In this example, the cosq would be close to 1, yet the overall power factor of a typical power supply might be 0.6 (Figure 2). Power factor is an important measurement for two main reasons.

Understanding power factor (PF) is important because it gives us a clear understanding of the efficiency of an electrical system. Put simply, it’s the ratio of true power and apparent power, which ...

If the measured power factor value is not reasonably similar when comparing the same power factor measurement at two different test-voltages, then the measurement is questionable and should be ...

Download this article in PDF format. Your utility Power Factor is the ratio of the system’s Real Power and the Apparent Power (Eq. 1, Fig. 1). This unitless factor ranges from −1 to 1.