When calculating the total apparent power in a single-phase circuit, do you add the results of each apparent power in the branches or do use this equation S= V ITotal and the result of that is your total apparent power.Thanks in advance

 

When calculating the total apparent power in a single-phase circuit, do you add the results of each apparent power in the branches or do use this equation S= V ITotal and the result of that is your total apparent power.Thanks in advance

S= V ITotal and the result of that is your total apparent power

because the current in each branch may be not in phase with the current in the other branch so you cant just add the currents without caring about their face. So one way to do it is to calculate the total current by adding each branch's current but take into account their face difference or just measure the total current flowing in the circuit.