EAT 105:

Fundamental of Electrical
Engineering
Dr. Che Zulzikrami Azner b. Abidin
Semester I, 2015/2016

THREE-PHASE P OW E R

 In an AC circuit, power is used most efficiently when the

current is aligned with the voltage.

However, most equipment tend to draw current with a

delay, misaligning it with the voltage.
What this means is more current is being drawn to
deliver the necessary amount of power to run the
equipment.

And the more an equipment draws current with a delay,

the less efficient the equipment is.

 Power factor is a way of measuring how efficiently

electrical power is being used within a facility's electrical
system, by taking a look at the relationship of the
components of electric power in an AC circuit.

These components are referred to as Real Power,

Reactive Power and Apparent Power:
Real / Active power (kW) the work-producing
power that is used to actually run the equipment
Reactive power (kVAR) the non-work producing
power that is required to magnetize and start up
equipment
Apparent power (kVA) the combination of real
power and reactive power
3 phase power system is equal to the power that lies
within the power of one-phase: real / active, reactive,
and apparent power.

 Real power accomplishes useful work while reactive

power supports the voltage that must be controlled for
system reliability.
Real power is the average of power over cycle and
measured by volt-amperes or watt.
The portion of power with zero average value called
reactive power measured in volt-amperes reactive or
VAR.
The total power is called the apparent power, S and
measured by volt-ampere or VA.

 To describe the reactive power, imagine a person on

trampoline,
The person real power goes
into moving horizontally across
trampoline as it bounces, the
effort the person expend to
keep
standing
(represent
reactive power, Q) during
bouncing result no net forward
motion (represent real power,
P), but it's necessary to walk on
trampoline.

The motion from trampoline always perpendicular to

the direction the person is walking.
So that the direction between P and Q 900 out of phase.

Active Power (kW)

Actually performs the
work

Reactive Power (VAR)

Maintains the electromagnetic field

Apparent Power (S)

Measure of alternating current power that is computed
by multiplying root-mean-square current by the rootmean-square voltage.
Unit is volt-ampere (VA).

Apparent Power (S)

Apparent power in every phase, SP = VP I P
Total apparent power in 3 system:

S3 = 3
= 3
= 3
Th u s ,

3 =

Real Power (P)

It is the only useful power delivered to the load, also
called average power or active power.
The unit is watt (W).
Real power per phase, = cos
Total active power in 3 system:

3 = 3
= 3 cos

Real Power (P)

For De lta connection, = and =

3 = 3

= 3
=

Thus,

cos

3 cos

3 = 3 cos

The formula also applies to Star connection

Re a c t ive Po we r ( R )
It represents the energy exchange between the source
and reactive part of the load.
It is being transferred back and forth between the load
and the source

Also called the power of imagination.

The unit is volt-ampere reactive (VAR).
Reactive power per phase:
Q P = VP I P sin

Reactive Power (Q)

Total reactive power in three-phase system:
Q 3 = 3 x QP
= 3VPI P sin
For Delta connection, = and =
Q3 = 3 sin
= 3
=

sin

3 sin

Reac tive Power (Q)

Thus,

3 = 3 sin

The formula also applies to Star connection

Power Triangle Diagram

Those 3 powers can be illustrated using triangle
diagram, which is called power triangle.

S = VI
Q

Power Triangle Diagram

It is represented by the Power Triangle, that has four
items: P, Q, S and .

Power Factor (pf)

The power factor triangle below illustrates how real
power, reactive power and apparent power relate to
each other to get the power factor angle.
One way to get the power factor is by getting the cosine
of the power factor angle.

The best way to calculate power factor is by using the

following formula:

Power Factor (pf)

C a n be expressed in th e form of percentage (%) or
fractional numbers.
The power factor of an AC electrical power system is
defined as the ratio of the real power flowing to the load,
to the apparent power in the circuit.
It is the factor up to which the power is actively used out
of the total power generated.

It is k n own a s cos a n d referred to a s leadin g or

la ggin g in wh ic h th e ph a se a n gle between voltage
a nd current.

Power Fac tor (pf)

Leading pf: voltage leading the current, when voltage as
reference factor and the value of voltage is positive.
Lagging pf: voltage lagging the current, when voltage as
reference factor and value of voltage is negative.

The power dissipated in a three-phase load is given by the sum

of the power dissipated in each phase.

the total power P is given

by:

Is a power factor

Example 1
Three 12 Ohm resistors are connected in Star to a 415 V, 3phase supply. Determine the total power dissipated by the
resistors.

Example 1 solutions

(since for a star connection)

= 14 359 Watt
= 14.4 kW

Example 2
The input power to a 3-phase AC motor is measured as 5
kW. If the voltage and current to the motor are 400 V and
8.6 A respectively, determine the power factor of the
system.

Example 2 - solutions