Enter line voltage, line current, and power factor for a balanced three-phase system. FigureDesk calculates total power and the per-phase voltage and current for either a wye (star) or delta configuration.
Your numbers
Leave blank to assume 1.0 (purely resistive).
Result
Total real power
37412.297 W
Given V_line = 480 V, I_line = 50 A, PF = 0.9 → P = √3 × V_line × I_line × PF = 37412.297443 W
A balanced three-phase system's total power depends only on line voltage, line current, and power factor — the same formula regardless of whether the load is wired wye or delta. What differs between the two is the relationship between line and phase quantities: in a wye connection, phase voltage is line voltage divided by √3 and phase current equals line current; in a delta connection, phase voltage equals line voltage and phase current is line current divided by √3. This is the part of three-phase math that actually causes confusion, so this calculator shows both together.
P = √3 × Vline × Iline × PF
Wye: Vphase = Vline / √3, Iphase = Iline
Delta: Vphase = Vline, Iphase = Iline / √3
A 480 V line, 50 A line current, 0.9 power factor, wye-connected:
Wye (star) connects each phase winding between a line and a shared neutral point, giving a lower line-to-neutral (phase) voltage than the line-to-line voltage — this is why residential and commercial services often distribute both 120V and 208V from the same wye system. Delta connects windings directly between pairs of lines, so line and phase voltage are equal, but phase current is lower than line current.
Watts to Amps converts between total power and line current for a three-phase system in one direction, using the same underlying formula. This calculator goes further: it reports the full power breakdown (real, apparent, reactive) together with the per-phase voltage and current for whichever configuration — wye or delta — your system is actually wired in.
Power factor is the ratio of real power (what does useful work) to apparent power (what the source has to supply). Leaving it at the default 1.0 assumes a purely resistive load; motors, transformers, and many other three-phase loads run lower — check the equipment's nameplate, or use the Power Factor Calculator if you have a real and apparent power reading instead.
Reactive power is the portion of apparent power that does not do useful work — it's drawn to build the electric and magnetic fields that transformers, motors, and other inductive equipment need to operate. It's calculated here from the real and apparent power you've entered (or that follow from your power factor).
A faster path from power to current when you only need the line-level conversion.
Don't know your power factor? Calculate it from a real-power and apparent-power reading.
Convert between apparent power (kVA) and real power (kW) directly if you already have a power factor.
FigureDesk results are advisory and do not replace a licensed electrician, a qualified engineer, or the applicable local electrical code. Verify any electrical work against your local code and with a qualified professional before relying on it.