What we buy
Ranges we buy on this page
A transformer nameplate lists kVA, while a plant meter often reports kW. Those numbers describe different parts of the same electrical load. This guide explains the distinction, the effect of power factor, and why transformer buyers ask for both.
For North Carolina plant engineers, facility directors, and demolition crews, the useful starting points are the nameplate, the meter record, and the equipment’s actual service history.
| Phase | kVA | Voltage | Fluid |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1-phase | 10 - 333 kVA | up to 25 kV | Liquid or dry |
| 3-phase | 50 - 20,000 kVA | 115 kV | Liquid or dry |
Who we buy from
Six kinds of seller
- Recyclers
- Electrical contractors
- Equipment dealers
- End users
- Demo contractors
- Distributors
Fast offers
A written offer the same business day, based on your photographs.
Dedicated logistics
Our own crew, trailer and crane, not a brokered haul.
No broker fees
One buyer from first call to cleared pad, with nothing skimmed.
How it works
Six steps from photograph to payment
- 01
Take pictures
Photograph the nameplate, the inside of the cabinet and the tank from both ends. Four frames on a phone are enough to price most units.
- 02
Send them to us
Email or text the photographs with the site address and whether the unit is still energised. We reply the same business day with questions or a number.
- 03
Review the offer
The offer names the unit, the site, the price and the pickup window. It is written, dated and good for thirty days unless the unit changes hands.
- 04
We schedule freight
A crew, a trailer and a crane if the pad needs one. You get the date and the arrival window, and the site does not have to close for it.
- 05
Testing on arrival
Winding resistance, insulation resistance and a turns ratio check, plus oil analysis where the unit is liquid-filled. Results travel with the unit.
- 06
Get paid
Payment is released against the signed bill of sale and the scale ticket, by check or ACH, with the paperwork copy left on site.
What we handle
The parts sellers dread
Rigging
Crane, skates and a route survey for anything that will not roll onto a trailer.
Oil containment
Pans, absorbent and a spill plan before a drain plug is touched.
Bill of sale
A document that clears a lien, a lease or a bankruptcy file, not a handwritten note.
PCB paperwork
Testing and manifesting for pre-1979 oil, handled before the unit moves.
On the ground
The short version
Kilovolt-amperes, or kVA, describe apparent power: voltage multiplied by current, with the appropriate single-phase or three-phase calculation. Kilowatts, or kW, describe real power consumed by the load.
A 500 kVA transformer feeding motors can carry substantial current even when the meter shows considerably less than 500 kW.
Power factor connects the two readings: kW equals kVA multiplied by power factor. At 0.80 power factor, a 500 kVA load represents 400 kW.
The transformer winding still carries the current associated with 500 kVA, so the lower kW reading does not create spare current capacity by itself.
Local reality
Why a seller should care
When Transformer Buyers NC evaluates a used unit, nameplate kVA identifies its rated apparent-power capacity. A plant’s kW record describes how the connected load operated.
Keeping those records separate prevents a 750 kVA pad-mounted transformer from being described as a 750 kW unit on a removal list.
For a hospital facilities director or bankruptcy trustee, an old demand report can help explain service history, but it cannot replace the nameplate. Buyers also need primary and secondary voltage, phase, cooling designation, and condition.
A failed winding matters independently of whether the building ever reached rated kVA.
Around the site
The arithmetic
For single-phase equipment, kVA equals volts multiplied by amperes, divided by 1,000. For a balanced three-phase load, use the square root of three multiplied by line-to-line volts and line amperes, divided by 1,000.
A 480-volt, three-phase load drawing 600 amperes is approximately 499 kVA at that operating point.
Multiply that 499 kVA by 0.90 power factor to obtain approximately 449 kW. To work backward, divide kW by power factor: 400 kW at 0.80 equals 500 kVA.
Use readings from the same interval; combining yesterday’s peak kW with today’s power factor can produce a misleading load estimate.
Where it sits
Where people go wrong
A common error is treating kVA and kW as interchangeable because both appear on electrical paperwork. Another is assuming that a 300 kW reading means a 500 kVA transformer is only 60 percent loaded.
Without the corresponding power factor, that calculation does not establish the actual apparent-power loading.
Nonlinear loads create another trap. Variable-frequency drives and UPS equipment can draw harmonic current, increasing winding heating without a matching increase in useful kW.
For distorted waveforms, displacement power factor alone is insufficient; use true power factor and suitable meter data when reviewing the transformer’s recorded service conditions.
On the ground
Value impact
For a buyer, accurate kVA information affects the equipment’s usefulness, not just its description. Two 1,000 kVA transformers may have different applications if one has a 480Y/277-volt secondary and the other has a 208Y/120-volt secondary.
A building’s kW demand cannot resolve that mismatch or identify the winding connection.
Condition records give the load numbers context. Sustained current above the nameplate rating can contribute to overheating, while a radiator leak or failed cooling fan can restrict heat removal.
Neither a low monthly kW peak nor a favorable power factor proves that insulation, bushings, and gaskets remain serviceable.
Local reality
Your next move
Photograph the complete nameplate before the transformer leaves its pad. Record kVA, primary voltage, secondary voltage, phase, impedance, and cooling designation exactly as marked.
If the plate lists multiple ratings, preserve each rating and its cooling condition rather than reducing the equipment to a single unexplained capacity number.
Gather interval kW, kVA, and power-factor records if they exist, along with test reports and notes about trips or overheating. Mark missing information as unknown.
For a North Carolina removal, keep these documents with the unit identification so the buyer can distinguish rated capacity from measured load and condition.
Get started
Get an offer in minutes
Five fields is all it takes. Photographs help, but a nameplate and a town are enough to start.
No fee, no obligation. We reply the same business day.
Tell us what you have
We reply the same business day.
Questions
Straight answers
Equipment types
Why is a transformer rated in kVA?
A transformer’s voltage and current limits govern its rating, while the connected load determines power factor. The nameplate therefore uses kVA rather than assuming a particular kW output. A 500 kVA unit can serve different real-power loads without changing its marked apparent-power rating.
Service area
Can I convert kW to kVA without power factor?
Not reliably. Divide kW by the corresponding true power factor to calculate kVA. For example, 360 kW at 0.90 power factor equals 400 kVA. If the plant report omits power factor, provide the original report rather than labeling its kW reading as transformer capacity.
Payment
Does low kW demand prove a transformer is healthy?
No. A low kW reading does not rule out high apparent-power loading, harmonic heating, or an existing insulation fault. Buyers review nameplate data alongside condition records.
Logistics
Value impact: what should a seller know?
For a buyer, accurate kVA information affects the equipment’s usefulness, not just its description. Two 1,000 kVA transformers may have different applications if one has a 480Y/277-volt secondary and the other has a 208Y/120-volt secondary.