Reactive Power

First one must understand the characteristics of an inductor and capacitor, their initial and final values
(steady state) within a circuit. In addition, one must know that there are two types of energy which are
stored in an electrical circuit, magnetic energy and electric energy.

Inductor / Magnetic Energy Storage

Suppose you have an inductor in series with a resistor, to account for losses, in series with a variable
power supply, and a switch. Someone has just closed the switch. This means that no current was
flowing prior to closing the switch. Because of the characteristics of an inductor, it had no energy
before the switch was closed, thus it must have no energy the instant after the switch is closed. Hence,
the initial current of an inductor is zero. W = 1/2LiL2 = 0. There is no energy stored when the current is
zero.

Suppose you have the same scenario above, except constant current flows through the coil of wire
(inductor) a long time (steady state) after the closing of the switch. Because of the characteristics of an
inductor as time becomes large, the inductor acts as a short, and the current is assumed to be constant.
When the current is constant, VL = L (di/dt) = 0, or there is no induced voltage within the coil or
inductor. However, if the current through an inductor is increased, the inductor voltage induced opposes
the change by being (positive di/dt). If the current through the inductor decreases (negative di/dt), the
inductor voltage acts momentarily as a source trying to keep the current constant because of its
reluctance to a change in current. (Faraday’s Law of Voltage-Current Characteristics of an Inductor)

As the variable power supply is increased or decreased, current (the movement of electrons) begins to
flow. When this happens, the inductor will induce a voltage. In an attempt to maintain a constant
current, the inductor momentarily becomes a source (happens in milliseconds) and supplies a current in
the opposite direction. This current is set at a value to offset the change in current to a value only
acceptable by the inductive load. As time approaches infinity, the current becomes increasingly constant.
The inductor no longer has a need for the induced voltage because the current is at the value required by
the inductive load, so the induced voltage is removed or set to a value of zero by the inductor; thus the
inductor acts as a short or becomes invisible to the circuit as time approaches infinity. Remember, all of
this happens in seconds.

Input Power in an inductor is defined by the equation below:

PL = dWM/dt = + VLiL = (L diL/dt)iL = d/dt(1/2Li 2L)

where WM is the stored magnetic energy in the inductor and PL is the input power in the inductor. The
stored magnetic energy in the inductor can be defined by integrating the above equation with respect to
dt. The constant of integration is set to zero because there is no stored electric energy when the current is
zero.

Within the conductor are charges q1 and q2, spaced a distance R. When the variable source is applied to
the circuit or the switch closes, the charges move with velocities v1 and v2. Because these are like
charges they repel and remain equidistant. The inductor introduces more charges. As a result of many
moving charges close together within the inductor, magnetic energy is stored or exchanged. An analogy
of this in a mechanical system would be, for example, if I am trying to push a wall; a wall is exerting a
quantity of force. If I exert more force than the wall is exerting, the wall will collapse. Because the wall
has been displaced or moved, I have done work, and mechanical energy is exchanged. I have transferred
the walls energy from potential to kinetic in form. The wall is analogous to the inductor; it’s mass is
trying to maintain a stagnant position or constant velocity, just as the induced voltage tries to maintain a
constant current that is acceptable by the inductive load.
There are 2 mechanical forces, the wall and me; however, my force becomes greater resulting in the
displacement of the wall, or the exchanging of mechanical energy. In the case of the inductor, there are
several like charges within the conductor itself and several unlike charges within the coil of the inductor.
The source is the force that moves the conductor charges toward the inductor charges resulting in
movement of many charges and the storage of magnetic energy within the coil.

The inductor is reluctant to a change in current. It’s goal is to maintain a constant current and store
magnetic energy by keeping charges close together. It’s presence is only seen in the circuit when the
current is changing. The inductor will oppose this change by inducing a voltage, in an effort, to keep the
current constant, just as a mass will tend to maintain a constant velocity. Current is analogous to
velocity, voltage is analogous to force, but the induced voltage is analogous to mass. (Newton’s Second
Law)

Capacitor / Electric Energy Storage

Similar to storing energy in an inductive system, when we move charges in the presence of
positional (electrostatic) forces, electric energy is exchanged. To store electric energy, one must separate
charges, yet keep them close together. This is what a capacitor does. For every charge arriving at the +
side plate of a capacitor, a charge of like sign will depart from the - side plate of the capacitor. This
structure remains with a neutral charge. The energy stored is W = 1/2Cv C2 When the capacitor voltage
is constant IC = Cdv/dt goes to zero, or there is no current through the capacitor. For example, if one
takes a 10µ F capacitor and connect it briefly to a 12.6 V battery, the capacitor will receive 1/2 x 10 -5
(12.6)2 = 7.94 x 10-4 J from the battery, which it will store until it is discharged or perhaps until the
charge neutralizes over a period of time. In other words, since the capacitor cannot be charged more than
the stated capacitance, the current diminishes to zero, and this is called the steady state of the capacitor.

Another example, Suppose we had a resistor and capacitor in series with a battery source and
switch. A capacitor is unenergized at t=0-, the instant before the switch is closed. Hence it remains
unenergized at t=0 +, the instant after the switch is closed, because delay is required for energy to be
stored in the capacitor. The voltage across the capacitor will be zero before and after the closing of the
switch. At t=0+, therefore, the full voltage of the battery appears across the resistor, and the initial value
for VR must be the battery voltage.
Real-Time Energy Relations

Let’s say you have a 60 Hz source, connected to an inductor with losses (resistor). The energy
would pulsate in and out of the inductor 120 times per second because it makes two round trips from
source to inductor each cycle. This is why heavy electrical equipment such as transformers and motors,
often hum. This hum is usually very audible at 120 Hz. The stored energy is nonnegative and pulsates at
twice the ac source frequency. While the stored energy is increasing, the power into the inductor is
positive. During this period of time the ac source supplies energy and the inductor acts as a load. While
the stored energy is decreasing, the power into the inductor is negative, indicating that the inductor now
acts as a source, returning energy to the ac source. If we had connected a capacitor with losses (resistor)
to the same 60 Hz source, the scenario is the same.

Real & Reactive Power

Real power or True power is power registered by a wattmeter. It is the power that makes your
electric meter revolve and affects you electric bill. This distinguishes it from other kinds of ac power.

Reactive power indicates the imbalance between peak magnetic energy storage and the peak
electric energy storage in the circuit. Notice, I said peak or maximum energy storage. If you understand
the stored energy requirements of the inductor and capacitor, you will understand the significance of
reactive power.

When does the capacitor and inductor store their maximum energy in the circuit? If you cannot
answer this question, you must re-read the above sections, inductor & capacitor..

The capacitor stores its maximum energy when the voltage is maximum. The inductor stores its
maximum energy when its current is maximum, which occurs when the voltage is zero because of the 90°
phase shift. In other words, the capacitor and inductor require energy at different times in the ac cycle.
When magnetic and electric energy requirements are balanced internal to the load, the source does not
have to supply any stored energy externally because the load takes care of its own requirements for stored
energy. When these energies are not balanced internally, the source must lend energy cyclically to the
load. The reactive power represents this energy lent twice each cycle to the load. This is for RC
circuits.

In a power system, magnetic energy requirements always dominate because almost all power
equipment is magnetic in its operation - motors, transformers, etc. The power company usually supplies
magnetic energy; that is, the current normally lags the voltage in a power system. One calls magnetic
reactive power positive because it is normal.

Complex power = Real power + jReactive power

Real power = VIcosθ
Reactive Power = VIsinθ

Large equipment such as generators & transformers are described by the apparent power, the
Pythagorean sum of the real and reactive powers. Thus if the reactive power becomes large, a piece of
equipment may become overloaded even though the load of real power is moderate. Reactive power
increases line current and line losses. The losses on the transmission line are not charged directly to the
consumer, since the watt-hour meter is place on the load. For this reason, the COA might penalize a
customer whose requirements for reactive power are great. This is where the industry customer can save
money by placing a bank of capacitors in parallel with an inductive load to store energy locally. In
effect, they receive the stored energy from COA only once and then keep it “in house” with the
capacitors.
The industrial customer thus corrects his power factor by creating a resonance between the electric
energy stored by the added capacitance and the magnetic energy used by motors or other heavy
equipment.

To see the effects of the power factor & reactive power on a system, refer to Figure 1. In Figure
1, Part A shows a load with a low power factor .75. Part B shows a load with a relatively high power
factor .95. Both loads dissipate equal amounts of real power as indicated by the watt meters.

Although an equal amount of work is done (true power), the lower power factor load in Part A
draws more current from the generator than does the high power factor load shown in Part B. The
generator in Part A would have to have a higher VA rating than would the generator in Part B. Also, the
transmission lines in Part A would have to be larger than those in Part B. A higher power factor is more
advantageous to deliver power more efficiently to the load. The change in current, VAR requirements,
and power factor are due to the inductive reactance of various machinery connected to the system -
motors and air conditioners cycling continuously.