Measurement of Power Factor

Experiment No.
MEASUREMENT OF
POWER FACTOR 2
Electrical Engineering
Date performed: May 15, 2021 Team members: Luisa Mae Mamburao
Time started: 9:30 PM Rena Iana Patoc
Time finished: ________ Quezza Phola Patulin
I. OBJECTIVE :
1. To study and measure the power factor of a circuit.
II. DISCUSSION :
Consider the power triangle shown below. The power factor of the circuit is the
ratio of the true power and the apparent power. That is, pf = PT/Papp where pf is the
power factor. From the triangle we see that the true power can never exceed the
apparent power. Consequently, the power factor will always be less than or equal to
unity but cannot be less than zero.
One technique for measuring power factor would be to measure the apparent
power using the voltmeter-ammeter method from which Papp = EI and the true power
using a wattmeter and to compute the power factor using the equation given above.
The power factor meter is used to measure the power factor of a circuit directly.
The power factor of a circuit is also the cosine of the angle between the voltage
and the current. An inductive circuit is said to have a lagging power factor and a
capacitive circuit is said to have a leading power factor. In other words, the terms
lagging power factor and leading power factor indicate, respectively, whether the
current is lagging or leading the applied voltage.
Fig. 17.1. The power triangle
Fig. 17.1. The power triangle
III. INSTRUMENTS AND COMPONENTS :

AC voltmeter 3 uf capacitor
AC ammeter Lamp, 220 v, 25 w
1 h inductor
Experiment No.
MEASUREMENT OF
POWER FACTOR 2
IV. PROCEDURE :
1. Connect the circuit shown in Fig. 17.2.
2. Record the rms voltage and the rms current.
3. Compute the apparent power and record it.
4. Compute the power dissipated in the lamp and inductor.
5. Compute the power factor using the equation pf = PT/ Papp .
6. Repeat steps 2 to 5 for the circuit of Fig. 17.3.
V. CIRCUIT DIAGRAMS :
VI. DATA AND RESULTS:
Figure 17.2
Experiment No.
MEASUREMENT OF
POWER FACTOR 2
Figure 17.3
circuit E I Papp PT pf %
(comp) diff
Fig. 17.2 220 V 111.468 24.52 VA 24.07 0.98 1.87%
mA W
Fig. 17.3 220 V 103.664 22.81 VA 20.74 0.91 9.98%
mA W
PROBLEMS:
1. An AC voltage of 230 v is applied to a circuit consisting of a resistance of 10 ohms in
series with an inductive reactance of 7 ohms. Find the power, reactive power and
the power factor of the circuit.
Problem 1 Solution
2. If a capacitor is connected in parallel with the RL series circuit of the preceding

problem and if this capacitor supplies 1000 var, find the true power and the reactive
power supplied by the 230 v source and find the resultant power factor.
3. A fluorescent lamp unit connected to a 110 v AC line takes 1.2 A and requires
110 w power. What is the power factor?
4. A single phase load draws a current of 30 / 35 deg A.

The voltage across the load is 220 / 75 deg v. Find the true power, reactive power
and the power factor of the load.
Or 5.06kW
Or 4.24kVAR
VII. CONCLUSION:
According to Paul Evans (2018), “Power Factor is a unit-less number used in alternating
current circuits, it can be used to refer to a single piece of equipment such as an induction motor
or for the electricity consumption of an entire building.”
Power Factor can be calculated through taking the real power dividing it by the apparent
power. It is also equal to cosine of Phi which is equal to the resistance over the impedance of the
circuit. True or real power is the active power dissipated in the system. Apparent power is the
product of a circuit’s voltage and current, without reference to phase angle. Reactive power is the
unused power due to the reactive components in the AC circuit.
Ergon Energy explains power factor with an analogy of that a cappuccino. They state that
the mug must have sufficient capacity to contain both the coffee and the froth, corresponding to
the total power. The froth represents the reactive power and the liquid represents the real power
in which the real value is only gained from.

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Experiment No.

Fig. 17.1. The power triangle

Fig. 17.1. The power triangle

III. INSTRUMENTS AND COMPONENTS :

VI. DATA AND RESULTS:

2. If a capacitor is connected in parallel with the RL series circuit of the preceding

4. A single phase load draws a current of 30 / 35 deg A.

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