AC power
OverviewActive, reactive, apparent, and complex power in sinusoidal steady-stateCalculations and equations in sinusoidal steady-statePower factorReactive powerUnbalanced sinusoidal polyphase systemsReal number formulasMultiple frequency systems
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