Which statement about capacitors and power factor is true?

Which statement about capacitors and power factor is true?

• A. Capacitors absorb leading current to worsen the power factor.
• B. Capacitors supply leading current to offset lagging current, improving power factor.
• C. Capacitors store energy as heat.
• D. Capacitors remove all reactive power from the circuit.

Answer: (B)

Power factor measures how much of the current is used for real work versus reactive, and inductive loads make current lag the voltage, lowering the power factor. A capacitor provides reactive current that leads the voltage, so when capacitors are added to the circuit, they offset the lagging reactive current from inductive loads. This cancellation reduces the overall reactive power and pulls the voltage and current closer together in phase, improving the power factor toward unity. Capacitors store energy in an electric field, not as heat, and they don’t remove all reactive power from the circuit—proper sizing can improve the factor, but some reactive power can remain depending on the loads.

Power factor measures how much of the current is used for real work versus reactive, and inductive loads make current lag the voltage, lowering the power factor. A capacitor provides reactive current that leads the voltage, so when capacitors are added to the circuit, they offset the lagging reactive current from inductive loads. This cancellation reduces the overall reactive power and pulls the voltage and current closer together in phase, improving the power factor toward unity. Capacitors store energy in an electric field, not as heat, and they don’t remove all reactive power from the circuit—proper sizing can improve the factor, but some reactive power can remain depending on the loads.