Load Characteristics

&
Load Metrics
(Part I)

1
Outlines
♦ Introduction
♦ Classifications of loads
– Residential loads
– Industrial loads
– Commercial loads
– Agricultural loads
♦ Load characteristics
– Basic Definitions
– Load factors
♦ Application of load characteristics
♦ Load Modeling
♦ Mechanical Load Characteristics

2
Objectives
The main objectives of this lecture are:
♦ Introducing the different types of load
♦ Presenting the basic definitions of load
characteristics and load factors.
♦ Using these load characteristics for
estimating distribution system loads
♦ Using these load characteristics for
calculating distribution system peak and
average losses
♦ Reviewing different load models

24-Jan-18 3
 Loads
♦ The term load refers to a device or collection of
devices that draw energy from the power system.
♦ Individual loads (devices) range from small light bulbs
to large induction motors or arc furnaces.
♦ The term load is often somewhat arbitrarily applied:
– used to describe a specific device,
– referred to an entire facility,
– used to describe a sub-division of the entire power system
such residential, commercial and/or industrial, etc.

4
Loads, cont’d
♦ Importance of Electric Loads!
♦ Understanding and characterizing the loads of
electric power is critical for proper planning and
operation of power systems.
♦ Improper characterization of loads can result of
over or under building of power system facilities
and stressing of system equipment beyond
design capabilities.

5
 Classifications of Loads
♦ Loads classifications differ according to the
purpose and the manner for which the
classification is developed. They are
characterized in two different ways:
♦ Devices:
–Types:
 Lighting
 Motor
 Heating
 Electronic
–Device characterization of loads is important when
assessing load behavior under abnormal
conditions, either transient or steady-state,
because the various devices behave differently
under such conditions.
6
Classifications of Loads, cont’d
♦ End user classes (Customer Class):
– Most common
– Types:
– Residential
– Commercial
– Agricultural (rural commercial)
– Industrial
– Customer classification is more appropriate when
assessing usage behavior. Such behavior is
normally assessed at the feeder, substation, region,
or system level, and at this level, end-users of a
given class tend to use electrical energy in
much the same manner. This is the orientation we
will take in this course.

7
 Industrial Load

♦ They are treated as points of concentrated

loads.

♦ Divided into two main types, namely; Small

plants and Large plants.

♦ They have a wide range of variations in their

load magnitudes.

8
 Commercial Load

9
 Residential Load
♦ The highest type of loads from the point of view of the
number of contributing customers and the revenue for
the total number of customers.

♦ Divided into two main types, namely; Urban-Suburban

and Rural loads.

♦ Rural areas are characterized by having the lightest

load densities, therefore large areas have to be
involved in load densities determinations.

♦ Urban areas have higher load densities and thus

smaller subdivisions will be sufficient to reveal the load
density.

10
 Load Density Ranges
The ranges of the load densities for various types of loads are given in the table below

Load Density
Area Type Calculation Remarks
(KVA / Mile2)

From 1 farm @ 10 KVA to 150 farms @

Low density - rural residential areas 10 – 300
2 KVA average / farm (300 KVA).

Medium density - suburban residential 20 % home saturation on 70 x 100 ft2

300 – 1200
areas plots with 0.5 – 2 KVA / house.

80 % home saturation on 70 x 100 ft2

High density - urban residential areas 1200 – 4800
plots with 0.5 – 2 KVA / house.

High home saturation percentage with

Extra high density residential areas 1.5*104 – 2*104
heating and air conditioning.

Areas covering ranges of small

shopping centers and commercial
Commercial areas 1*104 – 3*105
areas up to downtown commercial
areas of large cities.

11
 Other Load Classifications
 The previous load classes represent the most
commonly used classification of loads.
 However, this is not the only classification
available.
 There are other classifications for the electric load
that depend on the manner or the purpose for
which the classification originated.
 Moreover, classifications according to combined
purposes also exist.
Other Load Classifications
 Load Curves
♦ The load curve is a plot of load (or load per end-
user) variation as a function of time for a defined
group of end-users.
♦ The end-user grouping may be by electrical
proximity, e.g., by feeder, substation, region, or
system level. Alternatively, it may be by end-user
class.
♦ Daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly load curves
are commonly developed and used in order to gain
insight into the usage behavior of a group of end-
users.

14
 Types of Load Curves
 Chronological Load Curve:
– Load against time during daily hours.
– Its shape depends on type of load

(i) The area under the load curve represents the energy generated in the
period considered.
(ii) The area under the curve divided by the total number of hours gives
the average load to be supplied.
(iii) The peak load indicated by the load curve represents the maximum
demand
15
 Chronological Load Curve, Cont’d

P Shift change P

6 am 12 6 pm 12 t 6 am 12 6 pm 12 t
Industrial Load Residential Load

P P

6 am 12 6 pm 12 t 6 am 12 6 pm 12 t
Commercial Load Service Load
(Street Lighting)

16
 Types of Load Curves, cont’d
 Load Duration Curve:
– Arrangement of elements of chronological load curve in
descending order.
– Depends on the number of working hours of each load
regardless when did it work
– The area under load duration curve is equal to the area
under chronological load curve.

Typical chronological curve. Load duration curve

17
 Load Duration Curve, Cont’d
♦ Some remarks from load duration curve and
chronological load curve:
(i) The area under the load duration curve and the
corresponding chronological load curve is equal and
represents total energy delivered by the utility

(ii) The base load (Minimum load) in the load duration curve
will operate for 24 hours.

(iii) Load duration curve gives a clear analysis of supplying

power economically. Proper selection of base load power
plants and peak load power plants becomes easier.

(iv) From these curves the distribution of load between various

generating units can also be predicted.

18
 Daily Load Curve
♦ This figure shows a daily load curve for a single residential end-
user.
♦ The multiplicity of high peaks is due to the intermittent operation
of large appliances
♦ The highest peaks are a result of simultaneous operation of
large devices as refrigerators, air conditioners, and stoves.

19
 Daily Load Curves, cont’d
♦ To understanding the usage behavior of residential end-users as
a class, we develop a load curve for multiple residential end-
users

daily load curves for groups of end-users

20
 Daily Load Curves, cont’d
♦ We observe the curves become more smoother as the number
of customers increases.
♦ We also observe the peak load per end-user decreases as the
number of end-users in the group increases. This is because at
any given moment, some end-users will incur a peak while
others do not, so that the average load at any given moment
will always be less than the highest individual peaks for that
moment.
♦ This aggregation of load curves across multiple end-users is
done for each of the different end-user classes, except the load
curves are given in terms of percent of peak rather than load
per end-user.

21
 Daily Load Curves, cont’d
♦ Load curves for the various end-user classes and also the
aggregation of these class-specific load curves into a system
load curve.

“miscellaneous” class
(mainly sales to other
utilities)
22
 Daily Load Curves, cont’d
♦ Some observations from the previous figures:
(i) Urban and rural residential loads
– Have three peaks: once at 8 am, once at noon, and once at 6 pm,
– Have two valleys, once at 5 am and once at 3 pm,
– Differ in that the urban load does not fall off so steeply after 7 pm.
(ii) Commercial loads (rural and urban):
– Have a peak at about 11 am, dip slightly at noon, and then are rise
slightly until about 5 pm after which they drop sharply.
(iii) The industrial load:
– Curves are similar to the commercial except that the valley’s only
dip to about 50% of peak rather than 20% in the case of
commercial. This is the case since many industrial end-users
operate 24 hours a day.
(iv) The system load (solid line):
– Has the same form as the residential curves but the peaks and
valleys are less pronounced due to the smoothing effect of the other
load class curves.

23
 Load Metrics

♦ There are a number of metrics used to

capture the variability of loads. Some of them
are mainly used in reference to a single end-
user (or customer), and some of them are
mainly used in reference to a substation
transformer or a specific feeder.

24
 Load Metrics- Individual Customer
♦ There are several metrics commonly applied to individual
end-users or groups of end-users.
1. Demand:
The demand of an installation or system is the load at the receiving
terminals averaged over a specified interval of time, e.g., the 15-
minute demand was 4.8 kW.
2. Demand Interval:
It is the period over which the load is averaged.

7
15 minutes KW Demand

0
3.98 4 4.02 4.04 4.06 4.08 4.1 4.12 4.14 4.16

Time of Day

25
 Load Metrics- Individual Customer
3. Maximum Demand:
The maximum demand of an installation or system is the largest of all
demands which have occurred during specified period of time.

8 8

7 7

6 6

15-Minute KW Demand
15-Minute KW Demand

5 5

4 4

3 3

2 2

1 1

0 0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
Time of the Day Time of the Day
One hour One hour

Customer 1 Customer 2

26
 Load Metrics- Individual Customer
4. Average Demand:
The energy in kWh used during each 15-minute time interval is
computed by:
kWh = (15-min kW demand)*(1/4) hour
The total energy consumed during the day is the summation of all of
the 15-min interval consumptions.
Total energy
Average demand 
hours
Average demand =4.9 kW Average demand =2.13 kW
8 8

7 7

6 6

15-Minute KW Demand
15-Minute KW Demand

5 5

4 4

3 3

2 2

1 1

0 0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
Time of the Day Time of the Day
One hour One hour

27
 Load Metrics- Individual Customer
5. Load Factor:
It is the ratio of the average load over a designated period of time to
the peak load occurring on that period.
Average 15  min kW demand
Load Factor ( FLD ) 
Max 15  min kW demand

FLF= 0.66 FLF= 0.29

8 8

7 7

6 6

15-Minute KW Demand
15-Minute KW Demand

5 5

4 4

3 3

2 2

1 1

0 0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
Time of the Day Time of the Day
One hour One hour

♦ It is clear that 1st customer’s load is more constant, whereas the 2nd customer’s load is
more variable.
♦ Utilities sometimes penalize large industrial or commercial customers on their electric bill if
the load factor is too low (to encourage them to improve their load factor ( FLD).

28
 Load Metrics- Individual Customer
6. Demand Factor:
It is defined as follows:
Maximum demand
Demand Factor (DF) 
Total connected load
♦ The total connected load is the sum of the ratings of all the
electrical devices at the customer location.
♦ The demand factor gives an indication of the percentage of
electrical devices that are ON when the maximum demand occurs.

29
 Load Metrics-Distribution Transformer
8
8

7
7

6
6

15-Minute KW Demand
15-Minute KW Demand
5
5

4
4

3 3

2 2

1 1

0 0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
Time of the Day Time of the Day
One hour One hour

Customer # 1 Customer # 3

9 Customer 1 Customer 2 Customer 3

8

7
Energy usage 24.5 17.5 10.67
15-Minute KW Demand

6
Max kW 7.5 7.8 7.2
5
demand
4

3 Time of max 1:15 1:45 4:30

2 demand
1
Average kW 4.93 3.5 2.14
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 demand
Time of the Day
One hour

Load factor 0.66 0.45 0.29

Customer # 2

30
 Load Metrics-Distribution Transformer
♦ The following terminology is applied to customer group
metrics or transformer loading metrics, but not usually to
individual end-users.
1. Diversified (Coincident) Demand:
It is the sum of demands imposed by a group of loads
(customers) over a specific period of time .
♦ N.B.
In the previous slide, the summation of the three loads is the
diversified demand for the transformer and it is shown below.
20

18

16

15-Minute KW Demand
14

12

10
Note that how the 8
demand curve is 6
beginning to smooth out 4

0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
Time of the Day
One hour

31
 Load Metrics-Distribution Transformer
2. Maximum Diversified Demand:
It is the maximum value in the diversified demand curve.
♦ Note that it is not the sum of individual maximum demands nor it
occurs at the same time of individual maximum demand.

Maximum
20
18.2 kW
18
diversified
16
demand
15-Minute KW Demand

14

12

10

0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
Time of the Day
One hour

24-Jan-18 32
 Load Metrics-Distribution Transformer
3. Maximum Non-coincident Demand:
It is the sum of the individual customer 15-minutes maximum kW
demands.
For the previous example:
Max. non-coincident demand = 7.8 + 7.5 + 7.2 = 22.5 kW

4. Diversity Factor:
It can be defined according to the following formula:

Maximum non - coincident demand 22 .5

Diversity Factor  FD    1.24
Maximum diversifie d demand 18 .2

 So, by knowing the diversity factor and the maximum demand of each
load, the maximum diversified demand of a group of customers can be
computed.

33
 Load Metrics-Distribution Transformer
♦ The diversity factor can be mathematically written as:
n

D
Maximum non - coincident demand D1  D2  ..  Dn i 1 i
FD   
Maximum diversifie d demand Dg Dg

But, the demand factor for individual customer is given by:

Maximum demand
Demand factor  DF 
Total connected demand

Maximum demand  Total connected load  DF  TCD  DF

 TCD  DFi i
FD  i 1

Dg

34
 Load Metrics-Distribution Transformer

♦ The diversity factor will be different and it increases

as the number of customers increases till it reaches
a saturation level as shown in the figure below:

3.5

3
Diversity factor

2.5

1.5

0.5

0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35

Number of Customers

35
Load Metrics-Distribution Transformer
5. Utilization Factor:
It gives an indication of how well the capacity of the transformer is
being utilized.

Maximum KVA Demand

Utilizatio n Factor ( Fu ) 
Transforme r kVA Rating

6. Load Diversity:
It is the difference between the non-coincident maximum demand
and the maximum diversified demand.

 n 
LD    Di   Dg
 i 1 

36
 Utilization Factor- Example

Example:
Consider that a transformer serving five feeders is
rated 550kVA and that the maximum coincident
demand on the transformer for the year is 525kW
at a power factor of 0.9. What is the utilization
factor?

525 / 0.9 583 .3

Utilizatio n Factor    1.061
550 550

 Components with high utilization factors (close to or

greater than 1) may need to be replaced or reinforced
in the near future.

37
 Load Metrics-Distribution Transformer
7. Contribution Factor (ci)
It is defined as the contribution of the ith load to the group maximum
diversified demand.
Class demand at time of system peak
ci 
Class non - coincident maximum demand

Dg  c1  D1  c2  D2  ...  cn  Dn
8. Coincedence Factor (FC)
1
It is reciprocal of the diversity factor, that is,𝐹𝐶 =
𝐹𝐷

Dg c1  D1  c2  D2  ...  cn  Dn
FC  n or, FC  n

D
i 1
i D
i 1
i

9. Loss Factor:
It is the ratio of the average power loss to the peak power loss during
a specified period of time.
average power loss
Loss Factor( FLS ) 
power loss at peak load 38
 Load Metrics- Feeder Load
 The feeder is connected to more than one
transformer.
 The load that a feeder serves will display a
smoothed out demand curve as shown below.

39
 Load Metrics- Feeder Load

 The maximum diversified demand becomes the

allocated load for the transformer.

40