How Big a Gen to Run a Converter? Some Info.
EDIT: some of my earlier posts in this thread have the wrong idea. As more info came in later, things got less confusing--sort of! :) --------------------- Another look at this topic. It is n...
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The article https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AC_power addresses only displacement power factor which is not the issue with power converters. The problem presented by power converters is distortion power factor. You can read about it in a different wikipedia article https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distortion_power_factor#Distortion_power_factor. Scroll down to the section "Switched-mode power supplies". It can be understood without having to digest all of the real power, apparent power, vectors, etc. mumbo-jumbo. It's simply that the power converter does not draw current during much of the sine wave, so when it does, it has to draw higher current to make the RMS current high enough to produce the power it needs in watts. Stated more eloquently in the article, "Historically, these very-low-cost power supplies incorporated a simple full-wave rectifier that conducted only when the mains instantaneous voltage exceeded the voltage on the input capacitors. This leads to very high ratios of peak-to-average input current, which also lead to a low distortion power factor and potentially serious phase and neutral loading concerns."
