Convert kVA to kW with Power Factor (+ handy calculator)

kVA to kW is one of the basic conversions in electric engineering. If you want to analyze various electrical devices on an AC circuit, you need to convert kVA to kW.

We have kW. An easy kVA is made for calculator that converts kVA to kW with a known power factor. You will also find kVA to kW table with calculated values. Here’s a screenshot of what the calculator looks like:

Let’s cover the basics first (it might sound a bit complicated but once you understand it, it becomes very easy):

What is the difference between kVA and kW?

kVA Or kilovolt-ampere A unit of measurement of apparent power in electrical circuits. In DC circuits, kVA is the same as kW; That is, apparent power (measured in kVA) is the same as actual power (measured in W or kW). However, kVA is mostly used in AC circuits.

kilowatt Or kilowatt Electricity is a unit of power. This is equal to 1,000 joules per second and is a measure of how fast energy is transferred.

Here’s the deal:

In DC circuits, we can use the basic DC power circuit equation to find out how many kWh is 1 kVA:

P (power) = I (current) × V (voltage)

This means that in a DC circuit, 1 kVA is equal to 1 kW.

In alternating current (AC) circuits, where kVA to kW conversion is mostly used, kVA to kW conversion depends on the power factor (PF),

To be able to use the kilowatt-ampere to kilowatt conversion calculator, you must first determine the power factor of an AC circuit:

How does Power Factor (PF) affect kVA to kilowatt conversion?

In DC circuits, apparent power (KVA) equals real power (KW).

In AC circuits, the apparent power (KVA) is often No Equivalent to actual power (kw). The difference between apparent power and real power is the fundamental difference between kVA and kW.

Here these are two different electrical forces:

• real power is a product of voltage And Present, Basically Volts (V) × Amps (A).
• apparent power is a product of voltage And rms current, Approximately Volts (V) × Amps (A) but not quite. This is because in AC circuits there is voltage and current and not phase; This reduces the actual power to the apparent power. Here we have to deal with RMS current, and power factor helps us in this.

power element The ratio of real power (kW) and apparent power (kVA) in a circuit is It can take any value between -1 and 1. In practice, a power factor is a number between 0 and 1.

Here’s a formula for the power factor (we’ll use it to get the kVA to kW formula):

PF = Actual Power (KW) / Apparent Power (KVA)

kVA to kilowatt formula

As you can see, we can calculate the voltage and current not in phase in an AC circuit using only the power factor. From the above equation, we can get kW from this kVA formula:

Actual power (kW) = apparent power (kVA) × PF

Now we have a formula that converts kVA to kW.

Example: Let’s say we have 1 kVA and 0.8 pF circuit. How many kilowatt in 1 kVA?

Actual power = 1 kVA × 0.8 = 0.8 kW

In such a circuit, 1 kVA is equal to 0.8 kW.

If you know the two inputs – kVA and pF – you can convert kVA to kW for any AC circuit. The easiest way is to use this calculator:

kva to kW calculator

Simply put or slide the KVA and PF inputs, and the calculator will calculate kVA to KW dynamically:

To help you out, we’ve used this calculator to convert the most common kVA values ​​to kW in 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, and 1 power factor AC circuits:

kVA to kilowatt conversion chart