Autoformer test a "back yard" report
Hi all, The equipment: Sola Basic 4000 autoformer PF 0.98 Magnum hybrid 3012 inverter PF corrected 1200 watt water heater 325 watt absorption fridge 13500 BTU Dometic ducted roof air...
Forum Discussion
Most of us, myself included, learned in School the formula
Watts = Volts * Amnps So 120 volts times 10 amps is 1200 watts right?
True in a DC circuit
But in an AC Circuit we have something called POWER FACTOR
So the properd formulas (There are two (or 3) of them) are
Volt-Amps = VOlts * amps (This is used to find the load on the wire)
and either Watts = Volts * Amps * Power factor -or- Watts - Volt-Amps * Power facxtor
Power factor varies betwen ZERO and 1` and is the cosine of the phase angle between voltage and current.. I have heard of one case where it hit zero. the amp meter was showing current, and there was voltage, but no power to the load.. A friend of mine fixed it.
Oh, and do not feel bad.. took me 40 years to understand power factor.
Watts = Volts * Amnps So 120 volts times 10 amps is 1200 watts right?
True in a DC circuit
But in an AC Circuit we have something called POWER FACTOR
So the properd formulas (There are two (or 3) of them) are
Volt-Amps = VOlts * amps (This is used to find the load on the wire)
and either Watts = Volts * Amps * Power factor -or- Watts - Volt-Amps * Power facxtor
Power factor varies betwen ZERO and 1` and is the cosine of the phase angle between voltage and current.. I have heard of one case where it hit zero. the amp meter was showing current, and there was voltage, but no power to the load.. A friend of mine fixed it.
Oh, and do not feel bad.. took me 40 years to understand power factor.
