Power Factor for AC Pumps

[Baldy]

pretty much everything you guys are asking about is all 2nd year electrician apprenticeship. Residental meters measure power, not apparent or reactive power. the meters used on larger commercial and industrial buildings are called demand meters and only charge for true power used until the buildings peak apparent power goes beyond a cirtain point, then they are charged heavily for the extra demand. even if your pump has a pf of 0.5, and pulls 120 va or apparent power (120v*1a), its only using 60w of power, and your only charged for 60w of power. Power companies dont charge residential buildings for apparent power because most of the devices we use have power factor correction to 0.9.