Concept
Active power
- ID
concept:active-power
- IRI
https://solarlattice.org/kb/concept/active-power
- Status
- active
- Also known as
- real power, kW
- Category
- Grid
- Concept kind
- electrical
Active power, also called real power, is the part of AC power that actually does work. It is measured in watts. Inverters, battery inverters and monitoring platforms usually show active power in kW, for example for the utility grid, a generator, an external source or the loads. The nameplate active power rating of a DER is the active power rating in watts at unity power factor. Inverters also have a nominal maximum value that caps the active power at their output. Inverters and battery systems can reduce active power on command, as a percentage of rated maximum power or of nameplate maximum real power. Grid support modes can also change active power with grid voltage (Volt-Watt, P(V)) or with grid frequency (Frequency-Watt, P(f)). In battery-backup systems, the PV inverters must be able to control their active power according to frequency. Active power is separate from reactive power, which monitoring tables list in kVAr, and inverters provide separate control modes for each.
<!-- review notes
- sentence 1: support check: partial - The passages say active power is in watts and mention real power, but not that it is the part of AC power that does work.
- sentence 1: review: partial - The passages back 'active power in watts' and use 'real power' for the same quantity, but none says active power is the part of AC power that does work.
-->
Claims
related_to
c1 drafted · lead
Reactive power
Monitoring tables list active power in kW next to reactive power in kVAr; inverters offer separate active and reactive power control modes.
c2 drafted · lead
Limit maximum active power
Active power can be capped as a percentage of Pmax or of nameplate maximum real power.
c3 drafted · lead
Volt-Watt
P(V): exported active power set as a function of grid voltage.
c4 verified · fact
Frequency-Watt
P(f): active power limited as a function of grid frequency; required for PV inverters in battery-backup systems.
verified by: review-workflowverified on: 2026-10-24
c5 drafted · lead
Active power setpoint proposed
- 275857
tbl=1.r22 h=f57920f108ac
- 275857
tbl=34 h=e87a57b6d054
review note: support check: partial - The passages only have a table-of-contents entry 'Active Power Setpoint' and external active power setting objects, so a relation is implied but little is stated.
c6 drafted · lead
Nameplate rating
The nameplate active power rating is defined in watts at unity power factor.
c7 drafted · lead
Curtailment
Active power curtailment sets a new active power value as a percentage of Pmax.
Referenced by
Data