Comparison of power definitions for reactive power compensation in nonsinusoidal conditions

Since the beginning of the power systems, harmonic distortion have been existed due to nonlinear equipments such as; generators, transformers motors etc. Moreover, harmonic pollution on power systems has dramatically increased in parallel with large proliferation of power electronic devices. Consequently, the reactive power compensation in nonsinusoidal conditions became one of the most important problems in power systems. This paper presents a comparison on widely accepted power definitions in a simple single phase circuits with nonsinusoidal waveforms of voltage and/or currents by giving particular emphasis to the reactive power compensation.