Enter your Apparent Power in VA and Power Factor (PF) to calculate your circuit's Real Power — with results shown in both kilowatts (kW) and watts (W), plus your Power Factor as a percentage.
Real Power
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Real Power in Watts
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Power Factor Percentage
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VA (volt-amperes) measures apparent power, while kW (kilowatts) measures real power. Real power is the actual power consumed by a device, while apparent power includes reactive power components.
To convert VA to kW, multiply the apparent power in VA by the power factor, then divide by 1000. The formula is: P(kW) = S(VA) × PF / 1000.
Most electrical devices have power factors between 0.8 and 0.95. Motors typically have 0.8-0.9, while resistive loads like heaters have power factors close to 1.0.
Power factor determines how efficiently electrical power is being used. A low power factor means more apparent power is needed to deliver the same real power, resulting in higher electrical costs.
No, power factor cannot exceed 1.0. A power factor of 1.0 represents perfect efficiency, where all apparent power is converted to real power with no reactive component.
Low power factor is typically caused by inductive loads like motors, transformers, and fluorescent lighting, which create a phase difference between voltage and current.
Power factor can be improved by adding power factor correction capacitors, using synchronous motors, or replacing inefficient equipment with high power factor alternatives.