Reactive Power: Consumption, Production and Instantaneous Power

In summary, a power station generates reactive power to balance the grid by introducing a reactive load.
  • #1
Passionate Eng
36
1
Why does a load consume reactive power?
How can we produce reactive power?
And what is the relationship between instantaneous power and complex power?
 
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  • #2
  • You do not consume reactive power, you "borrow" it and then "pay it back".
  • You do not produce reactive power. You supply power, the load may be more or less reactive.
Passionate Eng said:
And what is the relationship between instantaneous power and complex power?
That depends very much on the application. I have seen examples (CRT scanning) where the peak voltage and the peak current were both quite high - but never simultaneously.
 
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  • #3
Svein said:
  • You do not consume reactive power, you "borrow" it and then "pays it back".
  • You do not produce reactive power. You supply power, the load may be more or less reactive.
In the framework of steady-state AC analysis, the OP's lingo is correct.

Passionate Eng said:
Why does a load consume reactive power?
Assuming use of the passive sign convention, the complex power is given by:
$$
\mathbf{S} = \mathbf{V}\overline{\mathbf{I}} = P + jQ
$$
where ##\mathbf{V}, \mathbf{I}## are RMS phasors for voltage and current, respectively, and ##P, Q## is the active and reactive power consumed, respectively.

##Q## will, for instance, be positive for an ideal inductor, i.e. it is said to consume reactive power.

Passionate Eng said:
How can we produce reactive power?
##Q## will, for instance, be negative for an ideal capacitor, i.e. it is said to produce reactive power.

Passionate Eng said:
And what is the relationship between instantaneous power and complex power?
There is none. Complex power is defined in terms of phasors.
 
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  • #4
Homework questions?
 
  • #5
Real power is the product of voltage and the in-phase component of the current.
The product of voltage and the quadrature-phase current is reactive circulating energy.

Since cables have real resistance, real power is needed to circulate a reactive current. That power is the product of the reactive current by the voltage drop along the wires due to the reactive current, not the voltage between the conductors as with real power.
 
  • #6
Thx for all ^_^
 
  • #7
Svein said:
  • You do not consume reactive power, you "borrow" it and then "pay it back".
  • You do not produce reactive power. You supply power, the load may be more or less reactive.

hmm- that's being a bit picky.

Power stations generate reactive power to balance the grid
 
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  • #8
William White said:
Power stations generate reactive power to balance the grid
Properly speaking: They introduce a reactive load in order to "balance the grid".
 
  • #9
like I said, you are being picky; everybody knows what is meant by generating reactive power.

Dont be pedantic - it does not help.

Power stations generate power. Some of it is VARS, some is VAs. The ratio can be changed by the power station manager.I understood the OPs question, and the manager of the power station would too.
 
  • #10
William White said:
everybody knows what is meant by generating reactive power.
I am a mathematician - in my world there is no such thing as "everybody knows". A power station generates voltage and supplies current to the load. The phase of the load current is determined by the load, not by the generator.
 
  • #11
Svein said:
I power station generates voltage and supplies current to the load. The phase of the load current is determined by the load, not by the generator.

The generator itself and all its associated gubbins is a load. When everyday people talk about the generator in a power station, they are talking about the plant that burns fuel and produces electricity.

- let's say it is widely known (rather than everybody knows).

yes - it is acceptable to "produce reactive power" and the manager of the power station would ask the plant technician to do so when required without any argument.
 
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  • #12
OK so this blew up a little - I wanted to post earlier. I disagree, they do not "generate" reactive power they provide it! Providing reactive power decreases the amount of real power they can provide (if they are maxed out) because you are "pushing" current and not delivering anything. Conversely - and on the face counter-intuitively, - you DO CONSUME reactive power - because the system providing the POWER has to supply enough POWER to deliver the current (in and then out). If your house is a pure inductor - the utility has to supply current, the generator has to supply that current through the system - it takes energy to supply that current.

Consider this - you buy a gold ring - the vendor has to supply it - they ship it to you, you send it back - the vendor sees"cost - but you received nothing - and they do not charge for shipping. If you did this everyday - the vendor would say they have to stop. But they are not generating a new gold ring every day.
 
  • #13
And the utility does measure it KVARH - is measuring it.
 
  • #14
Thread closed temporarily for some cleanup...

Thread re-opened.
 
  • #15
William White said:
like I said, you are being picky; everybody knows what is meant by generating reactive power.

Dont be pedantic - it does not help.

Power stations generate power. Some of it is VARS, some is VAs. The ratio can be changed by the power station manager.I understood the OPs question, and the manager of the power station would too.

I am learning from the discussion in this thread, and don't think it's a bad thing to clarify the terminology.
 
  • #16
Svein said:
The phase of the load current is determined by the load, not by the generator.
That's not right. In a grid ( connected to several power stations ) you can control the production of reactive power in a single power station by over/under-magnetizing the generator, thereby distributing the production/consumption amongst the power stations in a way, that leads to minimum conducting power losses in power lines.
 
  • #17
Hesch said:
That's not right. In a grid ( connected to several power stations ) you can control the production of reactive power in a single power station by over/under-magnetizing the generator, thereby distributing the production/consumption amongst the power stations in a way, that leads to minimum conducting power losses in power lines.
Yes. I do not quite see how you control the current phase in that way, unless you introduce an output impedance in the generator that is (partly) reactive. What staggers me, however, is the problem of doing any control at all on a high voltage transfer line (think 700kV)...
 
  • #18
Svein said:
I do not quite see how you control the current phase in that way, unless you introduce an output impedance in the generator that is (partly) reactive.
Say you have this 700kV transfer line, and you magnetize a single connected generator to yield 800kV ( transformed ), the generator cannot change the voltage of the 700kV ( too many competiting power stations ), so the 800kV ( which is there as for the single power station ) must be vectorially folded, so that the sum of the folded vectors are kept within a radius of 700kV from 0V, and when you fold the 800kV vector, a transverse vector must be created, resulting in a reactive power.
Svein said:
What staggers me, however, is the problem of doing any control at all on a high voltage transfer line (think 700kV)...
Well, the 700kV and the power is created by power stations. They ( and the consumers ) are the ones to control it.
 
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  • #19
You can make the concept of VAR as difficult as you like by making the situation more complex. KISS.
But once you have the concept of the grid being an “infinite bus”, with many sources and sinks, you will realize that the VAR on the grid must be satisfied by generators providing a current slightly out of phase with the local voltage.

Generators are adjusting the phase of the current they produce to satisfy the bus. On average they must balance the grid VA + VAR, or the power frequency would change.
http://www.openelectrical.org/wiki/index.php?title=Infinite_Bus
 
  • #20
Almost nothing is done about this or really anything at High Voltage - it is almost exclusively for transmission. Generation maxes out around 23KV - the scary part is that due to the current at this voltage there is no circuit breaker between the Generator and the Step UP Transformer for large generators. So all of the Generator protection has to be done at the HV side.

And the generator are NOT the only source of reactive power - they can and do add significant bulk capacitance at the distribution level, preferably before reaching the transmission level where the added reactive current decreases the capacity of the system. http://tdworld.com/blog/real-reactive-power-transfer-formulas-basics
 
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  • #21
Windadct said:
And the generator are NOT the only source of reactive power - they can and do add significant bulk capacitance at the distribution level, preferably before reaching the transmission level where the added reactive current decreases the capacity of the system.
Yes, or you connect a huge synchronous motor to the transmission line, doing no mechanical work, just over-magnetize it, and it will produce adjustable reactive power, because it acts as an adjustable capacitive load.
 
  • #22
Still I think the OP (PE) has an essay question for homework we are just spoon feeding.
 

1. What is reactive power and how does it differ from active power?

Reactive power is the power consumed and produced by electrical devices that have inductive or capacitive elements. It differs from active power, which is the power that is actually doing work, in that it does not contribute to the actual energy consumption or production. Instead, reactive power is needed to maintain the voltage and current levels in an electrical system.

2. How is reactive power measured?

Reactive power is measured in volt-amps reactive (VARs), which takes into account both the voltage and current in an electrical circuit. It can also be measured in kilovolt-ampere reactive (kVAR) or megavolt-ampere reactive (MVAR) for larger systems.

3. What are some common sources of reactive power consumption?

Some common sources of reactive power consumption include motors, transformers, and fluorescent lights. These devices have inductive elements, which means they require reactive power to function properly. Other sources of reactive power consumption can include power factor correction capacitors, which are used to offset the effects of inductive devices.

4. Can reactive power be reduced or eliminated?

Yes, reactive power can be reduced or eliminated through the use of power factor correction devices, such as capacitors. These devices help to balance out the reactive power in an electrical system, reducing the overall amount of reactive power needed and increasing the efficiency of the system.

5. How does reactive power affect the overall efficiency of an electrical system?

Reactive power can have a significant impact on the overall efficiency of an electrical system. When there is an imbalance between active and reactive power, it can result in a lower power factor, which means the system is less efficient. By reducing the amount of reactive power consumed, the power factor can be improved, leading to a more efficient and cost-effective electrical system.

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