Apparent power is the vector sum of a circuit's active and reactive power, and is measured
in volt amperes.

The apparent power of an a.c. load can be determined from the product of a voltmeter and an
ammeter reading. The active power can be determined by using a wattmeter. The reactive
power can then be determined by vector subtraction.
How reactive power drives active power?

Reactive power depends on motor winding losses and the reason for increasing of
temperature. At running condition the motor power reduces by copper loss.
What is reactive power in electrical system?
It is product of Current, Voltage and Sin angle between current and voltage.

Reactive Power = Current(I)*Voltage(V)*Sin(angle B/W Voltage and Current)

It is also known as the power used in transformation of energy in one form to another
form.
Answer:-Reactive power is the rate at which energy is alternately stored in a magnetic or
electric field and returned to the supply of an AC circuit, and is expressed in reactive volt
amperes. Reactive power is associated with inductive or capacitive loads.
The vector sum of reactive power and true power (watts) is called the apparent power
(volt amperes) of the circuit.
Why synchronous generator is used in power station and not induction generator?
This is not entirely true. In small power stations not connected to grids and wind turbines
they usually use induction generators instead of synchronous for their capability of producing
energy at varying rotor speeds and their price which is lower the synchronous generators.

Before I tell you why they use synchronous in big power stations connected to the grid you
must know that usually you have more than one power plant connected to the grid. And if
you want the power of each power plant to be added to the grid you need the all the
alternating currents to be in phase so the frequency must be the same.

And as you probably know they are called SYNCHRONOUS generators because the speed
of the rotor (the frequency) is the same as the AC supply current.

So obviously it will be much easier to control the frequency of a synchronous generator and
therefore easier to synchronize with the grid.
When Synchronous motor act as synchronous generator?

The Synchronous motor becomes a Synchronous generator when the speed of
rotor increase from the rotating magnetic field of the stator.
How do you control reactive power?
I assume the question is how do you control power factor; if I'm wrong, forgive
me. When the amount of reactive power compared to real power increases, the power factor
decreases. To bring the power factor back to unity (ie 100% real power, 0 reactive), reactive
elements must be included in the system to counteract the inherent reactivity of the system.
This typically is done by adding capacitor banks electrically near load, because the power
system typically has inductive reactive power. There are other available technology to do
this, such as Dynamic VAR controllers, but are much more expensive than your typical cap
bank for their size. These are essentially power transistors forced to operate in such a way as
to appear as variable capacitors / inductors.
What is the unit of measure for reactive power?
Volt Amps [volts times amps] is used for reactive and apparent power. Watts (dimensionally
the same as volt amps) is used to indicate real power.

Answer
Reactive power is measured in reactive volt amperes (var).
How measure 3phase power without wattmeter?

Take the current average of the three lines.
Ex.
Phase A = 10Amps
Phase B = 9 Amps
Phase C = 11 Amps
Average = 10Amps

Take the voltage average of the three lines to ground,
Phase A = 460V
Phase B = 450V
Phase C = 470V
Average 460V

Power = V*I (Voltage times Current)
Since we have a AC circuit,
Power = V*I*1.732

What is reactive power and its significance?
'Reactive power' is the rate at which energy is stored in an electric or magnetic field,
and returned to the supply. To differentiate between reactive power and true power (the rate
of heat transfer and of work), and for no other reason, it is expressed in reactive volt amperes
(var) rather than in watts (W). Its significance is that it is necessary to establish and sustain
electric and magnetic fields.
What happen if generator consume reactive power from grid?
Generators are designed to be able to do this to a certain degree. Output real power
will decrease. Taking in vars will also decrease the system voltage. This causes the windings
in the generator to heat, so too much can damage the windings.
Why is power for a country's household AC electrical power mains grid usually
generated as 3-phase electricity and not single phase?
Single phase power has a sine wave voltage that crosses zero before reversing its
polarity. In the region near the zero-crossing there is not much power. At zero there is none
at all. So single phase loads often need some trickery to deliver output in this area. Often it is
just the inertia of the motor or appliance.

Three phase power is always delivering power on one of its phases, and is thus preferred for
machines, motors and appliances that use lots of power.

If the application is large power, or small power with weight restrictions (like automobiles!)
Three Phase is preferred. DC (Direct Current) is the next step up for smooth high-power
devices but requires rectification, regulation and smoothing to be useful.

Another problem with DC is that, for efficient long distance transmission, it cannot be simply
converted to much higher voltages than the voltage at which it was generated at the power
station. Similarly DC cannot be transformed down to safer, much lower mains voltages for
use by consumers.

AC (Alternating Current) is used for high power generation and distribution because it can
easily be transformed, using transformers, to achieve very efficient power transmission over
very long distances and can then be transformed down to low voltages for distribution to
consumers.
Two phase, and higher multi-phases are also used but very rarely.

Another Answer
Because, for a given load, less volume of copper is required to supply that load, making a
three-phase system roughly 75% the cost of a corresponding single-phase system.
Why is electricity generated as 3 phase?
It is more economical especially for running motors. Most motors start much better
with 3 phase service. It also takes less current than single phase for a motor to run, therefore
the power meter spins less for electrical cost.

How a 3 phase voltage is generated?
A balanced three phase system is composed of three single phase voltages having
the same amplitude and frequency but displaced from one another by 120 degrees (1/3
cycle).
We know that a single coil (winding) rotating in a magnetic field produces a single phase
alternating voltage. Similarly, three phase voltage can be produced by a set of three coils
separated from each other by 120 electrical degree. Three phase power is so popular because
of following advantages.

For a given size of frame, a three phase generator or motor has a bigger output than a
single- phase machine.
To transmit a given amount of power at a given voltage over a given distance, a three
phase transmission line requires less copper than a single phase line.
Three phase motors are self starting; single phase motors are not self starting
Parallel operation of three phase alternators is simpler than that of a single phase
alternators.



How do you measure 3 phase voltage?

Three phase voltage can be measure line to line (L1-L2, L2-L3, or L1-L3) with a
quality digital voltmeter. In the United States, typical 3 phase voltage is 208-230VAC, or
460-480VAC measured line to line. Line to ground or neutral with a 208-230V system will
yield 110-120VAC, which provides standard household power for things like televisions and
microwave ovens.

What is the UK 3 phase voltage?

The nominal voltage in the UK is 400/230 V. That is 400 V line-to-line, and 230-V
line-to-neutral. Allowable variation is +10% and -6%.
What happens to any unused electricity in a power grid?
Except for wires made from a special "superconducting" material, all normal wires
(copper, aluminum, steel, etc.) have some electrical resistance. So a certain amount of power
will always have to be used to overcome the resistance of all the wires in a power grid,
including wiring in the many transformers, switches, etc. which are needed to distribute the
power efficiently. Any power used to overcome the resistance of the wires is dissipated as
heat which raises the temperature of the wires, their surrounding insulation (if any) and - in
the case of overhead cables - any surrounding air.
In the case of an underground or underwater cable which has a cooling fluid such as
mineral oil (which is a good conductor of heat yet is also a good electrical insulator) the heat
gets dissipated into the cooling fluid which is pumped continuously to allow the heat to be
radiated to the air (or to water in, perhaps, a resevoir) using a radiator assembly positioned
away from the cable itself. If the question is not actually asking about power used to
overcome the resistance of the wires, then it may be asking something like: "Does the power
being generated in power stations ever exceed the total power load being taken by the
houses, factories, etc. connected to the grid and by the grid's connecting wires, transformers
and switches?" Basically, the answer to that question is No, because, at all times, the net
power output being generated at any instant by all the power stations feeding a distribution
grid must always be exactly equal to the sum of all the power being demanded by all the
loads connected to that grid PLUS the sum of all the power used to overcome the resistance
of the grid's wires. However, there are two things other than power which do change
continuously over any given period of time: the supply voltage and the supply
frequency. That must be so because a power generator set cannot accelerate or decelerate
instantly! Such power generator sets are usually massive alternators driven either by steam
turbines (fueled by coal-burning boilers or nuclear power), diesel engines or by water wheels
(driven by water falling from a high dam), all of which have very heavy rotating masses that
require a finite time to speed up or to slow down. During such periods the supply frequency
must be allowed to speed up or to slow down within set limits and the delivered voltage also
must be allowed to vary, again within set limits. Before computer-based grid power control
systems were invented the only way that the power output of power stations could be
matched to consumers' total power demand was by human "power grid operators" who had to
carefully monitor and anticipate total power demand rising or falling throughout the course
of each day. They had to anticipate likely major changes in demand - such as when a football
match ends or a commercial advertisement break occurs on television and all viewers switch
on their ovens and kettles en masse - so that extra power generation sets could be brought on-
line (or taken off) as necessary. Such action is essential to keep the grid's supply frequency
and voltage within the limits as specified by the grid's operating standards. Nowadays
computer-based grid power control systems do most of that work, but human operators are
still needed to "keep a close eye on things" to be sure the grid is operating efficiently. Such
good control of a grid cannot be assumed to take place all over the world. In developing
countries and those where there is an ongoing conflict situation (= war) it is common for
reliable power grid control to be very difficult at best or non-existent at worst. People living
in such countries have to suffer erratic losses of electric power with or without warning.
Consequently, in such circumstances, vital public facilities such as hospitals have to operate
their own private generator sets to cope with periods when the public electricity supply grid
is "down". (That applies to hospitals, etc. in developed countries too.)
What are the criteria for synchronization of a generator with the grid?
1. Voltages match
2. In phase
3. Generator should be spinning slightly faster than the synchronous speed of the grid

The second and third criteria are typically measured by a Synchroscope - see
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synchroscope

For more information on Power Generation, please visit http://www.powergeneration.edu.au
What is reverse power in generator and what happens in course of reverse power?
2 or more generators are run in parallel supplying power to the common bus.
When one of them drag behind due to any reason, instead of delivering electric power to the
bus, it takes power from the bus acting like a motor and trying to drive the engine, when it
happens like this the circuit breaker trips immediately.
How reactive power is helpful to maintain a system healthy?

We always in practice to reduce reactive power to improve system efficiency.
This are acceptable at some level, if system is purely resistively or capacitance it make
cause some problem in Electrical system. AC systems supply or consume two kind of
power: real power and reactive power.
Real power accomplishes useful work while reactive power supports the voltage that must
be controlled for system reliability. Reactive power has a profound effect on the security of
power systems because it affects voltages throughout the system.
Find important discussion regarding importance about Reactive Power and how it is useful
to maintain System voltage healthy.
What Voltages are Used in Computers?

Computers are very specific when it comes to voltages. There are only three standard
voltages that originate with the power supply. These voltages are either 3.3 volts, 5 volts, or
12 volts, and all are representative of the voltage needs of different devices. Hard drives and
system fans are fed by the 12-volt rail, the 3.3-volt rail supplies USB with power and the 5-
volt rail is used for the nearly defunct ISA standard for expansion cards.
Knowing what power and voltage are represents the first step in understanding what
your computer's power needs is. Once you understand the basic principles, you can then
begin to assess your needed power rating for a new power supply. The price difference
between the upper and lower end of the power scale is substantial so an accurate assessment
of your needs can result in substantial savings. Just keep these few things in mind when it
comes time to make that decision.
Tips for Enabling WiFi Power Management

Wi-Fi devices use a radio to transmit their signal; this requires the use of electrical
power. Wi-Fi devices, therefore, consume power whenever the radio is transmitting, but they
also consume power whenever the radio is simply turned on. In order to manage your Wi-Fi
power consumption, you need to manage the way your Wi-Fi devices turn on and off.
Default Wi-Fi Power Mode

Most wireless local area network devices have their Wi-Fi power-saving features
disabled by default. This corresponds to the Constantly Awake Mode. The CAM mode
maximizes device performance. However, it also maximizes power usage; as such, it is not a
power-saving state. The very best Wi-Fi power-saving tip, therefore, is to switch your device
from the default CAM to an actual power-saving mode.
Older Wi-Fi Power Saving Modes

There are a number of power-saving protocols employed by Wi-Fi devices. The
oldest and most common is the PSM, or Power Save Mode. Under PSM, the Wi-Fi device
suspends its radio after a period of inactivity and then wakes up periodically to check for
data. Wake-On-Wireless mode enables the network to wake the Wi-Fi device up when there
is data available for it. This enables the device to sleep and save power until it has data to
process. With the Unscheduled Automatic Power Save Delivery mode, WLAN traffic is
queued at the router or transmission point, and the connected device wakes up and requests
the queued data at specific intervals.
Wireless N Wi-Fi power save modes

Power Save Multi-Poll was developed as a Wi-Fi power-saving mode for the
802.11n standard. PSMP works especially well if you are using wireless N with MIMO
devices. The Dynamic MIMO Power Save mode enables Wi-Fi N devices to switch from
more power-intensive transmit modes to less power-intensive modes, depending on the
amount of traffic. Under light traffic conditions, the device switches to low power and
powers up under heavy traffic.
Selecting a power save mode to enable

Which power save mode you pick depends on how you use your Wi-Fi devices.
If you have a wireless N Wi-Fi network, you probably do a lot better enabling the DMPS and
PSMP modes. The same is true if your network has clearly alternating periods of heavy and
light traffic. This enables the radio to remain in low power modes long enough to actually
save power.

If you have 802.11a/b/g devices, then the older wake-on-wireless and UAPSD
modes provide the best Wi-Fi power savings. As a last resort, you can try the PSM protocol;
however, don't expect much in the way of power savings, as the constant on/off cycle of the
PSM does not leave much room for power savings.
The key to Wi-Fi power saving is knowing the different modes and what works
best on your device and network. Some trial and error may be necessary. For mobile Wi-Fi
devices, you can try enabling different power-saving modes and measuring the resulting
battery life.