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Hello Everyone
When an inverter is said to have a power factor of 0.8 what exactly does it mean? Is it in reference to lowest power factor permissable for loads? Or is it the power factor the inverter presents to the grid when having grid input.
Thank you.
volts x amps gives you VA power rating and at a ideal power factor of 1:1 its the same as the available watts - however most appliances will cause a different power factor to occur and on average its .8 - it all depends on what reactive and or inductive load types that are being used.
Search the internet and read up on power factor and how it works its all to do with the ac sign wave and the leading or lagging current in relation to the volts sign wave.
I'm quite familiar with power factor as relates to loads like pumps, heaters, motors etc but when it comes to power suppliers like generators and transformers their rating is in KVA with no need to mention what the PF of the load should be as the Voltage x Amps x PF naturally will determine the point at which the supply capacity limit is reached. Is there a special reason inverters have to state their PF as power suppliers?
With a Multiplus Quattaro inverter/charger with rated at 5000va and 4000w would it be problematic if I connect a load at 230V, 21.7 amps if the load is at unity power factor - 5000va, 5000w - since it satsfies the 5000va rating of the inverter
If I ran the same load 230V, 21.7 amps at a power factor of 0.5 that would be 5000va, 2500w would that be acceptable.
I would have less problems understanding the concept if the inverter were a load to a supply just like a motor but in this case it's a supply.
I'm sure I must be missing something and hopefully you might be able to figure out the confusion.
