Does reactive power produce heat?

Reactive power itself does not produce heat. It is the component of electrical power that oscillates between the source and the load and does not contribute to the real power that performs useful work. Reactive power is primarily associated with the energy storage in inductors and capacitors.

When current and voltage are out of phase in an AC circuit, reactive power circulates back and forth without being consumed in the form of heat or useful work. While reactive components can cause heat indirectly due to losses in resistive elements of the circuit (like the copper wire that has resistance), the reactive power itself does not generate or dissipate thermal energy in the same way that real power does.

In contrast, real power is responsible for doing work and generating heat in resistive loads. Therefore, the nature of reactive power being non-productive in terms of heat generation illustrates why the answer indicating it does not produce heat is correct.