Electricity Thesaurus

[honglien]

Hi everybody!
I need your help!
Once again I have some trouble about electrical terms.
Last post I had gotten your useful help about qualification of electric power systems.
This time, I have a small question needing your help too.
I've read some documents, books, websites.. about Electric Power System. As you know, S is the symbol for Apparent Power, Q is for Reactive power, and the trouble with P. Some documents use P for Active Power or True Power or Real Power.
English is not my mother tongue, so I don't know exactly which terms is true? Active Power or True Power or Real Power?
I am usually use Active Power, is that true?
I am looking to hearing from you soon!
Best Regards!

 

[Skogsgurra]

My native toungue isn't English, either. But I have always used Active Power for P.

Real Power and True Power have more of a sales talk character. Although everyone would probably understand what you mean.

I guess that Real Power is used sometimes to distinguish from Imaginary Power (which the 90 degree component is) and that True Power has somewhat been derived from that other "True" viz. True RMS. Or it may be ordinary everyday confusion behind those terms.

I guess that an "Active" and "Real" Englishman will fill in with his "True" truth very soon.

Gunnar Englund

http://www.gke.org

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100 % recycled posting: Electrons, ideas, finger-tips have been used over and over again...

 

[jghrist]

Maybe someone has an IEEE dictionary to provide a more official answer, but I've always used the term "Real" power. This is the term used in W.D. Stevensons' Elements of Power System Analysis, which was probably the most used power systems textbook in the USA in the 1960's and 1970's.

 

[Skogsgurra]

Scotty! Where are you?

Or do you not speak English any more?

Puissance Actif? N'est-ce-pas?

Gunnar Englund

http://www.gke.org

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100 % recycled posting: Electrons, ideas, finger-tips have been used over and over again...

 

[unclebob]

Well, in French we're calling it: puissance réelle.

 

[Skogsgurra]

Toujours?

I had to look it up in "Principes d'Électrotechnique" Dunod, Paris 2005.

They say:
P = puissance active
Q = puissance réactive
S = puissance apparante

I guess there is some variation in use all over the world. The Germans say Wirkleistung, Blindleistung and Scheinleistung for P, Q and S. I have never heard anything else there. And we say aktiv, reaktiv and skenbar effekt for the three.

Why this French diversion? Because ScottyUK, which we are waiting for, just started work for a French company. Sorry for the hijacking.

Gunnar Englund

http://www.gke.org

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100 % recycled posting: Electrons, ideas, finger-tips have been used over and over again...

 

[waross]

I just looked in some old textbooks.
The first term I found was Effective Power.
The next textbook uses Real Power.
I prefer Real Power.
I sometimes use Active Power (as opposed to reactive power). It depends on the context. When explaining power factor, I would use the terms Active Power and Reactive Power to emphasize the differences.
All the terms are understood.
Real Power or Active Power are probably the preferred terms.


Bill
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"Why not the best?"
Jimmy Carter

 

[rmw]

I am actually interested in the answers because of being a Mechanical and I hear differing usages of the terms being discussed and it is confusing. That said OT, concerning Scotty, it may be that they swithed his plant computers to french and it may be a while until he can learn enough to rejoin us.

rmw

 

[slavag]

Hello.
We( Russian) say active and reactive.
Regards.
Slava

 

[Skogsgurra]

Slava! I have been wondering from where you are. Good to know. You live where in Russia?

Gunnar Englund

http://www.gke.org

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100 % recycled posting: Electrons, ideas, finger-tips have been used over and over again...

 

[slavag]

Gunnar, I'm original from Uzbekistan ( Tashkent) in past USSR, but now I'm live in other country.
Regards.
Slava