kw vs kva Overview
Do you know the difference between KW and KVA?
Electricity is an essential type of energy for the 21st century, and the process to generate, transmit, and distribute it is kind of complex.
But, did you know that not the same amount of electricity generated in power plants is completely and equally distributed to every home, office, school, etc?
Electric power is a physical measurement of how much electricity we truly use, and it is divided into three types of power: Apparent power, Reactive power, and Real power.
Apparent Power
This is the amount of electricity that is generated from power plants, but unfortunately, it is not the same amount that makes it to our homes. Its unit is the Volt Ampere (VA) or Kilo volt-ampere (KVA).
Reactive Power
This amount of energy is the one that we are not able to use because there are two electrical phenomena called Inductance and Capacitance, which cause a certain portion of electricity to be unusable.
Real Power
This is the amount of electricity which is used by electrical devices for their normal functioning. Its unit is the watt (W) or kilowatt (kW).
How to Convert Kva to kWh
Kilo volt-ampere is an electric power unit in terms of apparent power.
Since in generator sizing kilowatts, which is the unit of real power, is the most commonly used, it is imperative to understand how to convert Kva to Kw.
The watt is a direct description of what power you need.
In the generators field, Kva can be referred to as the generator end capacity. At the same time, the Kw is the overall power that a generator can supply based on its engine’s horsepower.
Voltage ampere is most commonly used when describing equipment loads connected to the generator.
What is the Formula of Converting Kva to Kw?
KVA*PF = KW
Kilo-volts ampere times power factor equals kilowatts
Definition of each element of the calculation
*K- This indicates that the units are in kilos. This means that the terms are reduced by a factor of 1000.
*VA- Voltage-Ampere is the measure of apparent power. The term factors voltage; the potential difference or electromotive force and ampere; a unit of electric current.
This unit of power considers the two terms without taking into account if they occur in parallel or not.
*W- Watt is the unit defining the flow of one ampere current with one-volt voltage. This is the measure of real power, which is the rate at which energy flows.
*PF- Power factor is the ratio of real power needed to do work to the apparent power supplied to an electrical appliance.
For purely resistive systems, the power factor is one. Since finding the power factor is a challenging task, an industrial power factor of 70-75% is used as an average power factor.
How to do the calculation
Consult the user manual of all your electric-powered appliances to calculate the total kva value that you use to power up your standard processes.
If the manufacturer of your appliances does not indicate the power factor or it is tough to calculate due to the complexity of your power usage, you should use 0.7-0.75 for a standard power supply.
Multiplying the two values will give your real power consumption in kilowatts.
Many automatic kva to kWh converter is available online to help you in the process of conversion. You choose a converter that offers simplicity and effectiveness in the conversion
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