Is reactive power greater than true power?

Use a wattmeter, as it only reads 'real power' of your load. Use an ammeter and a voltmeter, and the product of the two readings will give you 'apparent power' of your load. Since apparent power is the vector sum of real power and reactive power, use the following equation to find the reactive power of your load: (reactive power)2 = (apparent power)2 - (real power)2