In electrical circuits, the power factor is a measure of how efficiently the electric power is being used. It's represented as a decimal number or percentage, with 1 or 100% being ideal. It is the ratio between the real power, measured in kilowatts (kW), and the apparent power, measured in kilovolt-amperes (kVA). A lagging power factor, such as 0.6 in this scenario, indicates that the current lags behind the voltage, meaning that there's more reactive power in the system.
- Real Power (kW): The actual power consumed by the electrical equipment to perform useful work.
- Reactive Power (kVAR): The power that oscillates between the source and the reactive components of the load. This power does not perform any useful work but is necessary to maintain the electric and magnetic fields in the circuit.
- Apparent Power (kVA): The combination of real and reactive power, calculated as the product of current and voltage in the circuit.
Improving the power factor means decreasing the reactive power in the system, thereby making power use more efficient. This is often achieved by adding a capacitor bank, which counteracts the lagging current components.