Kilovolt-amperes, kilowatts and power factor
Kilowatts are the power you actually use. Kilovolt-amperes are the capacity the network had to hold available for you. Power factor is the ratio between them, and you want it close to one. Large power users are billed on both.
Why you are billed on apparent power
A common assumption is that you only pay for what you actually consume. On most large power user tariffs that is not the case. You pay for consumption in kilowatt hours, and separately for demand in kilovolt-amperes. The demand charge is not consumptive: it is billed off a single half hour in the month, and it exists because that is the amount of supply capacity your utility or landlord had to keep available for you across the whole billing period.
Power factor is the ratio between apparent power in kilovolt-amperes and actual power in kilowatts. A poor power factor means you are drawing more apparent power than your real load needs, and paying for capacity you are not converting into work.
Reading power factor on the platform
The Dashboard tile shows power factor at peak for the day. This number is not necessarily the one driving your cost.
The Power Factor & Demand page shows power factor at peak, which is the moment that actually matters, because the demand charge is levied on your highest half hour for the month.
A site with correction equipment fitted can therefore show a poor-looking average while performing perfectly at peak. If the Dashboard number alarms you, check the Power Factor & Demand page before concluding anything.
Reading the power factor chart
The chart shows two series. Green is leading and yellow is lagging. Capacitive loads lead, meaning current leads voltage. Inductive loads lag, meaning current lags voltage. Most industrial sites are inductive and therefore lagging, which is what correction equipment is there to fix.
Reactive energy
The platform does read reactive energy, in kilovolt-ampere reactive hours, and it appears on the Power Factor page. It does not always appear on a bill verification, because reactive penalties are linked to demand: if Augos registered a lower maximum demand than the utility did, the calculation may not attract a reactive charge for that period.
What to do
- If the Dashboard power factor looks bad, open Power Factor & Demand and look at power factor at peak.
- If it is genuinely poor at peak, ask support about a power factor survey. The improvement is measurable in the platform data afterwards.
- If correction equipment is already installed, watch for a slow deterioration over months. That is the signature of failing capacitor steps, and it is worth a trigger so you find out early.
Still stuck
Email support@augos.io with the site name and the period. Ask specifically about
power factor at peak rather than average.