What’s the difference between kW and kVA?

Now this catches a lot of people out, so be on the lookout! So you’re in the know – some solutions are sold as kVa and others kW. But you can’t compare kilovolt-ampere (kVA) with kilowatts (kW). (Make sure you ask the question because the difference matters!).

kW is the globally standardised unit measurement for real power, while kVA is a unit measurement of apparent power. kVA can be as much as 20% LESS than a kW (yes, you read that right). For example, when you contract a power utilisation of 2KW at NEXTDC you have access to 100% of that power. If you contract power utilisation of 2KvA, given that it’s apparent power which is 20% less than a KW you are left with 1.6kVa of available power. Oops.

Another sticking point is power availability. Many assume that if you buy 2kW or 2KvA of power, 100% of that power is available. Sadly, this is an incorrect assumption as some data centres automatically shift you to the next level of billable power when you hit 80% usage. If your data centre provider enforces power upgrades at 80% usage, or if they sell KvA then do your sums. You’re probably not getting maximum value for money.

The good news is that all NEXTDC solutions are provided in kW and we make 100% of the power contracted available.