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Jeff Wisnia

krw wrote:

In article ,
says...

M Q wrote:

Does anyone know whether residential power meters measure
real power or apparent power (vector sum of real and reactive power).

I have found claims for each on the web, so I am really only
interested if you can give a pointer to some authoritative
document such as a utilities commission decision, a statement
by a utility, or a spec for residential meters.

For the most part they measure real power at residences, but I've heard
tell of some areas in the southwestern USA where VAR metering is in use
for homes because of the heavy usage of air conditioning equipment.

Why would AC screw up the PF? A loaded motor will have a PF pretty
close to unity.

If that were always the case, then why would so many industrial
operations invest in power factor correction systems?

Jeff

--
Jeffry Wisnia
(W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)
The speed of light is 1.98*10^14 fathoms per fortnight.