Power factor is a measure of how effectively electrical power is being converted into

useful work output in an AC (alternating current) electrical system. It is the ratio of real
power (the power that is actually doing useful work) to apparent power (the total power
flowing in the circuit).

In mathematical terms, power factor (PF) is defined as the cosine of the phase angle (θ)
between the voltage and current waveforms in an AC circuit:

Power Factor (PF)=cos⁡(�)Power Factor (PF)=cos(θ)

Where:

 �θ (theta) is the phase angle between the voltage and current waveforms.

Power factor is expressed as a number between 0 and 1, or sometimes as a percentage

between 0% and 100%. A power factor of 1 or 100% indicates that the voltage and
current are perfectly in phase, meaning that all the electrical power is being used to do
useful work.

A power factor less than 1 indicates that there is reactive power in the system, which
means that some of the electrical power is not being used to do useful work but instead
is being stored and returned to the source in each cycle. This typically occurs in systems
with inductive loads such as motors, transformers, and fluorescent lighting.

Improving power factor is important for efficient power transmission and usage because
it reduces the amount of reactive power flowing through the system, thereby reducing
losses and improving the overall efficiency of the electrical system.