You have most likely noticed on every piece of electrical equipment that you see or use, they will always indicate their respective power rating. You may have also noticed that some equipment rate their power in KW, or Kilowatts, and some may be expressed in KVA is known as 'real power'. KW is simply the amount of actual power that does the job. Only a percentage of KVA is accesible to do work, the balance is excess current.

Determining the KW (real power) requires another variable called the Power Factor (PF). The so-called Power Factor is a nebulous value that can very for every electrical device. The Power Factor for a generator is figured at 0.8 and the relationship between the three (KVA, KW and the Power Factor) is described as: KW = KVA x .8 Power Factor.

The ampere table to the right is a simple and easy to understan chart that you can use to determine the difference between KVA or KW and relate that to the amount of amperes that generator will produce. If you would like to have one of these quick and easy tables to carry with you, please let us know and we will be happy to send you one