What is resistive inductive and capacitive load

Electrical load is the device that consumes electrical energy. It is a device that converts electrical energy from current into different forms, such as heat, light, work, and so on. The electrical load is of different forms namely, i) resistive, ii) inductive, and iii) capacitive, or combined (RLC).

Resistive Load: Resistive loads include any type of heating element such as incandescent lights, toasters, ovens, space heaters, and coffee makers. Load which consumes only active power is called as resistive load. And if you look at the voltage and current waveforms of such load, you’ll find that, the voltage & current are perfectly in phase with each other.

 

Source: www.theelectricalguy.in

Now when I say they are perfectly in phase, that means, both the waveforms reaches their peak value at the same time. They also reaches the zero value at the same time. One example is shown above.

As such type of load only consumes active power, power flows from Source to load only. There will be no power flowing from Load to source.

Inductive Load: Inductive loads provide power to electric motors such as fans, vacuum cleaners, dishwaters, washing machines, compressors in refrigerators and air-conditioners. Load which consumes only reactive power is called as inductive load. And if you look at the voltage and current waveforms of such load, you’ll find that, the voltage & current are out of phase with each other by 90 deg.

 

 

Source: www.theelectricalguy.in

Now, when I say they out of phase, that means, both the waveforms reaches their peak value at different times. They also reaches the zero value at different times. If you look at the waveform you’ll find that voltage has head start then the current. We can also say current is lagging behind the voltage.

As such type of load only consumes reactive power, power can flow from Source to load or even load to source. Further, power factor of such loads is not Unity! Power factor of such loads is lagging in nature. And which is not a very good sign.

Capacitive Load: Like an inductive load, the capacitive load has both current and voltage waves. The critical difference between a capacitive and inductive load is that the current peaks before the voltage. Capacitive load is similar to that of inductive load. In capacitive loads also, current & voltage are out of phase with each other. The only difference is that, in capacitive load current leads the voltage by 90 deg. Whereas, in inductive load current lags behind the voltage by 90 deg.

Note: The only difference is that, in capacitive load current leads the voltage by 90 deg. Whereas, in inductive load current lags behind the voltage by 90 deg.

The most important reason to understand the load is to better understand your home's energy consumption. Your electrical load indicates how much electricity your appliances and home require, which shows how much power your house will consume.

Knowing the electrical requirements of your home's major appliances will also help you keep a closer eye on your monthly electric bill.

Understanding your equipment's and home's electrical load is critical if you are on a demand charge rate. A demand charge rate is a tariff the utility sets that charges you based on maximum power use during a given period. You can reduce your maximum power consumption and demand charge-based electric bills by controlling which electrical loads are active at any given time.