# Find the maximum power

Determine the positive maximum power p (t), for the load connected to the voltage 230 V. The power consumption was 1350 W and the power factor was 0.85.

People have put this on hold because they said I did not try to solve it myself, I did but I did not write what I was doing because It led me to the wrong answer.

So I am gonna try again: P = 1350 W

I know that power is a sine function so my initial thought is that giving me voltage and power factor is nothing more than trying to trick me.

I tried to solve it like this:

I know that $$\p(t) = P\sqrt2sin(wt+φ)\$$ so positive maximum should be $$\P\sqrt2\$$ which gives me 1909 but that answer is wrong.

after that I tried to find apparent power $$\ S = \frac{1350}{0.85} = 1588\$$ and multiply that with $$\\sqrt2\$$ and that would give me 2246 VA. (But that is also incorrect). The correct solution is 2938 W, and don't know why is that solution and not what i firstly tried

Any help is greatly appreciated

• I think the task quoted is pretty strange, but I have an interpretation to try. I will be back later. – Charles Cowie Aug 4 '19 at 23:16
• @CharlesCowie Okay I'll be waiting :) – Gustav Robert Kirchhoff Aug 4 '19 at 23:55
• @HarrySvensson When current and voltage are not in phase, power goes negative for part of the cycle. Therefore to get the required average power the peak positive power must be higher. In this example the average power is specified as 1350W, so 'lower power at lower power factor' doesn't apply. – Bruce Abbott Aug 5 '19 at 0:05