ENERGY SOURCES

UNIT-IV NOTES

LOAD:
The device which takes electrical energy is known as the electric load. In other words, the
electrical load is a device that consumes electrical energy in the form of the current and transforms
it into other forms like heat, light, work, etc.

Types of Electrical Loads:

1. Resistive Load:
The resistive load obstructs the flow of electrical energy in the circuit and converts it into
thermal energy, due to which the energy dropout occurs in the circuit. The lamp and the heater are
the examples of the resistive load. The resistive loads take power in such a way so that the current
and the voltage wave remain in the same phase. Thus the power factor of the resistive load remains
in unity.
2. INDUCTIVE LOAD:
The inductive loads use the magnetic field for doing the work. The transformers, generators,
motor are the examples of the load. The inductive load has a coil which stores magnetic energy
when the current pass through it. The current wave of the inductive load is lagging behind the
voltage wave, and the power factor of the inductive load is also lagging.

3. Capacitive Load:
In the capacitive load, the voltage wave is leading the current wave. The examples of
capacitive loads are capacitor bank, three phase induction motor starting circuit, etc. The power
factor of such type of loads is leading.

TYPES OF ELECTRICAL LOAD IN POWER SYSTEM:

(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 : This type of 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

LOAD CURVE:
The curve showing the variation of load on the power station (power
plant) with reference to time is known as load curve.
LOAD DURATION CURVE:
The load duration curve is defined as the curve between the load and time in which the
ordinates representing the load, plotted in the order of decreasing magnitude, i.e., with the greatest
load at the left, lesser loads towards the rights and the lowest loads at the time extreme right. The
load duration curve is shown in the figure below.
The load duration curve plotting for 24 hours of a day is called the daily load duration
curve. Similarly, the load duration curve plotted for a year is called the annual load curve.
An LDC is usually divided into the three parts.
1. Baseload: The base load is the load below which the demand never falls and is supplied
100% of the time.
2. Peaking load: It occurs for about 15% of the time
3. Intermediate load: It represents the remaining load between the base load and the peaking
load.

How to Plot a Load Duration Curve:

Time in Hours Load in MW

6–8 20
8 – 12 40
12 – 16 60
16 – 20 20
20 – 24 50
24 – 6 20

ANSWER:

Units generated/day = Area (in

kWh) under daily load curve
= 103 [20 × 8 + 40 × 4 + 60 × 4 + 20
× 4 + 50 × 4]
= 840 × 103 kWh
Also,
Units generated/day = Area (in kWh) under daily LDC
= 103 [60 × 4 + 50 × 4 + 40 × 4 + 20 × 12]
= 840 × 103 kWh
Importance: The daily load curves have attained a great importance in a 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.
Average load =Area (in kWh) under daily load curve/24hours
(v)The ratio of the area under the load curve to the total area of a rectangle in which it is contained
gives the load factor.
Load factor=Average load/Max. demand=Average load×24/Max.demand×24=Area (in kWh) under
daily load curve/Total area of a rectangle in which the load curve is contained.
(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.

Important terms and factors:

The variable load problem has introduced the following terms and factors in power plant
engineering:
(i) Connected load: It is the sum of continuous ratings of all the equipment connected to supply
system.A power station supplies load to thousands of consumers.Each consumer has certain
equipment installed in his premises. The sum of the continuous ratings of all the equipment in the
consumer’s premises is the “connected load” of the consumer.
For instance, if a consumer has connections of five 100-watt lamps and a power point of 500
watts, then connected load of the consumer is 5 × 100 + 500 = 1000 watts.The sum of the connected
loads of all the consumers is the connected load to the power station.
(ii) Maximum demand: It is the greatest demand of load on the power station during a given
period.The load on the power station varies from time to time.The maximum of all the demands
that have occurred during a given period (say a day) is the maximum demand.Thus referring back to
the load curve of Figure below the maximum demand on the power station during the day is 6 MW
and it occurs at 6 P.M.
Maximum demand is generally less than the connected load because all the consumers do
not switch on their connected load to the system at a time.The knowledge of maximum demand is
very important as it helps in determining the installed capacity of the station.The station must be
capable of meeting the maximum demand.
(iii) Demand factor: It is the ratio of maximum demand on the power station to its connected load
i.e.,
Demand factor = Maximum demand/Connected load
The value of demand factor is usually less than 1.It is expected because maximum demand on the
power station is generally less than the connected load.If the maximum demand on the power
station is 80 MW and the connected load is 100 MW, then demand factor = 80/100 = 0·8.The
knowledge of demand factor is vital in determining the capacity of the plant equipment.
(iv) Average load: The average of loads occurring on the power station in a given period (day or
month or year) is known as average load or average demand.

(v) Load factor: The ratio of average load to the maximum demand during a given period is known
as load factor i.e.,

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 the average load is
smaller than the maximum demand.The load factor plays a 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.
(vi) Diversity factor: The ratio of the sum of individual maximum demands to the maximum
demand on power station is known as diversity factor i.e.,
 A power station supplies load to various types of consumers whose maximum demands
generally do not occur at the same time.Therefore, the maximum demand on the power station is
always less than the sum of individual maximum demands of the consumers.Obviously, diversity
factor will always be greater than 1.The greater the diversity factor, the lesser is the cost of
generation of power.
(vii) Plant capacity factor: It is the ratio of actual energy produced to the maximum possible
energy that could have been produced during a given period i.e.,

Thus if the considered period is one year,

The plant capacity factor is an indication of the reserve capacity of the plant. A power
station is so designed that it has some reserve capacity for meeting the increased load demand in
future.Therefore, the installed capacity of the plant is always somewhat greater than the maximum
demand on the plant.
Reserve Capacity = Plant capacity − Max. demand
It is interesting to note that difference between load factor and plant capacity factor is an indication
of reserve capacity.If the maximum demand on the plant is equal to the plant capacity, then load
factor and plant capacity factor will have the same value.In such a case, the plant will have no
reserve capacity.
(viii) Plant use factor: It is ratio of kWh generated to the product of plant capacity and the number
of hours for which the plant was in operation i.e.
LOAD CURVES PROBLEMS:

1. A generation station of 1MW supplied a region which has the following demands:

Neglect transmission line losses and find the following:

1. Plot the daily load curve and the load duration curve.
2. Find the load factor, the reserve capacity, plant capacity factor, plant use
factor, the hours that the plant has been off and utilization factor.

Solution:
2. A generation station has a maximum demand of 20 MW, a load factor of
60%, plant capacity factor of 48% and plant use factor of 80%. Find:
1. The daily energy produced
2. The reserve capacity
3. The number of operating hours per daily
4. The maximum energy that could be produced daily if the generation station
was running all the time.
3. Find the maximum energy that could be produced daily if the generation station was running all
the time.

SOLUTION:

The maximum energy that could be produced daily = Installed Capacity × 24

= 25 × 24 = 600 MWh
= 25 × 24 = 600 000 kWh

4. A generation station of 10MW supplied two regions (A and B) which have

the following demands:

Find the Diversity Factor.

Solution:
5. A generation station of 10MW supplied two regions (B) which have
the following demands:

1) Draw the load curve and load duration curve for regions A and B and for the total loads
2) The average load and the load factor of the total system
3) The reserve capacity of the plant
4) Plant use factor
5) Utilization factor
Selection & Location of Power Plant Engineering:

i) Fuel supply:
Steam power station should be near coal mine to minimize fuel transportation cost.
However, if such a plant is to be set up in a place where coal is not available, Care should be taken
to ensure adequate facilities for transportation of coal.
ii) Water availability:
Due to the large amount of water required for the condenser, such a plant should be near the
river bank or canal to ensure continuous supply of water.
iii) Transportation facilities:
Modern steam power stations often require transportation of materials and machinery.
Therefore, adequate transport facilities should be available. That is, the plant should be well
connected to other parts of the country by railways, roads etc.
iv) Cost and type of land:
The steam power station should be in a place where the land is cheap and further expansion
is possible if required. In addition, the carrying capacity of the land should be sufficient to
accommodate heavy equipment.
v) Closeness to load centers:
To reduce transmission costs, the plant should be located close to load centers. This is
especially important if a DC supply system is adopted. However, if the AC supply system is
adopted, this factor becomes relatively less important. This is because AC power can be transmitted
at high voltage resulting in lower transmission costs. Therefore, if other conditions are favorable, it
is possible to install the plant away from the load centers.
vi) Distance from the population area:
Due to the large amount of coal being burned in the steam power station, smoke and fog
pollute the surroundings. It is essential that the plant be located at a significant distance from the
population area.