Electric Power

Electric power is the rate of energy consumption in an electrical circuit.
The electric power is measured in units of watts.

• Electric power definition
• Electric power calculation
• Power of AC circuits
• Power factor
• Power calculator

Electric power definition

The electric power P is equal to the energy consumption E divided by the consumption time t:

P is the electric power in watt (W).
E is the energy consumption in joule (J).
t is the time in seconds (s).

Example

Find the electric power of an electrical circuit that consumes 120 joules for 20 seconds.
Solution:

E = 120J

t = 20s

P = E / t = 120J / 20s = 6W

Electric power calculation

P = V · I

or

P = I ² · R

or

P = V ² / R

P is the electric power in watt (W).
V is the voltage in volts (V).
I is the current in amps (A).
R is the resistance in ohms (Ω).

Power of AC circuits

The formulas are for single phase AC power.
For 3 phase AC power:
 When line to line voltage (V_L-L) is used in the formula, multiply the single phase power by square root of 3 (√3=1.73).
When line to zero voltage (V_L-0) is used in the formula, multiply the single phase power by 3.

Real power

Real or true power is the power that is used to do the work on the load.

P = V_rms I_rms cos φ

P      is the real power in watts [W]
V_rms  is the rms voltage = V_peak/√2 in Volts [V]
I_rms   is the rms current = I_peak/√2 in Amperes [A]
φ      is the impedance phase angle = phase difference between voltage and current.

 

Reactive power

Reactive power is the power that is wasted and not used to do work on the load.

Q = V_rms I_rms sin φ

Q      is the reactive power in volt-ampere-reactive [VAR]
V_rms  is the rms voltage = V_peak/√2 in Volts [V]
I_rms   is the rms current = I_peak/√2 in Amperes [A]
φ      is the impedance phase angle = phase difference between voltage and current.

 

Apparent power

The apparent power is the power that is supplied to the circuit.

S = V_rms I_rms

S      is the apparent power in Volt-amper [VA]
V_rms  is the rms voltage = V_peak/√2 in Volts [V]
I_rms   is the rms current = I_peak/√2 in Amperes [A]

 

Real / reactive / apparent powers relation

The real power P and reactive power Q give together the apparent power S:

P² + Q² = S²

P      is the real power in watts [W]
Q      is the reactive power in volt-ampere-reactive [VAR]
S      is the apparent power in Volt-amper [VA]

Power factor ►

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See also

• Power calculator
• Power factor calculator
• Power factor
• Watt (W)
• dB-milliwatt (dBm)
• dB-watt (dBW)
• Kilowatt (kW)
• Kilovolt-amp (kVA)
• Efficiency
• Electrical voltage
• Electrical current
• Electric charge
• Power conversion
• Ohm's law