Ebizinstudy

What is the meaning of kva?
Physics
The simple answer if there is one: kVA is an acronym that stands for kilovolt-ampere. It is the product of the volts multiplied by the amps in a circuit. The little "k" in front means the number is in "thousands". For example, when someone says 13 kVA, they are saying 13,000 Volt-Amperes.

Although not exactly correct -- this is very similar to about 13,000 Watts. kVA is a term used when referring to the "apparent power" in an AC circuit, which is a combination of "real power" and "reactive power". Apparent Power is usually in units of kVA or VA.

For most people, although not exactly correct -- it is easier to think of kVA, as just "kW". I will try to explain some detail, but unless you understand, voltage, current, cosine, and phase angles, it will get confusing. Just think of kVA as kW, which is 1000's of Watts. In common terms, your bathroom hairdryer might be 1500 Watts. That equals 1.5 kW, which is just about 1.5 kVA as well. Your toaster is about 1000 Watts, which is 1 kW, which is about 1 kVA as well.

In more technical detail:
The "kVA" and "Apparent Power" takes into account both the "Real Power" (in kW), and the "Reactive Power" (which is measured in kVAR). Usually we use just kW in normal end-uses, but the Reactive Power (kVAR) comes into use when there is a magnetizing force needed, such as in motor loads, when the motor needs to magnetize its iron core to operate. The "kVA" multiplied by the "Power Factor" is equal to the "kW", or Real Power being used. The Power Factor is just the Cosine of the phase angle difference between the Voltage and Current phase angles. It can get confusing with more detail.

kW = kVA x (Power Factor)

KVA is essentially "KiloVolt-Amps" , and refers to the product of the current and the voltage in an AC circuit, without regard to the actual phase angle between the current and voltage. If the current and voltage are perfectly in phase, then it has a Power Factor = 1.0, -- then KVA is equal to the power in KiloWatts (KW). If the current and voltage are somewhat out of phase, then the kVA and kW will be different, with the kVA always being the larger number.