Power in AC Circuits

ƒ Introduction
ƒ Power in Resistor
ƒ Power in Inductor
ƒ Power in Capacitor
ƒ Circuits with Resistance and Reactance
ƒ Apparent, Active and Reactive Power
ƒ Power Factor Correction
ƒ Resonance

OHT 4.1
Power in Resistor

ƒ Suppose a voltage v = Vp sin ωt is applied across a

resistance R. The resultant current i will be
v VP sin ωt
i= = = IP sin ωt
R R
ƒ The result power p will be
1 − cos 2ωt
p = vi = VP sin ωt × IP sin ωt = VP IP (sin2 ωt ) = VP IP ( )
2
ƒ The average value of (1 - cos 2ωt) is 1, so
1 VP IP
Average Power P = VP IP = × = VI
2 2 2
where V and I are the r.m.s. voltage and current
OHT 4.2
Power in Inductor

ƒ From our discussion of inductors we know that the

current lags the voltage by 90°. Therefore, if a
voltage v = Vp sin ωt is applied across an inductance
L, the current will be given by i = -Ip cos ωt
ƒ Therefore p = vi
= VP sin ωt × −IP cos ωt
= −VP IP (sin ωt × cos ωt )
sin 2ωt
= −VP IP ( )
2
ƒ The average power is zero
OHT 4.3
Power in Capacitor

ƒ From our discussion of capacitors we know that the

current leads the voltage by 90°. Therefore, if a
voltage v = Vp sin ωt is applied across a capacitance
C, the current will be given by i = Ip cos ωt
ƒ Then p = vi
= VP sin ωt × IP cos ωt
= VP IP (sin ωt × cos ωt )
sin 2ωt
= VP IP ( )
2
ƒ The average power is zero
OHT 4.4
Circuit with Resistance and Reactance

ƒ When a sinusoidal voltage v = Vp sin ωt is applied

across a circuit with resistance and reactance, the
current will be of the general form i = Ip sin (ωt - φ)
ƒ Therefore, the instantaneous power, p is given by
p = vi
= V P sin ω t × I P sin( ω t − φ )
1
= V P I P {cos φ − cos( 2 ω t − φ )}
2
1 1
p = V P I P cos φ − V P I P cos( 2 ω t − φ )
2 2
OHT 4.5
 1 1
p = V P I P cos φ − V P I P cos( 2 ω t − φ )
2 2
ƒ The expression for p has two components
ƒ The second part oscillates at 2ω and has an average
value of zero over a complete cycle

ƒ The first part represents the power dissipated in

resistive components. Average power dissipation is

1 VP IP
P = VP IP (cos φ ) = × × (cos φ ) = VI cos φ
2 2 2
OHT 4.6
Apparent, Active and Reactive Power

ƒ When a circuit has resistive and reactive parts, the

resultant power in impedance called apparent
power, S , which has unit of volt amperes or VA
has 2 parts:
– The first is dissipated in the resistive element. This is
the active power, P , which has unit of watt
– The second is stored and returned by the reactive
element. This is the reactive power, Q , which has
unit of volt amperes reactive or var

OHT 4.7
ƒ Consider an
RL circuit
– the relationship
between the various
forms of power can
be illustrated using
a power triangle

OHT 4.8
ƒ Therefore

Active Power P = VI cos φ watts

Reactive Power Q = VI sin φ var

Apparent Power S = VI VA

S2 = P2 + Q2

OHT 4.9
ƒ From the above discussion it is clear that
P = VI cosφ
= S cosφ

ƒ In other words, the active power is the apparent

power times the cosine of the phase angle.
ƒ This cosine is referred to as the power factor
Active power (in watts)
= Power factor
Apparent power (in volt amperes)

P
Power factor = = cos φ
S
OHT 4.10
Power Factor Correction

ƒ Power factor is particularly important in high-power

applications
ƒ Inductive loads have a lagging power factor
ƒ Capacitive loads have a leading power factor
ƒ Many high-power devices are inductive
– a typical AC motor has a power factor of 0.9 lagging
– the total load on the national grid is 0.8-0.9 lagging
– this leads to voltage drop and power loss in the lines
– power companies therefore penalise industrial users
who introduce a poor power factor
OHT 4.11
ƒ The problem of poor power factor is tackled by
adding additional components to bring the power
factor back closer to unity
– a capacitor of an appropriate size in parallel with a
lagging load can ‘cancel out’ the inductive element
– this is power factor correction

OHT 4.12
ƒ Determine the value of capacitor which must be
connected in parallel with a load of 10kW and a
lagging power factor of 0.85 in order to produce an
overall power factor of unity. The supply is 200V rms,
50Hz.

ƒ Ans : 493µF

OHT 4.13
ƒ A 20kW load requires a 500µF capacitor connected
in parallel to produce an overall power factor of unity.
The supply voltage is 240V rms, 50Hz. Determine the
reactive power and apparent power of the load, the
load current and the values of the two series-
connected components which form the load.

ƒ Ans : Q=9kVAR, S = 21.93kVA, I = 91.4A, R = 2.4Ω,

L = 3.4mH.

OHT 4.14
RLC Circuits and Resonance

ƒ Series RLC circuits

– the impedance is given by
1 1
Z = R + jωL + = R + j(ωL − )
jωC ωC
– if the magnitude of the reactance
of the inductor and capacitor are
equal, the imaginary part is zero,
and the impedance is simply R
– this occurs when
1 1 1
ωL = 2
ω = ω=
ωC LC LC
OHT 4.15
ƒ This situation is referred to as resonance
– the frequency at which is occurs is the
resonant frequency
1 1
ωo = fo =
LC 2π LC

– in the series resonant

circuit, the impedance is
at a minimum at resonance
– the current is at a maximum
at resonance

OHT 4.16