How are capacitors primarily rated?

Capacitors are primarily rated in KVAR, which stands for Kilo Volt Amperes Reactive. This measurement quantifies the reactive power that capacitors provide in an electrical system. Reactance is a property associated with capacitors and inductors that opposes changes in current and voltage; capacitors specifically store and release energy in the form of an electric field.

When capacitors are connected to an AC power system, they help manage the power factor by supplying reactive power, which can improve the efficiency of the power system and reduce energy losses. KVAR directly reflects the amount of reactive power that these devices can handle, making it a crucial rating for evaluating their performance in power systems.

Other ratings, such as KVA and KW, refer to different aspects of electrical power. KVA is a measure of apparent power, which includes both active (real) power and reactive power. KW measures active power, which is the power consumed or converted into useful work. MVAr represents a larger scale of reactive power than KVAR but is not the primary rating for most standard capacitor applications. Thus, KVAR is the most applicable measurement when discussing the rating of capacitors.