Load Characteristics

Lecture Notes by Dr.R.M.Larik 1

 Types of Loads
A device which taps electrical energy from the electric power system is called a load on the system. The load may be resistive (e.g., electric
lamp), inductive (e.g., induction motor), capacitive or some combination of them. The various types of loads on the power system are :
• (i) Domestic load. Domestic load consists of lights, fans, refrigerators, heaters, television, small motors for pumping water etc. Most of
the residential load occurs only for some hours during the day (i.e., 24 hours) e.g., lighting load occurs during night time and domestic
appliance load occurs for only a few hours. For this reason, the load factor is low (10% to 12%).
• (ii) Commercial load. Commercial load consists of lighting for shops, fans and electric appliances used in restaurants etc. This class of
load occurs for more hours during the day as compared to the domestic load. The commercial load has seasonal variations due to the
extensive use of air conditioners and space heaters.
• (iii) Industrial load. Industrial load consists of load demand by industries. The magnitude of industrial load depends upon the type of
industry. Thus small scale industry requires load upto 25 kW, medium scale industry between 25kW and 100 kW and large-scale
industry requires load above 500 kW. Industrial loads are generally not weather dependent.
• (iv) Municipal load. Municipal load consists of street lighting, power required for water supply and drainage purposes. Street lighting
load is practically constant throughout the hours of the night. For water supply, water is pumped to overhead tanks by pumps driven by
electric motors. Pumping is carried out during the off-peak period, usually occurring during the night. This helps to improve the load
factor of the power system.
• (v) Irrigation load. This type of load is the electric power needed for pumps driven by motors to supply water to fields. Generally this
type of load is supplied for 12 hours during night.
• (vi) Traction load. This type of load includes tram cars, trolley buses, railways etc. This class of load has wide variation. During the
morning hour, it reaches peak value because people have to go to their work place. After morning hours, the load starts decreasing and
again rises during evening since the people start coming to their homes.

Lecture Notes by Dr.R.M.Larik 2

 Load Calculations and Load Prediction
In load calculation, it is first necessary to find out the load requirements of the area
where electricity need to be supplied. This depends on several factors including
• nature of the area,
• the population of the town or society under consideration,
• the density of the population,
• the living standard of the people in the locality,
• industrial development in the area and
• the cost of electricity.
• Understanding nature of load and variation in load (daily, monthly and yearly
basis).
• In load prediction, detailed statistics methods are required for load forecasting.

Lecture Notes by Dr.R.M.Larik 3

 Important terms and Factors
In order to describe the changing load, the following terms are defined:
1.Demand
2.Maximum Demand
3.Average Demand
4.Diversified Demand
7.Demand Factor
8.Utilization Factor
9.Load Factor
10.Diversity Factor
11.Load Diversity
12.Plant Factor

Lecture Notes by Dr.R.M.Larik 4

 Base Load and Peak Load on Power Station
• The changing load on the power station makes its load curve of variable nature. Fig. 3.13. shows the typical
load curve of a power station. It is clear that load on the power station varies from time to time

Base load. The unvarying load which

occurs almosthe whole day on the station
is known as base load.
Peak load. The various peak demands of
load over and above the base load of the
station is known as peak load.

Lecture Notes by Dr.R.M.Larik 5

 BASIC DEFINITIONS
• Connected Load
is the sum of the continuous rating of load consuming apparatus ;TCD
• Demand
of an installation or system is the load at the receiving terminals averaged over a
specified interval of time.
• Demand Interval
is the period over which the load is averaged.
• Maximum Demand
Is the greatest of all demands which have occurred during the specified period of time
• Diversified Demand or (Coincident Demand)
is the demand of the composite group, as a whole of somewhat unrelated loads over a
specified period of time.
Maximum diversified demand is important. Dg
• Non coincident Demand:
The sum of demands of a group of loads with no restriction on the intervals to which each
demand is applicable.
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• Demand factor
is the ratio of the maximum demand of a system, or part of a system, to the
total connected load on the system, or part of the system under
consideration. Demand factor is always less than one.
• DF= max. demand / total connected load
• Utilization Factor
is the ratio of the max. demand of a system to the rated capacity of the
system
• FU = maximum demand / rated system capacity
The utilization factor or use factor is the ratio of the time that a piece of
equipment is in use to the total time that it could be in use. It is often
averaged over time in the definition such that the ratio becomes the
amount of energy used divided by the maximum possible to be used.

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 Plant Factor or Capacity Factor

Load factor and diversity factors do not give any idea about the reserve capacity required in a
generating station. A new term is therefore introduced, i.e. plant capacity factor.
• Plant capacity factor is the ratio of the total energy produced or served over a designated period
of time T 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 plant capacity factor.
If T=8760hrs (a year), plant capacity factor will be termed as annual plant capacity factor.

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 Reserve Capacity

• The difference between the load factor and the capacity factor is an indication of the reserve
capacity installed in the substation.
• Another factor is defined to indicate the actual use that is made of plant and is called plant use
factor.

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 Definitions related to Individual customer Load

Connected load: is the rating (in kilowatts) of the apparatus installed on a consumer’s premises.
Sanctioned Load: The load in kilowatts sanctioned by Utility or power company (KE). Sanctioned
load indicates the load sanctioned for Industrial or domestic customers. This load depends upon
connected load in the system.
Maximum demand is the maximum load which a consumer uses at any time.
• A residential consumer has 10 electric lamps of 40 W each connected at his premises. It is
possible that maximum number of lamps he uses at a time is 9. Find out the demand factor.
Demand factor =40x9
40x10
0.9 = 90%

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 Load Factor

As the load is variable, it will be maximum only for a certain time in a day. The average load during a period of
24 hours or some other period (considered for a load curve), will be less than the maximum load.
• The ratio of average load to the maximum load is known as load factor.
Load Factor = Average Demand(KW)
Maximum Demand (KW)
• In many ways load factor gives an indication of how well the utility’s facilities are being utilized. (it kept high)
• From the utility’s standpoint, the optimal load factor would be 1.00 since the system has to be designed to
handle the maximum demand. Sometimes utility companies will encourage industrial customers to improve
their load factors.
• One method of encouragement is to penalize the customer on the electric bill for having a low load factor.
• Load factor gives the extent to which the peak load is maintained during the period under study. A high load
factor means the load is at or near peak a good portion of the time.

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• The load factor may be daily load factor, monthly load factor or annual
load factor if the time period considered is a day or month or year. Load
factor is always less than 1 because average load is smaller than the
maximum demand. The load factor plays key role in determining the
overall cost per unit generated. Higher the load factor of the power
station, lesser will be the cost per unit generated.

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• Why is high load factor important?
• It is a measure of the utilization rate, or efficiency of electrical energy usage; a high
load factor indicates that load is using the electric system more efficiently,
whereas consumers or generators that underutilize the electric distribution will have
a low load factor.

• Load factor means how efficiently we use energy. It varies from 0 to 1. Load factor above .75
are considered better.
• Load factor= average load ÷ peak load
• It is the measure of utilization of electric energy during a given period to the maximum
energy which would have been utilized during that period.
• Load factor plays a very important role in the cost of generation per unit (kWh). For
improving load factor, electric load operating in peak hours should be shifted to non-peak
hours.

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• Significance of Load Factor

Thus a higher value of load factor means, less maximum

demand. Less maximum demand can be catered by a low
capacity power plant. ... Thus the cost per unit power
generation will be less. Again, in other sense higher value of
load factor means higher Average Load

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• Diversity Factor
• Definition: Diversity factor is defined as the ratio of the sum of the
maximum demands of the various part of a system to the coincident
maximum demand of the whole system. The maximum demands of the
individual consumers of a group do not occur simultaneously. Thus, there
is a diversity in the occurrence of the load. Due to this diverse nature of
the load, full load power supply to all the consumers at the same time is
not required.
• If Df is high, it means that more consumers can be served with a capacity of
generation much lower than the net / total demand of the consumers.
• If the value of the diversity factor is greater than 1, then it is a good
diversity factor, and 1.0 represents a poor diversity factor. A high diversity
factor has the effect of reducing the maximum demand. It is obtained by
using electrical energy at night load or light load periods.

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• Case 1:
• If A, B and C put on their loads at the same time and period of time say 8 AM to 4
PM. The demand on the station = 300 kW. So the generation capacity required =
300 kW. Here Df = (100+100+100) /300 = 1.
• Case 2:
• If A, B and C put on their loads diversely as A from 6 AM to 2 PM, B from 2 PM to
10 PM and C from 10 PM to 6 AM, then the demand on the station = 100 kW at
all times. So the generation capacity required = 100 kW only. Here Df =
(100+100+100) /100 = 3.
• In this simple hypothetical example you can see that the generation capacity and
hence the capital cost is less with higher Diversity factor.
• With proper planning strategy the existing diversity between various types of
consumers ( industrial, domestic, office, agricultural etc) can be made more
diverse to some extent.

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Demand Factor (DF)
DF= Max.Demand (MD)
Connected Load (CL)
As DF is direct proportion Max.Demand
If DF than Max Demand
As capital cost depends on MD so fixed
charges will be reduced per unit cost of
generation also reduce. It should be
desirable to low DF and is usually less than
1 less than 1
Load Factor (LF)
LF=Average Load
Max.Demand
If LF is inversely proportion to
MD
It should be desirable to have
high LF
so that cost of generation
become also less.it is usually
Lecture Notes by Dr.R.M.Larik
Diversity Factor (Div.F)
Div.F=Sum of individual max. demand
Max.Demand on power ststion
If Div.F is high than MD being low because
inverse relation
It should be desirable to have high Div.F so
that cost of generation being low
It is usually greater than 1
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 CONCLUSION

It is because higher load factor means lesser maximum demand. The

station capacity is so selected that it must meet the maximum demand.
Now, lower maximum demand means lower capacity of the plant
which, therefore, reduces the cost of the plant.
† There is diversification in the individual maximum demands i.e., the
maximum demand of some consumers may occur at one time while that
of others at some other time. Hence, the name diversity factor
‡ Greater diversity factor means lesser maximum demand. This in turn
means that lesser plant capacity is required. Thus, the capital investment
on the plant is reduced.

Lecture Notes by Dr.R.M.Larik 18


(v) The ratio of the area under the load curve to the total
area of rectangle in which it is contained
gives the load factor.
(vi) The load curve helps in selecting* the size and
number of generating units.
(vii) The load curve helps in preparing the operation
schedule of the station.
Lecture Notes by Dr.R.M.Larik
Importance. The daily load curves have attained a great
importance in generation as they supply
the following information readily :
(i) The daily load curve shows the variations of load on the
power station during different hours
of the day.
(ii) The area under the daily load curve gives the number of units
generated in the day.
Units generated/day = Area (in kWh) under daily load curve.
(iii) The highest point on the daily load curve represents the
maximum demand on the station on
that day.
(iv) The area under the daily load curve divided by the total
number of hours gives the average load on the station in the day.
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Definitions related to Individual customer Load
Load Curve and Load Duration Curve

Load Curve: A curve showing the load demand of a consumer against time in hours of the day is known as a
load curve. The curve will show how the load varies with time.
• If it is plotted for the 24 hours of a single day, it is known as daily load curve. If it is plotted for the whole
year 8760 hours of a year, it is known as annual load curve.
• This type of curve is useful in predicting the annual requirements for energy, the occurrence of the loads at
different hours and days in the year and in power supply economics.

Lecture Notes by Dr.R.M.Larik 20

 Load curve and Load duration curve
The load curve can re-organized to obtain load duration curve. A convenient way to study load behaviour is to
order the demand samples from greatest to smallest, rather than as a function of time, as in Figure 2.9. The
two diagrams consist of the same 24 numbers in a different order. Peak load, minimum load, and energy (area
under the curve) are the same for both.

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Load Duration Curve

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Demand and Demand Interval
The average value of power during the demand interval is given by dividing the kilowatt-hours
accumulated during the demand interval by the length of the interval.
• Demand intervals used for measuring and defining peak demand vary among power companies,
but those commonly used in collecting data and billing consumers for "peak demand" are 15, 30,
and 60minutes.
• Generally, if no period is explicitly defined, demand is on an hourly basis.

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Problems on Load Characteristics

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 320x8=62.5 %

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 Error CL=MD/DF
1500/0.8 =1875KW
2000/0.9=2222KW
10000/1 = 10000KW

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 Error T/F2 MD =CLxDF =12x0.6=7.2kW
T/F3 15x0.7=10.5kW
Max Demand on Feeder=Sum of
all(T/F)/div.factor
=6.5+7.2+10.5/1.3=18.61kW

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Figure 3.9 (ii)

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Plant Factor or Capacity Factor

a. Draw the load curve.

b. Calculate the load factor.
c. Choose the number and size of generators units to supply this load. Reliability of
supply is to be maintained.
d. Find the reserved capacity of the plant required.
e. Calculate the plant capacity factor.
f. Determine the operating schedule of the units in the station.
g .Calculate the plant use factor.

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Load Curve

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B. Calculate Load Factor

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C. Choose the number and size of generators units to supply
this load. Reliability of supply is to be maintained.
From the nature of the load curve, it will be seen that this is the load of a small industrial town, well distributed
in day and night. From the load curve, it will also be seen that three generating sets will suffice, with following
ratings:

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D. Find the reserved capacity of the plant required. The reserve capacity required will correspond
to the largest size of unit in the station. In this case, a set of 1000kW will have to be brought and
kept as reserved. Therefore the total installed capacity of the station will be 1000+1000+500+1000
= 3500kW
• Reserve Capacity =Plant Capacity –Maximum Demand
E. Calculate the plant capacity factor.

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E. Determine the operating schedule of the units in the station.
• The capacity of the individual sets is chosen so far as possible to fit the
load curve approximately. Then it should be decided how and when and
in what sequence the sets should be started and run. This arrangement is
known as the operating schedule of the station.
• In arranging this schedule, care is taken to see that plant of the required
capacity is kept ready for loading at the expected time of the load. The
capacity of the plant started and kept ready might be larger than
necessary but should not be inadequate.
• At each time of change-over, care should be taken to ensure correct
paralleling and load transfer.

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 Important Points in the Selection of Units
• The number and sizes of the units should be so selected that they approximately fit
the annual load curve of the station.
• The units should be preferably of different capacities to meet the load requirements.
Although use of identical units (i.e., having same capacity) ensures saving* in cost,
they often do not meet the load requirement.
• The capacity of the plant should be made 15% to 20% more than the maximum
demand to meet the future load requirements
• There should be a spare generating unit so that repairs and overhauling of the
working units can be carried out.
• The tendency to select a large number of units of smaller capacity in order to fit the
load curve very accurately should be avoided. It is because the investment cost per
kW of capacity increases as the size of the units decreases.

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F. Determine the operating schedule of the units in the station. Following optimum operating schedule of the
units in the station can be proposed.

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