Utilities often penalize customers for poor power factor (the ratio of real power to apparent power). Since demand is often measured in kVA, a poor power factor inflates the Maximum Demand value.
| Mistake | Consequence | |---------|--------------| | Using instantaneous peak instead of averaged demand | Oversized equipment, higher capital cost. | | Ignoring power factor | MD in kVA may exceed kW MD – paying for reactive power. | | Wrong demand interval | 30 min vs 15 min changes MD significantly (shorter = higher). | | Not updating diversity factors | Older buildings have different load patterns today. | | Forgetting seasonal variation | Summer MD (AC) vs winter MD (heating) can differ 2x. |
Since the interval is usually fixed (e.g., 30 minutes or 0.5 hours), the formula often looks like this in practice:
Prevents overloading of cables, switchgear, and transformers.
|work|: Max Demand Calculation
Utilities often penalize customers for poor power factor (the ratio of real power to apparent power). Since demand is often measured in kVA, a poor power factor inflates the Maximum Demand value.
| Mistake | Consequence | |---------|--------------| | Using instantaneous peak instead of averaged demand | Oversized equipment, higher capital cost. | | Ignoring power factor | MD in kVA may exceed kW MD – paying for reactive power. | | Wrong demand interval | 30 min vs 15 min changes MD significantly (shorter = higher). | | Not updating diversity factors | Older buildings have different load patterns today. | | Forgetting seasonal variation | Summer MD (AC) vs winter MD (heating) can differ 2x. | max demand calculation