BESS Visual

Phase Shift and Power

How current phase shift changes useful work power, reactive exchange, and total apparent power.

Phase Shift and Power

How current phase shift changes useful work power, reactive exchange, and total apparent power.

V-I / P-Q-S
load caseInductive load
angle phi30.0deg
P work power10.48kW
Q reactive6.05kVAr
S total12.10kVA
Voltage, current, and instantaneous powerV / I / p(t)
phi = 30.0 degV(t)i(t)p(t)average Ptime - two AC cyclesnormalized V / Inormalized power
Inductive loadPF 0.866
PQSphi

current lags voltage by 30.0 deg

absorbing VARs / PF 0.866

P = V x I x cos(phi)220V x 55A x cos(30.0 deg) = 10.48 kW
Q = V x I x sin(phi)220V x 55A x sin(30.0 deg) = +6.05 kVAr
S = V x I = sqrt(P^2 + Q^2)12.10 kVA total apparent power
speed
Control visualization - sweep the phase angle or set an inductive, unity, or capacitive load to see P, Q, S, and PF move together.

Control visualization - sweep the phase angle or set an inductive, unity, or capacitive load to see P, Q, S, and PF move together.

About this visualization

How current phase shift changes useful work power, reactive exchange, and total apparent power. This interactive diagram is part of the BESS.engineer visuals library — practical, engineering-led explanations of grid-scale battery energy storage. Use the controls above to explore it, or download a GIF from the library view.

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