In an electric circuit, instantaneous power is the time rate of flow of energy past a given point of the circuit. In alternating current circuits, energy storage elements such as inductors and capacitors may result in periodic reversals of the direction of energy flow. Its SI unit is the watt.
The portion of instantaneous power that, averaged over a complete cycle of the AC waveform, results in net transfer of energy in one direction is known as instantaneous active power, and its time average is known as active power or real power.[1]: 3 The portion of instantaneous power that results in no net transfer of energy but instead oscillates between the source and load in each cycle due to stored energy is known as instantaneous reactive power, and its amplitude is the absolute value of reactive power.[2][1]: 4
- ^ a b IEEE Standard Definitions for the Measurement of Electric Power Quantities Under Sinusoidal, Nonsinusoidal, Balanced, or Unbalanced Conditions. IEEE. 2010. doi:10.1109/IEEESTD.2010.5439063. ISBN 978-0-7381-6058-0.
- ^ Thomas, Roland E.; Rosa, Albert J.; Toussaint, Gregory J. (2016). The Analysis and Design of Linear Circuits (8 ed.). Wiley. pp. 812–813. ISBN 978-1-119-23538-5.