MEASUREMENTS OF POWER FACTOR
Mark Joshua H. Ares
Department of Electrical and Electronics
Engineering
University of San Carlos
Cebu, Philippines
21101179@usc.edu.ph
Abstract— The Power Factor (FP) describes the ratio of
power consumed by the circuit (P) against the power flowing
into the circuit (S) induced by AC. The experiment focuses
on the behavior of the power factor in three circuits: Purely
Resistive, RL and RC Series Circuit.
The power factor of a fully resistive circuit is that of power
dissipated in the circuit because there are no reactive
components that would either lag or lead the current. Its
current waveform is the same as the input voltage, and all
percentage differences between the measured and computed
values are zero. The RL Circuit’s power factor is that of an
inductive state where the current is lagging. The measured θ
from the oscilloscope is positive because of the impedance
angle influenced by XL. The measured power factor is that of
1 and 0.998 when the load resistor is at 1kΩ and 2kΩ
resulting to a percentage error of 5.26% at 1kΩ and 0.2% at
2kΩ load resistor. The power factor of the RC Circuit is that
of a capacitive state, where the current is leading due to the
presence of the Capacitor. The oscilloscope's measured θ is
negative due to the impedance angle that XC has an impact
on. When the load resistor is at 2k ohms or 1k ohms, the
measured power factor is.991 and 0.979, respectively, with a
percentage error of 0.9% at 2k ohms and 2.15% at 1k ohms.
Keywords— Power Factor, Real Power, Apparent Power
I. INTRODUCTION
Power refers to the transfer of energy through the form of
voltage causing movement of electrons which creates create
current in the conductors. In electrical circuits, power also
refers to the amount of energy absorb per second.
AC power is different from the DC power since AC power
involves reactive components such as capacitors and
inductors’ reactance affecting it. The power consumed in AC
is referred to as the Power Factor – the ratio between True
Power being consumed in the circuit and Apparent Power or
total power flowing in the circuit.
In the AC circuits, frequency affects the reactive components
where their reactance become more apparent to the input
frequency, this is where the Apparent Power refers to the total
power delivered into the AC circuit induced by the reactance
of the reactive circuit.
𝐹𝑃(𝑃𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 𝐹𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟) =
𝑃(𝑅𝑒𝑎𝑙 𝑃𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟)
𝑆(𝐴𝑝𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑃𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟)
𝑆 = 𝐼(𝑅𝑀𝑆) 𝑉(𝑅𝑀𝑆)
Equation 1
𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑖𝑛 𝑉𝐴
Apparent Power can be measured using peak-to-peak voltage
against the Impedance of the circuit.
𝑆=
𝑉𝑃𝑃 2
𝑍
𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑢𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑝𝑒𝑎𝑘−𝑡𝑜−𝑝𝑒𝑎𝑘
Equation 2
Real Power is defined as the magnitude measured from
Apparent Power multiplied by cos 𝜃 where 𝜃 is the angle
between Voltage and Current or the angle from the Voltage
against impedance.
𝑃 = 𝐼(𝑅𝑀𝑆) 𝑉(𝑅𝑀𝑆) ∙ 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃
𝑃 = 𝑆 ∙ 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃
𝜃=
Equation 3
𝑋 𝑂𝑅 𝑋𝐶
𝑡𝑎𝑛−1 ( 𝐿
)
𝑅
Equation 4
Power Factor indicates the ratio of real and apparent power,
and it can indicate the kind of AC circuit based on the 𝜃 of
the computed on the power circuit as 𝜃 represents the phase
angle between the voltage and current of the circuit.
III. METHODOLOGY
Part I. Purely Resistive Circuit
II. OBJECTIVES



To obtain to calculate the power factor of any AC
circuits.
To measure the power factor of RC and RL circuits
To compare calculated and measured power factor
values.
THEORY
Power Factor Theorem
As described in the introduction, Power Factor refers to the
ratio between Real Power and Apparent Power. Real power
refers to the DC power or RMS in AC circuit, where energy
is being consumed or absorbed by the load. This is what
generates heat in most components affected by DC current.
Figure 1: Purely Resistive Circuit
Part I consists of a purely resistive circuit. The procedure
follows that the circuit is measured at 100 Hz and at 10k Hz
to compare the effects of the power factor in terms of
frequency in a purely resistive circuit found at R2.
Computations would proceed as well in order to verify the
measured values.
@ 100 Hz Computed
𝑍 = 𝑅2 = 500 Ω
𝑉@𝑅2 =
𝑅2
500Ω
(𝑉 ) =
(6𝑉𝑃𝑃 ) = 2𝑉𝑃𝑃
𝑅𝑇 𝑇
1.5𝐾Ω
𝑉𝑃𝑃
2𝑉𝑃𝑃
=
= 8 𝑚𝑉𝐴 𝑃𝑃
𝑅2
500 Ω
𝑆=
𝑋𝐿 𝑂𝑅 𝑋𝐶
𝜃 = 𝑡𝑎𝑛−1 (
)
𝑅
500
−1
= 𝑡𝑎𝑛 ( ) = 0°
=
8 𝑚𝑉𝐴 𝑃𝑃
𝐹𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑀𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑡𝑎 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑂𝑠𝑐𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑐𝑜𝑝𝑒
𝑃 = 𝑆 ∙ 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃 = (8 𝑚𝑉𝐴) ∙ (cos(0°)) = 8 𝑚𝑊𝑃𝑃
𝑃 = 𝑆 ∙ 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃
= (8 𝑚𝑉𝐴) ∙ (cos(0°)) = 8 𝑚𝑊𝑃𝑃
𝑃
8 𝑚𝑊𝑃𝑃
𝑆
𝑉𝑃𝑃 2
2𝑉𝑃𝑃 2
=
= 8 𝑚𝑉𝐴 𝑃𝑃
𝑅2
500 Ω
𝜃 = 0°
500
𝐹𝑃 =
𝑉@𝑅2𝑀𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒𝑑 = @10𝑘𝐻𝑧 = @100𝐻𝑧
2
2
𝑆=
Figure 2 and 3 shows the measured VR2 of the purely resistive
circuit at 100 Hz and 10k Hz. At both frequencies, the
measured VR2 is still of 2 VPP leading to a measured
computation at:
=1
𝑃
𝑆
𝐹𝑃 =
=
8 𝑚𝑊𝑃𝑃
8 𝑚𝑉𝐴 𝑃𝑃
=1
Part II. Inductive circuit
@ 10 kHz Computed
𝑍 = 𝑅2 = 500 Ω
𝑉@𝑅2 =
𝑆=
𝑅2
500Ω
(𝑉 ) =
(6𝑉𝑃𝑃 ) = 2𝑉𝑃𝑃
𝑅𝑇 𝑇
1.5𝑘Ω
𝑉𝑃𝑃 2
2𝑉𝑃𝑃 2
=
= 8 𝑚𝑉𝐴 𝑃𝑃
𝑅2
500 Ω
𝑋𝐿 𝑂𝑅 𝑋𝐶
𝜃 = 𝑡𝑎𝑛−1 (
𝑅
) = 𝑡𝑎𝑛−1 (
500
500
Figure 4: RC Inductive Circuit
) = 0°
𝑃 = 𝑆 ∙ 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃 = (8 𝑚𝑉𝐴) ∙ (cos(0°)) = 8 𝑚𝑊𝑃𝑃
𝐹𝑃 =
𝑃
8 𝑚𝑊𝑃𝑃
=
=1
𝑆
8 𝑚𝑉𝐴 𝑃𝑃
Measured Values
Part II is an RL circuit where its procedure follows through
changing R3 1kΩ to 2kΩ and take its measurement together
with its respective computation of the angle.
@ 20 kHz and 1kΩ Computed
𝑋𝐿 = 2 ∗ 𝜋 ∗ 𝑓 ∗ 𝐿
= 2 ∗ 𝜋 ∗ 20.3 𝑘𝐻𝑧 ∗ 2.5 𝑚𝐻
= 𝑗318.87Ω
𝑍 = √𝑅3 2 + 𝑋𝐿 2 = √(1𝑘Ω)2 + (318.87Ω)2 = 1,049.61 Ω
𝑉@𝑅3 =
𝑆=
𝑅3
1𝑘Ω
(𝑉𝑇 ) =
(6𝑉𝑃𝑃 ) = 5.99 𝑉𝑃𝑃
𝑍
1,049.61 Ω
𝑉𝑃𝑃 2
5.99 𝑉𝑃𝑃 2
=
= 34.29 𝑚𝑉𝐴 𝑃𝑃
𝑍
1,049.61 Ω
𝑋𝐿
𝜃 = 𝑡𝑎𝑛−1 ( )
𝑅
318.87Ω
= 𝑡𝑎𝑛−1 (
) = 17.69 °
1𝑘Ω
Figure 2: Measured Purely Resistive Circuit at 100 Hz
2
𝑃=
𝑉𝑃𝑃
∙ 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃
𝑅3
=(
𝐹𝑃 =
5.99 𝑉𝑃𝑃 2
1𝑘 Ω
) ∙ (cos(17.69 °)) = 32.72 𝑚𝑊𝑃𝑃
𝑃
32.72 𝑚𝑊𝑃𝑃
=
= 0.95
𝑆
34.29 𝑚𝑉𝐴
@ 20 kHz and 2kΩ Computed
𝑋𝐿 = 2 ∗ 𝜋 ∗ 𝑓 ∗ 𝐿
= 2 ∗ 𝜋 ∗ 20.3 𝑘𝐻𝑧 ∗ 2.5 𝑚𝐻
= 𝑗318.87Ω
Figure 3: Measured Purely Resistive Circuit at 10kHz
𝑍 = √𝑅3 2 + 𝑋𝐿 2 = √(2𝑘Ω)2 + (318.87Ω)2 = 2,025.26 Ω
𝑉@𝑅3 =
𝑅3
2𝑘Ω
(𝑉𝑇 ) =
(6𝑉𝑃𝑃 ) = 5.93 𝑉𝑃𝑃
𝑍
2,025.26 Ω
𝑉𝑃𝑃 2
5.93 𝑉𝑃𝑃 2
𝑆=
=
= 17.36 𝑚𝑉𝐴 𝑃𝑃
𝑍
2,025.26 Ω
𝑋𝐿
𝜃 = 𝑡𝑎𝑛 ( )
𝑅
318.87Ω
= 𝑡𝑎𝑛−1 (
) = 9.06 °
𝑉𝑃𝑃
𝑃=
∙ 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃
𝑅3
𝐹𝑃 =
2𝑘 Ω
=(
6.00 𝑉𝑃𝑃 2
1𝑘 Ω
) ∙ (cos(17 °)) = 34.42 𝑚𝑊𝑃𝑃
𝑃
34.42 𝑚𝑊𝑃𝑃
=
=1
𝑆
34.29 𝑚𝑉𝐴 𝑃𝑃
@ 20 kHz and 2kΩ Measured
2𝑘Ω
2
5.93 𝑉𝑃𝑃 2
𝑉𝑃𝑃 2
∙ 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃
𝑅3
𝐹𝑃 =
−1
=(
𝑃=
) ∙ (cos(9.06 °)) = 17.36 𝑚𝑊𝑃𝑃
𝑋𝐿 = 2 ∗ 𝜋 ∗ 𝑓 ∗ 𝐿
= 2 ∗ 𝜋 ∗ 20.3 𝑘𝐻𝑧 ∗ 2.5 𝑚𝐻
= 𝑗318.87Ω
𝑍 = √𝑅3 2 + 𝑋𝐿 2 = √(2𝑘Ω)2 + (318.87Ω)2 = 2,025.26 Ω
𝑃
17.36 𝑚𝑊𝑃𝑃
=
=1
𝑆
17.36 𝑚𝑉𝐴 𝑃𝑃
𝑉@𝑅3 = 6.08 𝑉𝑃𝑃
Measured Values
𝜃 = 9.94 °
2
2
𝑆=
𝑉𝑃𝑃
6.08 𝑉𝑃𝑃
=
= 18.25 𝑚𝑉𝐴 𝑃𝑃
𝑍
2,025.26 Ω
𝑃=
𝑉𝑃𝑃 2
∙ 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃
𝑅3
=(
𝐹𝑃 =
6.08 𝑉𝑃𝑃 2
2𝑘 Ω
) ∙ (cos(9.94 °)) = 18.21 𝑚𝑊𝑃𝑃
𝑃
18.21 𝑚𝑊𝑃𝑃
=
= 0.998
𝑆
18.25 𝑚𝑉𝐴 𝑃𝑃
Part III. Capacitive Circuit
Figure 5: Measured Purely Resistive Circuit at 1k𝛺
Figure 7: RC Capacitive Circuit
Figure 6: Measured Purely Resistive Circuit at 2k𝛺
Figure 6 and 5 shows the measured VR3 of the inductive
circuit at 1kΩ to 2kΩ. The Computations of the measured
values are as follow:
@ 20 kHz and 1kΩ Measured
𝑆=
𝜃 = 17 °
2
1
1
=
2∗𝜋∗𝑓∗𝐶
2 ∗ 𝜋 ∗ 400 ∗ 0.5 𝑢𝐹
= −𝑗795.77Ω
𝑋𝐶 =
𝑉@𝑅4 =
𝑍 = √𝑅3 2 + 𝑋𝐿 2 = √(1𝑘Ω)2 + (318.87Ω)2 = 1,049.61 Ω
2
@ 400 Hz and 2kΩ Computed
𝑍 = √𝑅4 2 + 𝑋𝐿 2 = √(2𝑘Ω)2 + (−795.77Ω)2 = 2,152.5 Ω
𝑋𝐿 = 2 ∗ 𝜋 ∗ 𝑓 ∗ 𝐿
= 2 ∗ 𝜋 ∗ 20.3 𝑘𝐻𝑧 ∗ 2.5 𝑚𝐻
= 𝑗318.87Ω
𝑉@𝑅3 = 6.00 𝑉𝑃𝑃
Part III is an RC circuit where its procedure follows through
changing R4 1kΩ to 2kΩ and take its measurement together
with its respective computation of the angle.
𝑉𝑃𝑃
6.00 𝑉𝑃𝑃
=
= 34.29 𝑚𝑉𝐴 𝑃𝑃
𝑍
1,049.61 Ω
𝑅4
2𝑘Ω
(𝑉𝑇 ) =
(6𝑉𝑃𝑃 ) = 5.57 𝑉𝑃𝑃
𝑍
2,152.5 Ω
𝑉𝑃𝑃 2
5.57 𝑉𝑃𝑃 2
=
= 14.41 𝑚𝑉𝐴 𝑃𝑃
𝑍
2,152.5 Ω
𝑋𝐶
𝜃 = tan−1 ( )
𝑅
−795.77Ω
= tan−1 (
) = −21.70°
𝑆=
2000
𝑃=
𝑉𝑃𝑃 2
∙ 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃
𝑅4
=(
𝐹𝑃 =
5.57 𝑉𝑃𝑃 2
2𝑘 Ω
) ∙ (cos(−21.70°)) = 14.41 𝑚𝑊𝑃𝑃
𝑃
14.41 𝑚𝑊𝑃𝑃
=
=1
𝑆
14.41 𝑚𝑉𝐴 𝑃𝑃
@ 400 Hz and 1kΩ Computed
1
1
=
2∗𝜋∗𝑓∗𝐶
2 ∗ 𝜋 ∗ 400 ∗ 0.5 𝑢𝐹
= −𝑗795.77Ω
𝑋𝐶 =
Figure 7 and 8 shows the measured VR4 and angle of the
capacitive circuit at 1kΩ to 2kΩ. The Computations of the
measured values are as follow:
@ 400 Hz and 2kΩ Measured
1
1
=
2∗𝜋∗𝑓∗𝐶
2 ∗ 𝜋 ∗ 400 ∗ 0.5 𝑢𝐹
= −𝑗795.77Ω
𝑋𝐶 =
𝑍 = √𝑅4 2 + 𝑋𝐿 2 = √(2𝑘Ω)2 + (−795.77Ω)2 = 2,152.5 Ω
𝑉@𝑅4 = 5.68 𝑉𝑃𝑃
𝜃 = −23 °
𝑍 = √𝑅4 2 + 𝑋𝐿 2 = √(1𝑘Ω)2 + (−795.77Ω)2 = 1,277.99 Ω
𝑆=
𝑉𝑃𝑃 2
5.68 𝑉𝑃𝑃 2
=
= 14.99 𝑚𝑉𝐴 𝑃𝑃
𝑍
2,152.5 Ω
𝑅4
1𝑘Ω
(𝑉𝑇 ) =
(6𝑉𝑃𝑃 ) = 4.69 𝑉𝑃𝑃
𝑍
1,277.99 Ω
𝑃=
𝑉𝑃𝑃 2
∙ 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃
𝑅4
𝑉@𝑅4 =
𝑉𝑃𝑃 2
4.69 𝑉𝑃𝑃 2
=
= 17.21 𝑚𝑉𝐴 𝑃𝑃
𝑍
1,277.99 Ω
𝑋𝐶
𝜃 = tan−1 ( )
𝑅
−795.77Ω
= tan−1 (
) = −38.51°
𝑆=
1000
𝑉𝑃𝑃 2
𝑃=
∙ 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃
𝑅4
=(
4.69 𝑉𝑃𝑃 2
1𝑘 Ω
) ∙ (cos(−38.51°)) = 17.212 𝑚𝑊𝑃𝑃
𝑃
17.212 𝑚𝑊𝑃𝑃
𝐹𝑃 =
=
=1
𝑆
17.21 𝑚𝑉𝐴 𝑃𝑃
=(
𝐹𝑃 =
5.68 𝑉𝑃𝑃 2
2𝑘 Ω
𝑃
14.85 𝑚𝑊𝑃𝑃
=
= 0.991
𝑆
14.99 𝑚𝑉𝐴 𝑃𝑃
@ 400 Hz and 1kΩ Measured
1
1
=
2∗𝜋∗𝑓∗𝐶
2 ∗ 𝜋 ∗ 400 ∗ 0.5 𝑢𝐹
= −𝑗795.77Ω
𝑋𝐶 =
𝑍 = √𝑅4 2 + 𝑋𝐿 2 = √(1𝑘Ω)2 + (−795.77Ω)2 = 1,277.99 Ω
𝑉@𝑅4 = 4.72 𝑉𝑃𝑃
𝜃 = −40 °
2
2
Measured Values
) ∙ (cos(−23 °)) = 14.85 𝑚𝑊𝑃𝑃
𝑉𝑃𝑃
4.72 𝑉𝑃𝑃
=
= 17.43 𝑚𝑉𝐴 𝑃𝑃
𝑍
1,277.99 Ω
2
𝑉𝑃𝑃
𝑃=
∙ 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃
𝑅4
𝑆=
=(
𝐹𝑃 =
4.72 𝑉𝑃𝑃 2
1𝑘 Ω
) ∙ (cos(−40 °)) = 17.07 𝑚𝑊𝑃𝑃
𝑃
17.07 𝑚𝑊𝑃𝑃
=
= 0.979
𝑆
17.43 𝑚𝑉𝐴 𝑃𝑃
IV. DATA RESULT AND ANALYSIS
Figure 7: Measured Purely Resistive Circuit at 1k𝛺
Values
VR2
𝜽
S
P
FP
Measured
2 VPP
0°
8 mVAPP
8 mWPP
Computed
2 VPP
0°
8 mVAPP
8 mWPP
1
1
%Error
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
Table 1: Purely Resistive Power Factor
Figure 8: Measured Purely Resistive Circuit at 2k𝛺
Table 1 shows the power factor of a purely resistive circuit
induced with AC. Both at lower and higher frequency, the
power factor is the same as that of a simple DC power
dissipation on circuit due to the resistors characteristic of not
being affected by the AC frequency. At Figure 2 and 3, the
waveform is that of in-phase where no lagging nor leading
waveform between input and at VR2.
Values
VR3
𝜽
S
P
FP
Computed
5.99 VPP
17.69°
34.29 mVAPP
32.72 mWPP
.95
Measured
6 VPP
17°
34.29 mVAPP
34.42 mWPP
1
%Error
0.17 %
3.9 %
0%
9.21 %
5.26 %
Table 2: Inductive Circuit Power Factor @ 1k𝛺
Values
VR3
𝜽
S
P
FP
Computed
5.93VPP
9.06°
17.36 mVAPP
17.36 mWPP
1
Measured
6.08 VPP
9.94°
18.25 mVAPP
18.21 mWPP
0.998
%Error
2.52 %
8.85 %
5.13 %
4.90 %
0.2 %
Table 3: Inductive Circuit Power Factor @ 2k𝛺
The measured power factor in the inductive circuit is at 0.998
which has a 0.2% error from the computed value. This goes
to show that the Real Power consumed by the circuit is
closely equivalent of that to the Apparent Power of the
inductive circuit. This means that the majority of the apparent
power is that of a real power as it was consumed in the circuit.
The percentage difference between the measured and
computed real power is at 0% at 1k𝛺 and 5.13% at 2k𝛺
while apparent power’s percentage error is that of 9.21% at
1k𝛺 and 4.9% at 2k𝛺 which shows proper usage of power
consumption in the circuit.
Computed
5.57 VPP
−21.7°
14.41 mVAPP
14.41 mWPP
1
Measured
5.68 VPP
−23°
14.99 mVAPP
14.85 mWPP
.991
%Error
1.97 %
5.99 %
4.02 %
3.05 %
0.9 %
Table 4: Capacitive Circuit Power Factor @ 2k𝛺
Values
VR4
𝜽
S
P
FP
Computed
4.69 VPP
−38.51°
17.21 mVAPP
17.212 mWPP
1
Measured
4.72 VPP
−40°
17.73 mVAPP
17.07 mWPP
0.979
The measured power factor in the capacitive circuit is at
0.979 which has a 2.15% error from the computed value. This
goes to show that the Real Power consumed by the circuit is
closely equivalent of that to the Apparent Power flowing in
the RC circuit. This means that the majority of the apparent
power is that of a real power as it was consumed in the
circuit. The percentage error between the measured and
computed real power is at 4.02% at 2k𝛺 and 3.02% at 1k𝛺
while apparent power’s percentage error is that of 3.05% at
2k𝛺 and .83% at 1k𝛺 which shows proper usage of power
consumption in the circuit.
V. CONCLUSION AND EVALUATION
Table 2 and 3 are the data obtained from the inductive circuit
of Part 2 in methodology. Figure 5 and 6 shows that V R3 is
lagging compared to the input voltage. The angle measured
at the oscilloscope is the impedance angle where it is shown
to be a positive value. When used to compute for current, the
angle becomes that of a negative value where the sinewave
will lag as shown in Figures 5 and 6.
Values
VR4
𝜽
S
P
FP
that of a positive value where the sinewave will lead
compared to the input voltage as shown in Figures 7 and 8.
%Error
0.64 %
3.87 %
3.02 %
0.83 %
2.15 %
Table 5: Capacitive Circuit Power Factor @ 1k𝛺
Table 4 and 5 are the data obtained from the capacitive circuit
of Part 3 in methodology. Figure 7 and 8 shows that VR4 is
leading compared to the input voltage. The angle measured at
the oscilloscope is the impedance angle where it is shown to
be a negative value due to the presence of the capacitor in the
circuit. When used to compute for current, the angle becomes
The Power Factor (FP) describes the ratio of power consumed
by the circuit (P) against the power flowing into the circuit
(S) induced by AC. Apparent Power (S) is computed and
measured from the root-mean-square component of the AC
circuit’s voltage and current. It can also be computed using
peak or peak-to-peak values divided by the impedance in the
circuit. The Real Power (P) is computed from the product of
the apparent power multiplied by cos 𝜃 where 𝜃 is the angle
of impedance brought by the reactive components in the
circuit.
A purely resistive circuit’s power factor is that of a power
dissipated in the circuit since there are no reactive
components that would either lag or lead the current. Its
current waveform is that of the same as the input voltage
where all of the percentage error between the measured and
computed are that of 0%.
An RL Circuit’s power factor is that of an inductive state
where current is lagging. This results to a lagging angle in the
current where the measured 𝜃 is positive due to it being the
angle of the circuit’s impedance where XL’s angle is positive.
Its current waveform is lagging behind the voltage where all
of the percentage error between the measured and computed
are below 10%.
An RC Circuit’s power factor is that of a capacitive state
where current is leading. This results to a leading angle in the
current where the measured 𝜃 is negative due to it being the
angle of the circuit’s impedance where XC’s angle is positive.
Its current waveform is leading the voltage where all of the
percentage error between the measured and computed are
below 5%.
REFERENCES
[1] AC CIRCUITS LABORATORY MANUAL, 2023 Ed., C. D.
Tan, Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering,
University of San Carlos, Cebu, Philippines, 2011, pp. 32-35.
[2]W. Storr, “High pass filter - passive RC filter tutorial,”
Basic Electronics Tutorials, 06-Aug-2022. [Online].
Available:
https://www.electronicstutorials.ws/filter/filter_3.html. [Accessed: 08-Mar-2023].