Power Factor
A measure of how efficiently electrical power is being used, expressed as a ratio between 0 and 1 (or 0–100%). A power factor of 1.0 (unity) means all supplied power is consumed as useful work. Inductive loads — motors, compressors, HVAC units — draw reactive power and reduce power factor below 1.0. For microgrid sizing, real (useful) power in kW and apparent power in kVA must both be considered. An inverter or generator rated at 10 kVA may only deliver 8 kW at 0.8 power factor. Estate-scale microgrids account for power factor in both generation and storage sizing.
Related Terms
The pattern of electricity consumption across a property over time — how much power is drawn by which loads, at which times of day and year. Load profiling is the foundation of microgrid design: battery sizing, generator sizing, and solar sizing all derive from the actual load profile of the specific property. Generic 'average home' sizing is inadequate for large estates with HVAC, EV charging, pools, and other high-draw systems.
A power electronics device that converts DC (direct current) electricity — from solar panels or batteries — to AC (alternating current) electricity that home circuits use. In a microgrid, inverters are bidirectional: they can also convert AC grid power to DC to charge batteries (operating as a rectifier). Inverter capacity sets the maximum AC output a battery system can deliver. A 10 kW inverter can sustain 10 kW of continuous AC output regardless of how large the battery bank is. Inverter selection is a critical engineering decision — residential microgrids typically use multi-mode inverters capable of grid-tied and off-grid operation simultaneously.
Everything Stays On.
Customer-sited generation + energy storage + backup generation + intelligent controls = whole-property power continuity.
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