Lesson 24

AC Power and
Power Triangle

Learning Objectives

Define real (active) power, reactive power, average, and

apparent power.

Calculate the real, reactive, and apparent power in AC

series parallel networks.

Graph the real and reactive power of purely resistive,

inductive, or capacitive loads in AC series parallel networks
as a function of time.

Determine when power is dissipated, stored, or released in

purely resistive, inductive, or capacitive loads in AC series
parallel networks.

Use the power triangle determine relationships between

real, reactive and apparent power.

AC Power

AC Impedance is a complex quantity made up

of real resistance and imaginary reactance.

uv
Z R jX

( )

AC Apparent Power is a complex quantity made

up of real active power and imaginary reactive
power:

v
S P jQ

(VA)

AC Real (Active) Power (P)

The Active power is the power that is dissipated

in the resistance of the load.
It uses the same formula used for DC (V & I are
the magnitudes, not the phasors):
2
V
2
PI R
R

[watts, W]

WARNING! #1 mistake with AC power calculations!

The Voltage in the above equation is the Voltage drop across the resistor, not
across the entire circuit!
CAUTION!
REAL value of resistance (R) is used in REAL power calculations, not
IMPEDANCE (Z)!

AC Imaginary (Reactive) Power (Q)

The reactive power is the power that is exchanged

between reactive components (inductors and capacitors)
The formulas look similar to those used by the active
power, but use reactance instead of resistances.
2

V
QI X
X
2

[VAR]

WARNING! #1 mistake with AC power calculations!

The Voltage in the above equation is the Voltage drop across the reactance, not
across the entire circuit!

Units: Volts-Amps-Reactive (VAR)

Q is negative for a capacitor by convention and positive
for inductor.

Just like X is negative for a capacitor! (-Xcj)

AC Apparent Power (S)

The apparent power is the power that is

appears to flow to the load.
The magnitude of apparent power can be
calculated using similar formulas to those for
active or reactive power:
2
V
2
S VI I Z
Z

[VA]

Units: Volts-Amps (VA)

V & I are the magnitudes, not the phasors

v
SP j Q
Reactive power calculated with X

Real power calculated with R

Apparent power calculated with Z

AC Power
Notice the relationship between Z and S:

uv
ZR j X
( )

(VA)

Power Triangle

The power triangle graphically shows the

relationship between real (P), reactive (Q) and
apparent power (S).

S P2 Q2
v
S P jQL
v
S S

Example Problem 1
Determine the real and reactive power of each
component.
Determine the apparent power delivered by the
source.

Real and Reactive Power

The power triangle also shows that we can find

real (P) and reactive (Q) power.
S IV

(VA)

P S cos
Q S sin

(W)
(VAR)

NOTE: The impedance angle and

the power factor angle are the
same value!

Example Problem 2
Determine the apparent power, total real and
reactive power using the following equations:
S VI

(VA)

P S cos
Q S sin

(W)
(VAR)

Total Power in AC Circuits

The total power real (PT) and reactive power

(QT) is simply the sum of the real and reactive
power for each individual circuit elements.
How elements are connected does not matter
for computation of total power.

PT P1 P2 P3 P4
QT Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4

Total Power in AC Circuits

Sometimes it is useful to redraw the circuit to

symbolically express the real and reactive power loads

Example Problem 3
a.
b.
c.
d.

Determine the unknown real (P2) and reactive powers

(Q3) in the circuit below.
Determine total apparent power
Draw the power triangle
Is the unknown element in Load #3 an inductor or
capacitor?

Example Problem 4
a.

Determine the value of R, PT and QT

b.

Draw the power triangle and determine S.

Use of complex numbers in Power calculations

AC power can be calculated using complex equations.

Apparent Power can be represented as a complex number
The resultant can be used to determine real and reactive power by
changing it to rectangular form.

I*is complex conjugate of I

v uvv
S VI P jQ
uv 2
v V
v2 uv
S uv I Z
Z
NOTE!
The complex conjugate of Current is used to make the power angle the same as
the impedance angle!

Power Factor

Power factor (FP) tells us what portion of the

apparent power (S) is actually real power (P).
Power factor is a ratio given by
FP = P / S

Power factor is expressed as a number

between 0 to 1.0 (or as a percent from 0% to
100%)

Power Factor

From the power triangle it can be seen that

FP = P / S = cos

Power factor angle is thus given

= cos-1(P / S)

For a pure resistance, = 0

For a pure inductance, = 90
For a pure capacitance, = -90

NOTE: is the phase angle of ZT, not the

current or voltage.

Unity power factor (FP = 1)

Implies that all of a loads apparent power is

real power (S = P).
If FP = 1, then = 0.
It could also be said that the load looks purely
resistive.
Load current and voltage are in phase.

Lagging power factor ( > 0)

The load current lags load voltage

Implies that the load looks inductive.

ELI

Leading power factor ( < 0)

ICE

The load current leads load voltage

Implies that the load looks capacitive.

Example Problem 5
a. Determine P,Q,S and the power factor for this circuit.
Draw the power triangle.
b. Is it a leading or lagging power factor?
c. Is the circuit inductive or capacitive?

Example Problem 6
a. Determine total current, apparent power, and the power
factor for this circuit. Is it a leading or lagging power
factor?
b. Determine total current, apparent power, and the power
factor if the capacitor reactance is decreased to 40
ohms. What kind of power factor does it have?