Quote:
quote:Originally posted by K0LCB
If I remember my basic elect. Theory, and that was a long time ago, I X E = W, applies to a D.C circuit, A.A. Requires you to figure root means squared or something like that.
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Volts times amps equals watts, in a purely resistive circuit. When you get into circuits with inductive loads (such as motors) and capacitive loads then a thing called power factor comes into play. It affects the realized power available from the same voltage.
Root mean square is the method of specifying voltage in an AC circuit. What we know as 120 vac actually has a peak voltage of approximately 169 volts at the high point (and negative 169 at the low point) of the voltage curve. But after doing root mean square calculations it comes out to 120 volts. Since the voltage passes thru zero volts twice each cycle you don't get the full benefit of the 169 volt peaks.