Load Characteristics

Demand - “The demand of an installation or system is the load at the receiving terminals
averaged over a specified interval of time” . Here, the load may be given in kilowatts,
kilovars, kilovoltamperes, kiloamperes, or amperes.
- The average value of power or a related quantity over a specified interval of time.
Demand is expressed in kilowatts, kilovolt-amperes, kilovars, or other suitable units.

Demand interval - It is the period over which the load is averaged. This selected ∆t period
may be 15 min, 30 min, 1 h, or even longer. Of course, there may be situations where the 15
and 30 min demands are identical.

Demand Forecast- An estimate of the future system peak Demand expressed in kW or MW of

a particular Connection Point in the Distribution System.

Maximum demand-“The maximum demand of an installation or system is the greatest of all

demands which have occurred during the specified period of time” . The maximum demand
statement should also express the demand interval used to measure it. For example, the
specific demand might be the maximum of all demands such as daily, weekly, monthly, or
annual.
Large Customer - A Customer with a demand of at least 1 MW or the threshold value
specified by the ERC. Threshold value other than one 1 MW shall be reported by the
Distribution Utility to the ERC within 60 days from the effectivity of the revised Philippine
Distribution Code.

Load - An entity or an electrical equipment that consumes or draws electrical energy.

End-User. - Any person or entity requiring the supply and delivery of electricity for its own
use.

Meter- A device, which measures and records the consumption or production of electricity.
 Load Data
Time Load in kW
0:00-1:00 200
1:00-2:00 200
2:00-3:00 200
3:00-4:00 300
4:00-5:00 400
5:00-6:00 500
6:00-7:00 600
7:00-8:00 600
8:00-9:00 800
9:00-10:00 1000
10:00-11:00 1000
11:00-12:00 900
12:00-13:00 800
13:00-14:00 1000
14:00-15:00 1000
15:00-16:00 1200
Time Load in kW
16:00-17:00 1300
17:00-18:00 1500
18:00-19:00 1700
19:00-20:00 1800
20:00-21:00 1800
21:00-22:00 1600
22:00-23:00 800
23:00-24:00 400
 Daily Load Curve
2000

1800

1600

1400

1200

1000

800

600

400

200

0
Time
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
 Load Duration Data
Duration(hrs.) Load in kW
2 1800
3 1700
4 1600
5 1500
6 1300
7 1200
11 1000
12 900
15 800
17 600
18 500
20 400
21 300
24 200
 Load Duration Curve
2000

1800

1600

1400

1200

1000

800

600

400

200

0
Time
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
-Load curve decides the installed capacity of the power station and the economical sizes of
the various generating units.
-The load curves allow also to estimate the generating cost, and to decide the operating
schedule of the power stations.
-To evaluate the reliability of the generating units, the load demand that persists for
particular duration should be known. For that we need the load duration curve.
Diversified demand (or coincident demand)- It is the demand of the composite group, as a
whole, of somewhat unrelated loads over a specified period of time. The maximum
diversified demand has an importance. It is the maximum sum of the contributions of the
individual demands to the diversified demand over a specific time interval.

Demand Factor- ratio of the sum of the maximum demand of a system to the total connected
load

Utilization factor-It is “the ratio of the maximum demand of a system to the rated capacity of
the system” . Therefore, the utilization factor (Fu) is
Plant factor- It is the ratio of the total actual energy produced or served over a designated
period of time to the energy that would have been produced or served if the plant (or unit)
had operated continuously at maximum rating. It is also known as the Plant capacity factor
or the Plant utilization factor.
Load factor- It is “the ratio of the average load over a designated period of time to the peak
load occurring on that period”. Therefore, the load factor FLD is average load:
Diversity factor- It is “the ratio of the sum of the individual maximum demands of the
various subdivisions of a system to the maximum demand of the whole system” . Therefore,
the diversity factor (FD) is
Coincidence factor- It is “the ratio of the maximum coincident total demand of a group of
consumers to the sum of the maximum power demands of individual consumers comprising
the group both taken at the same point of supply for the same time”. Therefore, the
coincidence factor (Fc) is
Load diversity- It is “the difference between the sum of the peaks of two or more individual
loads and the peak of the combined load” . Therefore, the load diversity (LD) is
Contribution factor- defines ci as “the contribution factor of the ith load to the group
maximum demand.” It is given in per unit of the individual maximum demand of the ith load.
Therefore,
Loss factor- It is “the ratio of the average power loss to the peak-load power loss during a
specified period of time” .Therefore, the loss factor (FLS) is
EXAMPLES
 Typical Daily Load in kW
Time Street Lighting Residential Commercial
0:00 AM-1:00 AM 100 200 200
1-2 100 200 200
2-3 100 200 200
3-4 100 200 200
4-5 100 200 200
5-6 100 200 200
6-7 100 200 200
7-8 100 300 200
8-9 400 300
9-10 500 500
10-11 500 500
11-12 500 1000
12 Noon-1 500 1000
Time Street Lighting Residential Commercial
1-2 500 1200
2-3 500 1200
3-4 500 1200
4-5 500 1200
5-6 600 800
6-7 100 700 400
7-8 100 1000 400
8-9 100 1000 200
9-10 100 1000 200
10-11 100 600 200
11-12 100 600 200
12 PM- 100 600 200
An oversized motor-15kW-drives a constant 12 kW load whenever it is on. However the
motor is only used for 8hrs./day, 50 weeks/year. Determine the Utilization Factor or Use
Factor.
Using a large commercial building that electrical bill indicates that it has a peak demand of
436 kW and the energy used is 57200 kWh in the span of 30 days. Determine its load factor.
Calculate the size of a main feeder from substation switchgear that is supplying five feeders
with connected loads of 400,350,300,250 & 200 kilovolt-ampere (kVA) with demand factor
of 95, 90, 85, 80 & 75 percent respectively. Use a diversity factor of 1.5.
A 5 stories apartment building with 25 consumers each having 6 kVA of installed loads is
shown in this figure. Given the diversity factor table, determine the apparent-power supply
required for the building. If the feeders are 3-phase 400 V line voltage, determine the
magnitude of currents in different sections of the common main feeder supplying each
floors.

Number of Consumers Diversity Factor

6 consumers 2-4 1
5-9 1.28
4 consumers 10-14 1.59
15-19 1.89
5 consumers 20-24 2.04
25-29 2.17
6 consumers 30-34 2.27
35-39 2.38
4 consumers 40-49 2.44
50 & More 2.63
Assume that the annual peak load of a primary feeder is 2000 kW, at which the power loss,
that is, total copper, or ∑ I2R loss, is 80 kW per three phase. Assuming an annual loss factor
of 0.15, determine:
a. The average annual power loss
b. The total annual energy loss due to the copper losses of the feeder circuits
There are six residential customers connected to a distribution transformer (DT), as shown
in Figure. Notice the code in the customer account number, for example, 4276. The first
figure, 4, stands for feeder F4; the second figure, 2, indicates the lateral number connected to
the F4 feeder; the third figure, 7, is for the DT on that lateral; and finally the last figure, 6, is
for the house number connected to that DT. Assume that the connected load is 9 kW per
house and that the DF and diversity factor for the group of six houses, either from the
distribution utility records or from the relevant handbooks, have been decided as 0.65 and
1.10, respectively. Determine the diversified demand of the group of six houses on the DT
DT427.
Assume that feeder 4 of last example has a system peak of 3000 kVA per phase and a copper
loss of 0.5% at the system peak. Determine the following:
a. The copper loss of the feeder in kilowatts per phase
b. The total copper losses of the feeder in kilowatts per three phase
Assume that there are two primary feeders supplied by one of the three transformers
located at the distribution substation, as shown in Figure. One of the feeders supplies an
industrial load that occurs primarily between 8 AM and 11 PM, with a peak of 2000 kW at 5
PM. The other one feeds residential loads that occur mainly between 6 AM and 12 PM, with a
peak of 2000 kW at 9 PM with the system peak load at 3000 kW. Determine the following:
a. The diversity factor of the load connected to transformer T3
b. The load diversity of the load connected to transformer T3
c. The coincidence factor of the load connected to transformer T3
 Typical Daily Load in kW
Time Street Lighting Residential Commercial
0:00 AM-1:00 AM 100 200 200
1-2 100 200 200
2-3 100 200 200
3-4 100 200 200
4-5 100 200 200
5-6 100 200 200
6-7 100 200 200
7-8 100 300 200
8-9 400 300
9-10 500 500
10-11 500 500
11-12 500 1000
12 Noon-1 500 1000
Time Street Lighting Residential Commercial
1-2 500 1200
2-3 500 1200
3-4 500 1200
4-5 600 1200
5-6 100 600 800
6-7 100 700 400
7-8 100 1000 400
8-9 100 1000 200
9-10 100 1000 200
10-11 100 600 200
11-12 100 600 200
12 PM- 100 600 200
From the given data in the previous example. Determine:
a. The class contribution factors for each of the three load classes
b. The diversity factor for the primary feeder
c. The diversified maximum demand of the load group
d. The coincidence factor of the load group
Relationship Between the
Load Factor & Loss Factor
 𝑃𝑎𝑣
The Load Factor can be determined by FLD =
𝑃𝑚𝑎𝑥
Where in FLD = Load Factor, Pav = Average Power, Pmax = Maximum Power

𝑃 𝐿 𝑆 𝑎𝑣
The Loss Factor can be determined by FLS = . ,
𝑃 𝐿𝑆 𝑚𝑎𝑥
,
Wherein FLs = Loss Factor, PLSav = Average Power Power Loss, PLSmax = Maximum Power
Loss

Approximate Formula to relate Loss Factor and Load Factor

For Urban Areas : FLS=0.3FLD + 0.7FLD2

For Rural Areas: FLS=0.16FLD + 0.84FLD2

EXAMPLES
The average load factor of a substation is 0.65. Determine the average loss factor of its
feeders, if the substation services
a. An urban area
b. A rural area
Assume that the Riverside distribution substation of the NL&NP Company supplying Ghost
Town, which is a small city, experiences an annual peak load of 3500 kW. The total annual
energy supplied to the primary feeder circuits is 10,000,000 kWh. The peak demand occurs
in July or August and is due to air-conditioning load.
a. Find the annual average power demand.
b. Find the annual load factor.
Use the data given in the last example and suppose that a new load of 100 kW with 100%
annual load factor is to be supplied from the Riverside substation. The investment cost, or
capacity cost, of the power system upstream, that is, toward the generator, from this
substation is $18.00/kW per month. Assume that the energy delivered to these primary
feeders costs the supplier, that is, NL&NP, $0.06/kWh.
a. Find the new annual load factor on the substation.
b. Find the total annual cost to NL&NP to serve this load.
Assume that the annual peak-load input to a primary feeder is 2000 kW. A computer
program that calculates voltage drops and I 2R losses shows that the total copper loss at the
time of peak load is I R2 ∑ = 1 kW. 00 The total annual energy supplied to the sending end of
the feeder is 5.61 × 106 kWh.
a. Determine the annual loss factor.
b. Calculate the total annual copper loss energy and its value at $0.06/kWh
Assume that one of the DTs of the Riverside substation supplies three primary feeders. The
30 min annual maximum demands per feeder are listed in the following table, together with
the power factor (PF) at the time of annual peak load.
Feeder Demand( kW) Power Factor
1 1800 0.95
2 2000 0.85
3 2200 0.9

a. Calculate the 30 min annual maximum demand on the substation transformer in

kilowatts and in kilovoltamperes.
b. Find the load diversity in kilowatts.
c. Select a suitable substation transformer size if zero load growth is expected and if
company policy permits as much as 25% short-time overloads on the distribution
substation transformers. Among the standard three-phase (3ϕ) transformer sizes
available are the following: 2500/3125 kVA self-cooled/forced-air-cooled 3750/4687
kVA self-cooled/forced-air-cooled 5000/6250 kVA self-cooled/forced-air-cooled
7500/9375 kVA self-cooled/forced-air-cooled