reaalvõimsuse

Reaalvõimsus, also known as active power or true power, is a fundamental concept in electrical engineering. It represents the portion of the apparent power in an AC electrical system that is actually converted into useful work, such as heat, light, or mechanical motion. This is in contrast to reactive power, which is the power that oscillates back and forth between the source and the load and does not perform useful work.

The unit of reaalvõimsus is the watt (W), a standard unit of power. It is calculated as the product of the voltage, current, and the cosine of the phase angle between them. This phase angle, represented by the power factor, indicates how much the voltage and current waveforms are out of sync. A power factor of 1 (or 0 degrees phase angle) means all apparent power is reaalvõimsus, indicating a purely resistive load. As the phase angle increases, the power factor decreases, and a larger portion of the apparent power becomes reactive power.

Understanding reaalvõimsus is crucial for efficient energy management. Electrical systems are designed to deliver a specific amount of reaalvõimsus to consumers. Losses in transmission lines and inefficiencies in electrical devices are often related to the management of both reaal and reactive power. Engineers work to optimize power factor to minimize wasted energy and ensure that electrical grids can meet demand effectively. High reaalvõimsus indicates that the electrical energy is being used productively.