• Consider the power system shown below,
• The generator converts some form of mechanical force into electrical power. This power is then distributed to consumers over wires (and through transformers). Finally at the point of application, each load will draw a certain current, at the supply voltage - operating at a rated power. The voltages supplied this way are almost exclusively AC. Also in an ideal situation the load will be pure resistance, but in reality it will be somewhat reactive.
• Another important example of power delivered is when impedence matching between audio amplifiers and audio speakers. Most consumer systems are 50ohm for maximum power transfer and minimum distortion.
• Consider the basic power equation,
• The relationship for real power is shown below where the current and resistance are in phase (although the values are rarely perfectly in phase).
• When the current and voltage are D.C. (not charging) the circuit contains pure resistance, and the power is constantly dissipated as heat or otherwise. Notice that the value of P will always be positive, thus it never returns power to the circuit.
• An average power can be a good measure of real power consumption of a resistive component.
• When we have a circuit component that has current ±90° out of phase with the voltage it uses reactive power. In this case the net power consumption is zero, in actuality the power is stored in and released from magnetic or electric fields.
• Consider the following calculations,
• In all circuits we have some combination of Real and Reactive power. We can combine these into one quantity called apparent power,
• The power factor (p.f.) is a good measure of how well a power source is being used.
• It is common to try to correct power factor values when in industrial settings. For example, if a large motor were connected to a power grid, it would introduce an inductive effect. Capacitors can be added to compensate.
