White Paper WP009001EN

Effective January 2015

Transformer nameplate impedance:

Per unit or absolute?
David G. Loucks
Eaton

Abstract
Transformers used in commercial and industrial
applications typically show impedances marked in
percentages.
While the technical definition of this percentage
or per unit impedance is that this value is a
percentage of the base impedance of the transformer, there is a more descriptive way of thinking
of it.

Note that at nominal full voltage on the primary

winding, the fault currents, both primary and
secondary, increase to 20 times FLA.
Knowing this, one advantage of publishing per unit
impedances becomes evident. Virtually by inspection, a first approximation of this transformers
available fault current is to multiply the FLA x
1/%Z.
Equation 1: ISC = IFL . 1
%Z

The per-unit impedance describes that percentage

of the rated voltage required to produce full load
current while the transformer output is shorted.
The lower the impedance, the lower the voltage
required to produce full load current. Lower impedance transformers allow higher fault currents to
flow at a particular voltage.

Absolute impedances

Measuring impedance in units of percentage

greatly simplifies the calculation of currents and
voltages in a power system. While absolute
impedance (measured in ohms) could certainly
also be used, doing so greatly complicates the
calculations.

In other words, separate absolute impedances

would need to be calculated not only for every
voltage winding, but also for every tap setting
of every winding! Having to deal with only one
percent value simplifies things.

Per unit impedances

Consider a transformer with a 5% impedance.
A voltage is applied to the primary with the
secondary winding shorted (faulted).

While that seems like a useful rule of thumb,

wouldnt the solution be just as easy if the manufacturers published absolute ohms? While labeled
percent impedance is independent of the transformer voltage (or tap), absolute impedance is not.

Using Transformer Impedance

Consider an ideal transformer (lossless, zero
impedance) connected to a source V1 and providing current to a load ZL.

At 5% input voltage 100% FLA produced

How much current flows at higher voltages?
Ignoring non-linear effects such as core saturation,
if 5% voltage produces 100% FLA, then:
At 10% input voltage 200% FLA is
produced
At 50% input voltage 1000% FLA is
produced
At 100% input voltage 2000% FLA is
produced

I2

I1
V1

V1

V2

4160 : 480
Figure 1

V2

ZL = 1

White Paper WP009001EN

Transformer Nameplate Impedance

Effective January 2015

Figure 1 shows input and output voltages along with the impedance of the load. This provides enough information to calculate the
secondary current.
V
480V
= 480 amps
Equation 2: I2 = 2 =
1
ZL
Looking first at our lossless (to simplify the math) transformer,
consider that the product of primary voltage and current equals the
product of the secondary voltage and the secondary current:

squared calculation on every transformer and for every tap setting.

Since upstream settings would affect downstream settings, the
problem scales geometrically. Every one of those voltage ratios
would need to be calculated before determining fault currents!
Because of this complexity, it is clear why power systems engineers began to favor per unit calculations instead of using absolute
measurements.

Example calculations: Absolute vs per unit

Equation 3: V1 I1 = V2 I2

Consider a 1000 kVA, 5.75%Z, 12.47 kV to 480Y/277 transformer.

For the example values given in Figure 1:

The constant of proportionality used to convert per unit impedance

to absolute impedance is the base impedance.

Equation 4: 4160I1 = 480480

Equation 8: Zohms = Zpu *Zbase

or rewriting to solve for I1:

480.480
= 55.4 amps
Equation 5: I1 =
4160
Since impedance is defined as the ratio of voltage divided by
current, using the known voltage and the derived current, the
impedance looking through the transformer to the load can be
found.

55.4 A
I2

I1
V1
4160V

Zeq

V2

With base impedance calculated, solve for actual impedance.

Equation 10: Zohms = Zpu *Zbase = 0.0575*0.23

V2

ZL = 1

Figure 2

Performing the math to solve for this effective impedance Zeq:

V
= 75.1
Equation 6: Zeq = 1 = 4160
I1 55.4
Notice that this lossless transformer was assumed to have no
impedance. The impedance looking through the transformer actually is the impedance of the 1 ohm secondary, but somehow modified by the transformer to appear as 75 ohms.
When performing a power systems analysis 75 ohms is the actual
circuit impedance that limits the 4160V to only 55.4 amperes.
However, It is clear that this value could not be published on the
transformer since its value is dependent on the load and one other
factor.
That other factor is turns ratio.
Note that this multiplier, 75.1 is equal to the turns ratio squared:

Beginning with the 480V secondary, the base impedance is calculated as:
2
V
2
= 480
= 0.23
Equation 9: Zbase = baseLL
Sbase_3
1000000

Equation 7: 4160 1=75.1

480
It is evident, then, that the secondary load impedance observed
at the primary terminals of the transformer changes with the ratio
of the primary to secondary voltage. That means, changing taps
settings will change the apparent impedance looking through the
transformer!

= 0.0132

Looking into the 480V transformer from the secondary side, that
transformer would appear to place 0.0132 impedance in series
with the source.
To show how this value is not const ant, we recall the statement
that absolute impedance changes with voltage. Solving Eq 9 again
but replacing 480V with 12.47 kV:
Equation 11: Zbase =

VbaseLL2
Sbase_3

2
= 12470 = 156
1000000

With the new primary base impedance, the absolute impedance is

calculated:
Equation 12: Zohms = Zpu *Zbase = 0.0575*156 = 8.9
This means that measured on the 12.47 kV circuit, the transformer
appears to place 8.9 impedance in series with the load, not 0.0132
.
Which is correct?
They both are. The difference just depends on which voltage
reference you are calculating the impedance.

Conclusion
While transformers could be marked with either per unit or absolute
impedances, the per unit calculations are preferred by power
systems engineers.
Per unit values do not change with voltage. This simplifies
calculations.

Consider how this complexity multiplies when looking at a system

with transformers feeding transformers. With absolute values
of impedance, it would be necessary to perform this turns ratio

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Publication No.: WP009001EN / CSSC-1412-809
February 2015

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