Average Power

Average Power P is defined as the average value for the instantaneous

power. The time interval over which the averaging process takes place
must be clearly defined. In general:
𝑡2
1
𝑃= න 𝑝 𝑡 𝑑𝑡 [W]
𝑡2 − 𝑡1 𝑡1
Note that P is not a function of time, but it is a function of 𝑡1 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡2 .
For a periodic waveform with period T, the average power is:
1 𝑡0 +𝑛𝑇
𝑃= න 𝑝 𝑡 𝑑𝑡 W , n = 1, 2, 3 …
𝑛𝑇 𝑡0
or simply:
1 𝑇
𝑃 = න 𝑝 𝑡 𝑑𝑡 W
𝑇 0
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 Average Power
Example:
Find the instantaneous power
and average power delivered
by the given periodic current
𝑖(𝑡) to a 1Ω resistor ?

𝑖 𝑡 = 2𝑡 − 4 𝐴 , 𝑓𝑜𝑟 0 ≤ 𝑡 ≤ 4 [𝑠]
𝑝𝑅(𝑎𝑏𝑠) 𝑡 = 𝑖 2 𝑡 𝑅 = 4𝑡 2 − 16𝑡 + 16 [𝑊]
1 4 2 1 3 2
4
𝑃𝑅(𝑎𝑏𝑠) = න 4𝑡 − 16𝑡 + 16 𝑑𝑡 = 𝑡 − 2𝑡 + 4𝑡 = 5.33 [𝑊]
4 0 3 0
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 Average Power

𝑷𝑹 = 𝟓. 𝟑𝟑 [𝑾]

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 Average Power in the Sinusoidal Steady State
We have previously shown that the instantaneous power generated by a
sinusoidal source is:
𝑉𝑚 𝐼𝑚 𝑉𝑚 𝐼𝑚
𝑝𝑠 𝑡 = cos 𝜃 − 𝜑 + cos 2𝜔𝑡 + 𝜃 + 𝜑
2 2
1 𝑇 𝑉𝑚 𝐼𝑚
𝑃𝑆 = න 𝑝𝑠 𝑡 𝑑𝑡 = cos 𝜃 − 𝜑 + 0
𝑇 0 2
𝑽𝒎 𝑰 𝒎
∴ 𝑷𝑺 = 𝒄𝒐𝒔 𝜽 − 𝝋 [𝐖]
𝟐
∴ 𝑷𝑺 = 𝑨𝑷 × 𝑷𝑭 [𝐖]
𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝐴𝑃 𝑖𝑠 𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐴𝑝𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑃𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑖𝑛 𝑉𝐴
𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑃𝐹 𝑖𝑠 𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑃𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 𝐹𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟.

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 Average Power in the Sinusoidal Steady State
Example: Find both the average power and the instantaneous power
delivered by the phasor voltage 𝑽 ഥ = 4∠0𝑜 𝑉 𝑎𝑡 𝜔 = 𝜋 [rad/s] to an
6
impedance 𝒁 = 2∠60𝑜 Ω ?
𝑽ഥ 4∠0𝑜
𝑰ത = = 𝑜
= 2∠ − 60 𝑜
𝐴
𝑍 2∠60
𝜋 𝑜
𝜋
∴ 𝑖 𝑡 = 2 cos 𝑡 − 60 𝐴 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑣 𝑡 = 4 cos 𝑡 [𝑉]
6 6
𝜋 𝜋
𝑝 𝑡 = 8 cos 𝑡 cos 𝑡 − 60𝑜
6 6
𝜋
𝑝 𝑡 = 4 cos −60 + 4 cos 𝑡 − 60𝑜
𝑜
3
𝜋
𝑝 𝑡 = 2 + 4 cos 𝑡 − 60𝑜 𝑊
3
4×2
∴𝑃=2 𝑊 = cos −60𝑜
2
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Average Power in the Sinusoidal Steady State

𝒑(𝒕)

𝒊(𝒕)

𝒗(𝒕)
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