Load peak
Why is load management so important in industry? Peak loads often cause high bills at the end of the year and to save costs, it is therefore important to reduce or avoid peak loads (also known as peak shaving). We offer you the right solution and accompany you on the path to cost savings and greater energy efficiency.
First of all, we would like to refresh your knowledge and explain what a peak load is.
How does a new load peak occur?
In the case of industrial companies that draw more than 100,000 kWh of electricity per year, the power (kW) is usually measured and billed by the network operator in addition to the amount of energy (kWh). This takes into account the increased load on the supply network above a certain power draw. In an ordinary tariff, payment for power is based on the annual load peak, the highest 15-minute load that has occurred in a year. This value is overwritten in the load peak memory of the meter at the delivery point with the last highest 15-minute load, monotonically increasing, and reset at the beginning of each month. The monthly load peak can thus be read out from the load peak memory at the end of each month.
The value of the memory is overwritten monotonically increasing with the last 15-minute load, if this was higher than the previous value.
The decisive factor for the occurrence of a new load peak is therefore the actual power curve (resolution in the graphic here: 15 seconds) and how this is averaged over the 15-minute time windows of the load peak memory. This means that a new load peak occurs as soon as within a 15-minute interval the integral under the active power is greater than the integral under the value of the load peak storage. This corresponds to the comparison of the sourced active power in each new 15-minute interval with the maximum sourced active power in such an interval. Thus, a time shift of the actual power curve to the time windows has a large impact on the value of the 15-minute load. In addition, it is quite possible for power to occur that is higher than the load peak without this directly leading to an increase in the load peak.
