in electric power transmission and distribution, volt-ampere reactive (var) is a unit in which reactive power is expressed in an ac electric power system. reactive power exists in an ac circuit when the current and voltage are not in phase. the correct symbol is var and not var, var, or var,council directive on units of measurements 80/181/eec: "special names for the unit of power: the name voltâampere (symbol âvaâ) when it is used to express the apparent power of alternating electric current, and var (symbol âvarâ) when it is used to express reactive electric power." chapter 1.2.3., p. 6 but all three terms are widely used, and var is widely used throughout the power industry infrastructure. the term var was proposed by the romanian electrical engineer constantin budeanu and introduced in 1930 by the iec in stockholm, which has adopted it as the unit for reactive power. vars may be considered as either the imaginary part of apparent power, or the power flowing into a reactive load, where voltage and current are specified in volts and amperes. the two definitions are equivalent. the unit "var" does not follow the recommended practice of the international system of units, because the quantity the unit var represents is power, and si practice is not to include information about the type of power being measured in the unit name. si brochure, 8th ed.: "just as the quantity symbol should not imply any particular choice of unit, the unit symbol should not be used to provide specific information about the quantity [...]" section 5.3.2. ==reactive power==   a sinusoidally alternating voltage applied to a purely resistive load results in an alternating current that is fully in phase with the voltage. however, in many applications it is common for there to be a reactive component to the system, that is, the system possesses capacitance, inductance, or both. these electrical properties cause the current to change phase with respect to the voltage: capacitance tending the current to lead the voltage in phase, and inductance to lag it. for sinusoid currents and voltages at the same frequency, reactive power in vars is the product of the rms voltage and current, or the apparent power, \mu between the voltage and the current. the reactive power q, (measured in units of vo
Electricity Units_of_power