Demystifying Active PFC: Why Global Commercial Lighting Projects Require PF > 0.95 LED Drivers
Active PFC (Power Factor Correction) is a boost-converter circuit inside an LED driver that actively shapes input current into a near-perfect sine wave aligned with voltage, achieving a power factor (PF) of 0.95 or higher. Global commercial lighting projects require PF > 0.95 because regulations like IEC 61000-3-2 (Class C), DLC Premium, and GCC utility codes mandate it for loads above 25W — and because low PF inflates kVA demand, triggers utility penalties, and reduces usable electrical capacity in large-scale deployments.