What is the Power Triangle?

Answer 1

In electrical systems using AC (Alternating Current), circuit elements can experience reversals in the directional flow of energy. (AC reverses current direction many times a second.) This results in less power delivered to the circuits than would be indicated by the input voltage and current (amperage). The apparent power, as indicated by voltage and amperage, is represented as the hypotenuse of a right triangle. The other sides of the triangle are the real power (usable energy in watts) and the reactive power (which is returned to the generating system). Reactive power, therefore, is the energy not available to do work. Using the Pythagorean theorem, the relationship between the three energy amounts is: (apparent power)2 = (real power)2 + (reactive power)2 Ideally, reactive power would be the smaller of the two component energies. The ratio of real power to apparent power is called the Power Factor (ranges from 0 to 1 ), and can be increased by reducing the reactive power through proper system design.