Difference Between KVA and KW with its Definition

KVA and Kw have frequently used terms for power consumption and its measurement. For electrical appliances these are useful. One can measure the electric current using any one of these terms. Still, there is a noticeable difference between KVA and KW. Both KVA and Kw are used as the units are power ratings for every measuring instrument using electric current. Such appliances are having specific values in terms of KVA or KW. One may use any one of these two units to express power. KVA is the abbreviation of kilovolt amperes and KW is the abbreviation of kilowatts. This article will explore these two terms as well as the difference between KVA and KW. Therefore, the KVA unit is useful to represent apparent power and KW is useful to represent the real power of an electrical system.

What is the power factor?

In the electric power system, a load with a low power factor consumes more current than the load with a high power factor when the transfer of the same amount of useful power takes place. The higher currents will be increased the energy lost in the distribution system. It will require larger wires and other equipment. Due to the costs of larger equipment and wasted energy, electrical utilities will charge a higher cost to the industry.

What is KVA?

KVA is the measurement of the apparent power required by and electrical system. If the electrical system is having the perfect efficiency of an electrical system, then KVA and KW both will be equal. But, since no system is completely efficient and all of the apparent power cannot be converted into useful output. So, KW and KVA are different practices. And in the DC circuit, the power factor is unity and hence KW = KVA.

What is KW?

KW is the amount of actual power required by an electrical system. It shows us how much power is being converted into useful, working output. If KW is how much power one can work with, KVA will tell how much is being used in the system overall.

Difference between KVA and KW

The important difference between KVA and KW

Parameter	KVA	KW
Definition	It is used to represent apparent power.	It is used to represent actual power.
AC/ DC Circuit	Both kinds of power are equal in DC circuits.	Both kinds of power are different in AC circuits.
Work	A fraction of KVA is accessed to do work and the rest is considered excess in the current.	It shows the actual power with valid work.
Full form	Its full form is kilovolt amperes.	Its full form is kilowatts.

More facts about KVA and KW units:

Some electrical equipment expresses their power ratings in KW, i.e. kilowatts. Some others are using KVA i.e. kilo Volt Amperes. Both of these are expressing the power, but still, they are actually different.
A KVA is 1000 volt-ampere. A volt is an electrical pressure, and an ampere is an electrical current. Here, the apparent power is equal to the product of the volts and amperes.
A watt i.e. W is the measurement of real power. This real power is the amount of the actual power used in the circuit. This real power is equal to the apparent power, while the voltage and current of a circuit coincide. This difference between real and apparent power is due to the inefficiencies in electrical transmission.
The resulting inefficiency of the transmission is generally expressed as a ratio termed as the power factor. It is the ratio that varies from 0 to 1 of real power and apparent power.
Deploying systems having higher power factors will result in less electrical loss and thus will help to improve Power Usage Effectiveness i.e. PUE.
Mostly, Uninterruptible Power Supply i.e. UPS units will list the average power factor with the real-time load capacity of the UPS, in addition to the KVA.
In the AC circuits, voltage and current may get out of the phase. Thus, KW and KVA will differ and it depends on the Power Factor.

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