What is power factor ?

Question

Accepted Answer

Power factor is a measure of how effectively electrical power is being used in a circuit.

Power factor is the ratio of real power (in watts) to apparent power (in volt-amperes).
It indicates the efficiency of electrical power consumption in a circuit.
A power factor of 1 means all the power is being used effectively, while a power factor less than 1 indicates wastage of power.
Inductive loads like motors and transformers have a lagging power factor, while capacitive loads have a leading power factor.
Power factor correction techniques, such as adding capacitors, can improve power factor and reduce energy costs.

Accepted Answer

Cosine of angle between voltage and current is called power factor.

Popular interview questions of Junior Engineer