What is the effective value of an AC voltage or current known as?

The effective value of an AC voltage or current is known as the RMS (Root Mean Square) Value. This is a crucial concept in electrical engineering because the RMS value provides a measure of the effective power delivery of the alternating current compared to a direct current (DC) circuit. When working with AC, voltages and currents vary sinusoidally, and the RMS value is calculated to enable comparisons and calculations that are directly analogous to DC systems.

The RMS value represents the equivalent direct current that would deliver the same amount of power to a load. This means that if you know the RMS voltage, you can reliably calculate the power consumed by an electrical device when running on AC. In practical terms, for a sinusoidal waveform, the RMS value is about 0.707 times the peak value, giving a straightforward way to convert between these two measurements.

In contrast, the peak value represents the maximum instantaneous value of the AC voltage or current, while the average value refers to the average over a full cycle, which generally does not reflect the effective power. Apparent value typically relates to the combined effects of voltage and current in a circuit, indicating its total power but not the effective power delivery as the RMS value does. Thus, the RMS value is the relevant