Power factor has been defined earlier as a function of active and apparent power. For sinusoidal (undistorted) voltage and current, a vector representation is also possible and helpful.
For most electrical loads like motors, the current I is lagging behind the voltage V by an angle phi.
Ia is called the “active” component of the current.
Ir is called the “reactive” component of the current.
Voltage and current vectors
6 Benefits are described here:
In an AC distribution system, the maximum active power is transmitted to a load when voltage and current are undistorted and in phase.
IEC
You probably experienced reading documentation, technical papers, or even display of monitoring equipment with reactive power values (for power factor correction…) given in KVAR, kVAr, or kvar.
And you probably asked the question: which symbol should be used?
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