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What is the difference between power factor and load factor?

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Question added by Abdeljalil CHEGDALI , Electrical Engineer , EMAC Engineering Office
Date Posted: 2017/03/31
Rendi -
by Rendi - , Local,Field,Utility,Material Handling Operator , PT.Indonesia Power

 

Electric power factor is the ratio between active power with power blind, or can be formulated as follows: Power Factor = p / s

P: active power in KW

S: blind power in KVA

 

Load factor (load factor) can be defined as the ratio between the average load at peak load measured for a specific time period.

Aneesh Shandilya
by Aneesh Shandilya , Manager/ Lead Electrical , Orpic

Power factor of an AC electrical power system is defined as the ratio of the Real power (KW) flowing to the load to the apparent power (KVA)in the circuit

 

Load Factor : This term refers to the energy load on a system as compared to its maximum or peak load for a given period. Load factor is most typically calculated on a monthly or annual basis. Load Factor =  Average load/ (Peak Demand in a given period)

Mohammed KMAIL
by Mohammed KMAIL , Electrical Engineer , Cappy/CocaCola

Power factor and load factor are totally different, load factor is used to describe how much the power system is loaded compared to the peak load.

Load factor is defined by the ratio between the average power to the peak power during a period of time. 

The power factor describes the ration between the real (more precisely "active") power consumed by a load and the apparent power flowing toward the load. The active power is the power absorbed by pure resistive load. The reactive power is the power needed by the inductive and capacitive loads to create magnetic and electric fields, it is not real power as it is not consumed but it continues circulating between source and load. Reactive power increases the electrical current for no real benefit; that's why its preferred to compensate reactive power locally instead of importing it from the electrical power provider.

hope that my answer looks sufficient !

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