Section 6: AC Power

At the end of this section, you should be able to:

1. Explain the terms real power, reactive power, apparent power,
complex power and power factor.
2. Determine the real, reactive and apparent power of AC circuits.

6.1 Definitions
In DC circuits, the power dissipated is given by
𝑃 = 𝐼𝑉
In AC circuits, the same relationship in phasor terms has a similar
meaning. The term 𝑉̅ × 𝐼 ∗̅ is known as complex power ̅ 𝑺.
Note:
𝐼 ∗̅ is the complex conjugate of 𝐼 .̅
For example, if 𝐼 ̅ = (3 + 𝑗4) = 5∠53.1° A,
then 𝐼 ∗̅ = (3 − 𝑗4) = 5∠ − 53.1° A.
The use of 𝐼 ∗̅ instead of 𝐼 ̅ in the above complex power term is a matter
of definition such that real-world observations can be represented
accurately by a mathematical expression to engineering analysis easier.

AC Circuits (28ACCR) AC Power Page |1

Consider the AC circuit in Figure 6.1. Please note that the voltage 𝑉̅ is
taken as the reference.

𝐼 ̅ = 𝐼∠ − 𝜃°

AC
𝑉̅ = 𝑉∠0°
Circuit

Figure 6.1
The complex power 𝑆̅ is given by
𝑆̅ = 𝑉̅ × 𝐼∗̅ = 𝑉𝐼∠(0° + 𝜃°) = 𝑉𝐼∠𝜃° = 𝑆∠𝜃°
Complex power 𝑆̅ has a magnitude of 𝑆 = 𝑉𝐼 (known as apparent
power) and an angle of 𝜃° (the angle between 𝑉̅ and 𝐼 )̅ . Apparent
power has a unit of volt-ampere (VA).
As the term complex suggests (recall complex number), there is a real
and imaginary component associated with complex power.
The real component is known as real or active power (P) while the
imaginary component is known as reactive power (Q). Hence, the
complex power can also be written as
𝑆̅ = 𝑃 + 𝑗𝑄
Real power has a unit of watt (W) and reactive power has a unit of volt-
ampere-reactive (var).
The real power component is converted into useful energy (i.e. the
equivalent of power dissipated in DC circuits) while the reactive power
component does not do any useful work but simply moves back and

AC Circuits (28ACCR) AC Power Page |2

forth between the supply and load. Reactive power exists due to the
presence of inductors and capacitors in the system as these elements
cause phase displacement between the system voltage and current.
6.2 AC power in resistive, inductive and capacitive circuits
For a resistive circuit, the voltage and current are in phase.

𝑉̅ = 𝑉∠𝜃 and 𝐼 ̅ = 𝐼∠𝜃

Hence,
𝑆̅ = 𝑉̅ × 𝐼 ∗̅ = 𝑉∠𝜃 × 𝐼∠ − 𝜃 = 𝑉𝐼∠(𝜃 + (−𝜃 )) = 𝑉𝐼 = 𝑃 + 𝑗0
Only real power is consumed and no reactive power is required.
Also,
2
𝑉2
𝑃=𝐼 𝑅=
𝑅

For an inductive circuit, the current lags the voltage by 90°.

XL

𝑉̅ = 𝑉∠𝜃 and 𝐼 ̅ = 𝐼∠(𝜃 − 90°)

AC Circuits (28ACCR) AC Power Page |3

Hence,
𝑆̅ = 𝑉̅ × 𝐼∗̅ = 𝑉∠𝜃 × 𝐼∠ − (𝜃 − 90°) = 𝑉𝐼∠90° = 0 + 𝑗𝑄
There is no real power used and only reactive power is consumed.
Note:
Reactive power consumed by an inductive load with reactance XL is
𝑉𝐿 2
𝑄𝐿 = 𝐼𝐿 2 𝑋𝐿 = var
𝑋𝐿

For a capacitive circuit, the current leads the voltage by 90°.

XC

𝑉̅ = 𝑉∠𝜃 and 𝐼 ̅ = 𝐼∠(𝜃 + 90°)

Hence,
𝑆̅ = 𝑉̅ × 𝐼 ∗̅ = 𝑉∠𝜃 × 𝐼∠ − (𝜃 + 90°) = 𝑉𝐼∠ − 90° = 0 − 𝑗𝑄
There is no real power used and reactive power is supplied.
Note:
Reactive power supplied by a capacitive load with reactance XC is
𝑉𝐶 2
𝑄𝐶 = 𝐼𝐶 2 𝑋𝐶 = var
𝑋𝐶

Example 6.1
For the circuit given below, determine the real (P), reactive (Q) and
apparent (S) power.

AC Circuits (28ACCR) AC Power Page |4

Solution:
̅̅̅𝑇̅ = 6 + 𝑗7 − 𝑗15 = 6 − 𝑗8 = 10∠ − 53.13∘ Ω
𝑍
𝑉̅̅̅̅ 100∠0∘
𝐼̅𝑆 = ̅̅̅̅𝑆 = = 10∠53.13∘ A
𝑍𝑇 10∠−53.13∘

𝑆̅ = 𝑉̅ × 𝐼 ∗̅ = 100 × 10∠(0 + (−53.13°) = 1000∠ − 53.13° = 600 − 𝑗800

Hence, real power used is 600 W, reactive power supplied is 800 var
and apparent power of the system is 1000 VA.
6.3 Power factor
As only real power is useful, it is important to quantify it as a ratio of
the apparent power. The “ratio” is defined as the power factor. The
concept of power factor will be revisited in the later section.
The real power component P is a fraction of the apparent power and is
given by
𝑃 = 𝑉𝐼 cos 𝜃 = 𝑆 cos 𝜃
whereby cos 𝜃 is known as the power factor.
In other words,
𝑃 𝑅𝑒𝑎𝑙 𝑃𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟
Power factor = = = cos 𝜃
𝑆 𝐴𝑝𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑃𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟

AC Circuits (28ACCR) AC Power Page |5

Power factor can be generalised to be the cosine of the angle between
the supply voltage 𝑽 ̅ and the current 𝑰̅ in the circuit and is a measure
of efficiency of the circuit. Power factor can vary from 0 to 1 and a
power factor closer to 1 implies that a greater proportion of the total
power (apparent power) is converted into useful energy i.e. more
efficient.
Example 6.2
Consider the circuit shown below. Determine the power factor of the
circuit and the real power dissipated.
𝐼 ̅ = 9.5∠ − 30° A

AC
𝑉̅ = 230∠10° V
Circuit

Solution:
Power factor = cosine of angle between 𝑉̅ and 𝐼 ̅
Power factor = cos(10° − (−30°)) = cos 40° = 0.766
Real power = 𝑉 × 𝐼 × 𝑃𝐹 = 230 × 9.5 × 0.766 = 1673.71 W

AC Circuits (28ACCR) AC Power Page |6