Another name for the effective value of an alternating current is what?

The effective value of an alternating current (AC) is known as the root mean square (RMS) value. This is a significant concept in electrical engineering because the RMS value represents the equivalent direct current (DC) value that would produce the same amount of heat in a resistive load.

For AC systems, the current and voltage levels fluctuate over time, so simply averaging these values wouldn't accurately reflect their impact on power consumption or heating in resistive materials. The RMS calculation takes into account the square of the instantaneous values, averages those squares, and then takes the square root of that average, providing a more accurate representation of effective power.

Other terms like peak value refer to the maximum value reached by the current or voltage in a cycle, while average value is the arithmetic mean of all values over a full cycle, which doesn’t reflect the actual energy delivered to a load. Instantaneous value pertains to the value of the current or voltage at a specific moment in time, which likewise doesn’t provide a comprehensive picture for practical applications in power calculations.