Talk:Volt-amperes reactive

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The unit for Reactive power must be written with small characters "var" according the IEC 60027. Most publications use wrong spelling, like VAr, VAR or Var. Multiplication factors follow their own rules like kvar, Mvar, etc.

Robert. 62.92.243.245 11:39, 17 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] VAR or var or Var

Robert is correct. Var is an ordinary word for the unit of reactive power. It is treated just like the units for other electrical quantities such as watt for active power and volt for voltage. Unlike volt, which has an abbreviation, V, there is no abbreviation for var. Another misconception is that VAR is an abbreviation for the unit voltampere reactive. I do not believe there is any such standard unit, although voltampere is a standard unit. Robert is also correct in indicating that the unit is misused in all sorts of technical publications including refereed journals. Since var is a unit not a quantity, it is technically incorrect to say something like "... capacitors produce vars ...". One should say instead that " ... capacitors produce reactive power ...". More information on this subject can be obtained by checking the entry under 'magner' in the IEEE Standard 100 (the standard dictionary). This also gives insight into where the sign on the direction of reactive power came from. Also, note that the IEEE dictionary defines watts as the unit for 'active' power, not 'effective' power. Thus, there is active, reactive, and apparent power.Rcdugan 17:31, 23 June 2007 (UTC)