What Is Power Factor And What Does Leading PF And Lagging PF Mean?

• What is power factor?

Power factor is to do with electricity usage and is how we measure power systems. If you use electricity and have a low power factor, your electricity bill will be higher. If you have a high power factor, your electricity bill will be lower. Power factor usually ranges between 0.0 and 1.0.

• What is leading PF?

Leading power factor is when the current waveform leads the voltage waveform.

• What is Lagging PF?

If the sine of the power is 0 it is said to be lagging and this occurs when they current waveform lags behind the voltage waveform.

• Learning more about power factor

Here is a link to an excellent website called cip.ukcentre.com. http://www.cip.ukcentre.com/Power%20Factor.htm.
This links to an extremely well presented and detailed account for what power factor is, a clear explanation and an explanation in slightly more detail for engineers, engineering managers and electricians and anyone else who has an interest in the subject matter. It is particularly useful for students who are unsure about power factors as it is explained in an easy to understand way with plenty of pictures and diagrams. It is laid out in a way that is easy to read and understand.

The opening paragraph to this page explains that this is a complicated topic but it is often made more complicated by people attempting to explain it but do not fully understand it themselves. Other websites confuse the matter and make it appear even more difficult than it actually is. The writer tries to help the situation and clearly understands the topic which can make it easier for the students who wish to learn from the writer.