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Chapter 14
Power Factor and
Harmonics
It may seem odd to treat these two quantities together, but power fac-
tor correction in the presence of harmonic currents poses special prob-
lems, and correction of harmonic problems may affect the circuit
power factor. The two are best considered together so their interac-
tions can be better understood. The author had the pleasure of present-
ing tutorial sessions on power factor and harmonics for several years
at national meetings of the IEEE Industry Applications Society.
14.1. Power Factor
Power factor, as everyone knows, is defined as the ratio of real power
to volt-amperes and is the cosine of the ...