MVA (Megavolt-Ampere)

MVA (megavolt-ampere) is the unit of apparent power, the product of voltage and current, used to size transformers, substations and grid connections. MW, by contrast, measures the real power that does useful work. The two are linked by power factor: MW = MVA × power factor, so a 100 MVA connection at 0.95 delivers about 95 MW. Data center developers often quote grid capacity in MVA, which can look larger than the IT capacity they will deliver, because cooling, power-conversion losses and redundancy consume part of the supply. For example, BDx cited 845 MVA of grid supply for a campus it markets at 640 MW. When comparing announcements, check whether a figure is grid MVA, utility-supplied MW, or critical IT MW.