power factor
Noun
Meaning
English Wikipedia has an article on:power factorWikipedia
power factor (plural power factors)
(electrical, engineering) The ratio of the actual power to the apparent power in an alternating current power system; specifically, the cosine of the phase angle between the voltage and the current.
The power factor is of interest because it is a measure of the power which does useful work.
Examples
A direct reading power factor meter can be made with a moving coil meter of the electrodynamic type, carrying two perpendicular coils on the moving part of the instrument.
Active power factor correction can be single-stage or multi-stage.
A high power factor is desirable since it minimizes the amount of reactive power needed by the load, reducing heat losses and maximizing efficiency.
A leading power factor signifies that the load is capacitive, as the load “supplies” reactive power, and therefore the reactive component Q is negative as reactive power is being supplied to the circuit.
As reactive current increases, the reactive power increases and the power factor decreases.
At low values of power factor, more apparent power needs to be transferred to get the same real power.