Power Triangle Solver (kW / kVA / kVAR / PF)
Solve the full AC power triangle from any two of real power, apparent power, reactive power, power factor.
Example
You enter
- Real power (kW; blank if unknown) 100
- Power factor (0-1; blank if unknown) 0.8
- Reactive sign lagging
You get
- Apparent power (kVA) 125
- Kvar 75
- Power factor 0.8
- Phase angle (deg) 36.87
Details, formula, and sources
Solve the full AC power triangle from any two of real power, apparent power, reactive power, power factor, or phase angle, with a phasor diagram.
kVA^2 = kW^2 + kVAR^2; PF = kW / kVA; theta = arccos(PF). Any two of kW / kVA / kVAR / PF / angle fix the triangle, provided at least one is a magnitude.
IEEE 1459 (Definitions for the Measurement of Electric Power Quantities). Sinusoidal-case algebra.
standards.ieee.org for the IEEE 1459 abstract.
Estimate. AHJ and licensed electrician govern. Verify against the NEC edition adopted in your jurisdiction.
Field names used by the API: kw, pf, sign, kva, kvar, angle_deg
- Sinusoidal system the classic power triangle applies to sinusoidal voltage and current; non-sinusoidal systems add a distortion-power termIEEE 1459
- Reactive sign lagging (inductive) reactive power is drawn by motors; leading (capacitive) by over-correctionfirst-principles AC theory