Quote Originally Posted by Retz View Post
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What is the kw demand reading as compared to previous months? afaik, kw demand is the true power. reactive power ung sa capacitor kaya hindi related.
The KW demand went up from 817 IRC to 875. This is based on our electric meter that records the highest KW demand for the billing period. The electric power provider bills us based on the demand charge (KW) and consumption (kwhr).

KW is active power or true power. Reactive power is volt ampere (Vars). Reactive power does not do any work. Its basically a system loss. It heats up wires and transformers resulting in wasted energy.

Best analogy I heard is to think of it as a glass of beer. The foam is the apparent power and the liquid is the true power. So the less foam you have, the more beer you get. With low power factor, you have a lot of foam. So if you have .5 power factor, you have half a glass of foam. Capacitors improve your power factor by reducing the foam so you get to use more true power or beer.

Also, capacitor banks improve your voltage by a few volts. Maybe 1 to 5 volts depending on your system. The higher you voltage, the lower your current or amps. So capacitors do help for commercial and industrial loads. For residential loads, they are not worth it.