What is demand factor and how it serves as a good indicator in eletric utilities?
Demand factor in electrical context is defined simply as the ratio of the maximum demand attained and the total connected load. This factor is usually expressed in percent form which represents the level of the existing demand to the available capacity of the system.
Demand factor helps electric utilities in their power system analysis especially in load monitoring and performance.
Suppose we have a substation having a capacity of 33MVA registering a peak demand of 25 MVA, by using the above formula, our demand factor for the said substation would be 75.8%. This means that 75.8% of our capacity has been reached on a specific point of time. Likewise, if we are given the typical demand factor of a system and we are asked to calculate for the maximum demand, using still the formula we can be able to compute for it.
In telecommunication, electronics and the electrical power industry, the term demand factor has the following meanings:
1. The ratio of (a) the maximum real power consumed by a system to (b) the maximum real power that would be consumed if the entire load connected to the system were to be activated at the same time.
Note: The maximum real power is usually integrated over a specified time interval, such as 15 or 30 minutes, and is usually expressed in kilowatts. The real power that would be consumed if the entire load connected to the system were to be activated at the same time is obtained by summing the power required by all the connected equipment. This load is expressed in kilowatts if the consumed real power is expressed in kilowatts.(wikipedia)
2. The ratio of (a) the maximum power, integrated over a specified time interval, such as 15 or 30 minutes, and usually expressed in kilowatts, consumed by a system, to (b) the maximum volt-amperes, expressed in kilovolt-amperes if the power is expressed in kilowatts, integrated over a time interval of the same duration, though not necessarily during the same interval.
Charges for electrical power may be based on the demand factor as well as the kilowatt-hours of electrical energy consumed, to take account of reactive power.
(wikipedia)
Using your example calculation, shouldn't Demand Factor be the ratio of Maximum Demand to Connected *Capacity*?
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