Difference Between Leading and Lagging Power Factor (With Comparison Chart) - Circuit Globe

02/05/2022, 14:15 Difference Between Leading and Lagging Power Factor (with Comparison Chart) - Circuit Globe
Difference Between Leading and Lagging Power

Factor
Leading and lagging power factors are the two major terms associated with
the power factor of the AC electrical system. The crucial difference between
leading and lagging power factor is that in case of leading power factor the
current leads the voltage. As against in case of lagging power factor, the
current lags the supplied voltage. The tendency of the circuit that causes the
current to either lead or lag depends on the load conditions.
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What is power factor?
The power factor is a crucial property of AC electrical systems. It is

dimensionless in nature. It is used for both single and three-phase AC
circuits. It is the ratio of true or actual power to the apparent power in the ac
systems.
In DC circuits one can evaluate the power of the circuit by finding the
product of readings of voltmeter and ammeter. While in the case of ac
circuit, this multiplication of these two provides the apparent power but, not
the actual power. This is so because in ac circuits, the total supplied power
https://circuitglobe.com/difference-between-leading-and-lagging-power-factor.html 1/14
i.e., the apparent power isSET

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not solely utilized by the circuit. And the actually

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More simply, the power factor is the cosine of phase difference existing
between V and I.
The power factor of ac circuits with linear loads lies between -1 to 1.

Generally, it is considered that if a system exhibits a power factor closer to
1, then such systems are said to be stable. We will discuss the various
factors that differentiate the leading power factor from that of lagging.
Content: Leading Vs Lagging Power Factor
1. Comparison Chart
2. Definition
3. Key Differences
4. Conclusion
Comparison Chart
Basis for
Leading Power Factor Lagging Power Factor
Comparison
Basis for
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Leading Power Factor
UTP-BNC 8MP 4K Lagging Power Factor
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Basic The load current leads There is a phase difference

the supply voltage by between voltage and current where
certain phase angle. load current lags the supply
voltage.
Nature of Capacitive Inductive

load in
electrical
circuit
Correction By the addition of By adding capacitive load.

of low inductive load.
power
factor
Value Exists between -1 to Exists between 0 and 1.

0.
Reactive Negative Positive

component
Examples Capacitive load:

Inductive load:
of Electrical motors, Power generator, inductor, relays,

respective capacitor, radio etc.
loads circuits, etc.
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Definition of Leading Power Factor
The leading power factor in an ac electrical circuit is attained by the use of

capacitive load in the circuit. As in the presence of a purely capacitive load
or combination of resistive-capacitive load, the current leads supplied
voltage. This gives rise to the power factor generally said to be leading in
nature.
As it is known that the power factor is the ratio of true to the apparent
power. And generally for sinusoidal waveform power factor is the cosine
function of the phase angle existing between voltage and current. Consider
the wave shapes of voltage supplied to the ac circuit and the current
through the purely capacitive load:
As it is clear from the above

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figure that current, I encounter the 0 crossings

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as leading power factor. The figure below represents the leading power
factor triangle:
Definition of Lagging Power Factor
In ac circuits lagging power factor, is achieved when the load is inductive in

nature. This is so because when a purely inductive or resistive inductive load
is present then there exists a phase difference between voltage and current
in which the current lags the voltage. Thus the power factor of such circuits
is of lagging nature.
Let us consider the waveforms of supplied voltage to an ac circuit and the

current through the purely capacitive load as:
Here the current encounters

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the 0 crossings at some phase after the

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factor triangle is given below:
Key Differences between Leading and Lagging Power

Factor
1. The key factor of differentiation between leading and lagging power

factor is that leading power factor is attained when the load current
is in the leading position to that of the supply voltage. While lagging
power factor shows that the current lags the voltage by some phase
angle.
2. When the load of the linear electrical network is capacitive in nature

then it generates a leading power factor. As against when the load is
of inductive nature then it results in lagging power factor.
3. In the case of leading power factor, the phase angle of current is

positive with respect to voltage. However, in the case of lagging
power factor current phase angle is negative with respect to that of
voltage.
4. As the power factor is a crucial parameter of ac electrical circuits

thus correction is quite necessary if the power factor is quite low.
Thus a leading power factor is corrected by the addition of inductive
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loads. Whereas theSET

correction in the lagging power factor is done by
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5. In the case of the capacitive load, the load supplies reactive power.
Thus the reactive component is negative as here the power is
provided to it. But for inductive load, the load consumes reactive
power, hence reactive component will be positive.
6. The value of leading power factor i.e., with capacitive load ranges
between -1 to 0. While for the lagging power factor i.e., with an
inductive load, it lies between 0 and 1.
Conclusion
So, from this discussion, we can conclude that ideally it is assumed that
voltage and current are in the same phase. Thereby having a phase angle of
0° between the two. However, a difference in phase exists between the two
that is referred as the power factor of the circuit.
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Related Terms:
1. Power Factor
2. Power Factor Improvement
3. Power in AC Circuit
4. Difference Between Resistance and Reactance
5. Active, Reactive and SET

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Apparent Power
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9 thoughts on “Difference Between Leading and Lagging Power Factor”
JOHN MULINDI
MAY 25, 2020 AT 10:42 PM
Good article, especially for students learning the basic principles of

electrical engineering.
Reply
ADITYAVARDHAN
JULY 10, 2020 AT 4:22 AM
easy to understand and very useful.
tq for the content
Reply
ABEH SHEBA
DECEMBER 2, 2020 AT 1:37 AM
Thank you the article was useful
Reply
RAKESH
DECEMBER 3, 2020 AT 4:19 PM
Love the table. Very informative!

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Reply
NAVEED JAMAL
DECEMBER 21, 2020 AT 7:34 AM
very good article but still being a beginner student of electrical i want to
know about the generator power factor that either we should keep power
factors in lag side or lead side which is better to draw ampere less
Reply
RUBEN RODRIGUEZ
APRIL 8, 2021 AT 2:33 AM
Thank you, very clearly explained, appreciate it.
Reply
RUBEN RODRIGUEZ
APRIL 8, 2021 AT 2:35 AM
Thank you very much it was very clear and helpful
Reply
MUHAMMAD SHAHZAD
AUGUST 6, 2021 AT 1:10 PM
Thanks for such a nice article. I got the knowledge after reading your article.
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G.JAMBULINGAM
OCTOBER 12, 2021 AT 6:13 AM
VERY USEFUL
Reply
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02/05/2022, 14:15 Difference Between Leading and Lagging Power Factor (with Comparison Chart) - Circuit Globe

Difference Between Leading and Lagging Power

What is power factor?

The power factor is a crucial property of AC electrical systems. It is

i.e., the apparent power isSET

not solely utilized by the circuit. And the actually

Solar Design Software

The power factor of ac circuits with linear loads lies between -1 to 1.

Content: Leading Vs Lagging Power Factor

Basic The load current leads There is a phase difference

Nature of Capacitive Inductive

Correction By the addition of By adding capacitive load.

Value Exists between -1 to Exists between 0 and 1.

Reactive Negative Positive

Examples Capacitive load:

of Electrical motors, Power generator, inductor, relays,

Solar Design Software

Definition of Leading Power Factor

The leading power factor in an ac electrical circuit is attained by the use of

As it is clear from the above

figure that current, I encounter the 0 crossings

Definition of Lagging Power Factor

In ac circuits lagging power factor, is achieved when the load is inductive in

Let us consider the waveforms of supplied voltage to an ac circuit and the

Here the current encounters

the 0 crossings at some phase after the

Key Differences between Leading and Lagging Power

1. The key factor of differentiation between leading and lagging power

2. When the load of the linear electrical network is capacitive in nature

3. In the case of leading power factor, the phase angle of current is

4. As the power factor is a crucial parameter of ac electrical circuits

loads. Whereas theSET

Solar Design Software

5. Active, Reactive and SET

9 thoughts on “Difference Between Leading and Lagging Power Factor”

Good article, especially for students learning the basic principles of

easy to understand and very useful.

tq for the content

Thank you the article was useful

Love the table. Very informative!

Thank you, very clearly explained, appreciate it.

Thank you very much it was very clear and helpful

Save my name, email,SET

MOST SEARCHED TERMS

Star Delta Starter

Peak Value, Average Value and RMS Value

Active, Reactive and Apparent Power

Electrical Bus-Bar and its Types

Emf Equation of a DC Generator

Two Wattmeter Method of Power Measurement

Eddy Current Loss

Solar Design Software

RLC Series Circuit

Electromagnetic Flow Meter

Difference Between Charge and Mass

Dispersion in Optical Fiber

Total Internal Reflection (TIR)

Difference Between USB-A and USB-C

Optical Fiber Communication

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