KVA vs Watt

hi all,

I have a general question about the first what s KVA what actually it is, second what s WATT and which one is the basic thing to know when bying the generator /

thanks

Reply to
saleem
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Generators will be rated in KW or 1000 watts, so 6KW = 6000 watts watts = volts x amps

Reply to
RBM

For practical purposes, a KVA = 1000 watts. There is some difference in power factors for KVA and KW when discussing AC vs DC, but it shouldn't concern you.

Reply to
HeyBub

There is a big difference between the two! To fully understand it, one needs to understand imaginary versus real power. That is, understand imaginary numbers. But the effect can be conveyed in less than technically correct ways.

On many devices, Voltage an Amperage is not in phase. Motors, computers, florescent lights.... That is peaks of each do not occur at the same time. A crude diagram might be:

/\\ /\\ / / \\ / \\ / \\ / \\ / Voltage \\/ \\/

/\\ /\\ / / \\ / \\ / Amperage (note peaks at a different time) / \\ / \\ / \\/ \\/

VA is simply multiplying the voltage magnitude times the amperage magnitude. This makes sense for a generator since it outputs a certain voltage and has a maximum current rating.

Actual wattage factors in the phase difference between the voltage and amperage. It is the average of the instant power at any moment in time. Since the Voltage and Amperage do not peak at the same time on many loads, the wattage is less than VA.

Wattage represents real power, the power of the generator's energy. So many HP can do just so much work. Thus for a given HP engine, the generator is wattage limited.

The wiring is also amperage limited, usually higher than that of the rated wattage of the generator. Thus a generator can output a higher VA (wiring limited) than wattage (engine limited).

Hope this helps

gerry

Reply to
gerry

Absolutely FALSE except for resistive loads (standard light bulbs, electric heaters...)

DC DOES NOT have a power factor and VA = Watts, why mention it???

gerry

Reply to
gerry

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