Question

Define laod factor , demand factor, use factor and capacity factor

Answer 1

Answer

Load factor: the ratio of the average or actual amount of some quantity and the maximum possible or permissible.

Demand factor: the ratio of the maximum demand during an assigned period upon an electric-power system to the load actually connected during that time expressed usually in per cent.

Answer 2

Answer:

In electrical engineering the load factor is defined as the average load divided by the peak load in a specified time period. It is a measure of the utilization rate, or efficiency of electrical energy usage; a high load factor indicates that load is using the electric system more efficiently, whereas consumers or generators that underutilize the electric distribution will have a low load factor.

${\displaystyle f_{Load}={\frac {\text{Average Load}}{\text{Maximum load in given time period}}}}$

An example, using a large commercial electrical bill:

peak demand = 436 kW

use = 57200 kWh

number of days in billing cycle = 30 d

Hence:

load factor =  { 57200 kWh / (30 d × 24 hours per day × 436 kW) } × 100% = 18.22%

It can be derived from the load profile of the specific device or system of devices. Its value is always less than one because maximum demand is never lower than average demand, since facilities likely never operate at full capacity for the duration of an entire 24-hour day. A high load factor means power usage is relatively constant. Low load factor shows that occasionally a high demand is set. To service that peak, capacity is sitting idle for long periods, thereby imposing higher costs on the system. Electrical rates are designed so that customers with high load factor are charged less overall per kWh. This process along with others is called load balancing or peak shaving.

The load factor is closely related to and often confused with the demand factor.

$f_{{Demand}}={\frac {{\text{Maximum load in given time period}}}{{\text{Maximum possible load}}}}$

The major difference to note is that the denominator in the demand factor is fixed depending on the system. Because of this, the demand factor cannot be derived from the load profile but needs the addition of the full load of the system in question.

2 .  Demand Factor:

the ratio of the maximum demand during an assigned period upon an electric-power system to the load actually connected during that time expressed usually in percent

In telecommunication, electronics and the electrical power industry, the term demand factor is used to refer to the fractional amount of some quantity being used relative to the maximum amount that could be used by the same system. The demand factor is always less than or equal to one. As the amount of demand is a time dependent quantity so is the demand factor.

${\displaystyle f_{\text{Demand}}(t)={\frac {\text{Demand}}{\text{Maximum possible demand}}}}$

The demand factor is often implicitly averaged over time when the time period of demand .

In electrical engineering the demand factor is taken as a time independent quantity where the numerator is taken as the maximum demand in the specified time period instead of the averaged or instantaneous demand.

${\displaystyle f_{\text{Demand}}={\frac {\text{Maximum load in given time period}}{\text{Maximum possible load}}}}{\displaystyle f_{\text{Demand}}={\frac {\text{Maximum load in given time period}}{\text{Maximum possible load}}}}$

This is the peak in the load profile divided by the full load of the device.

Example: If a residence has equipment which could draw 6,000 W when all equipment was drawing a full load, drew a maximum of 3,000 W in a specified time, then the demand factor = 3,000 W / 6,000 W = 0.5

This quantity is relevant when trying to establish the amount of load for which a system should be rated. In the above example, it would be unlikely that the system would be rated to 6,000 W, even though there may be a slight possibility that this amount of power can be drawn. This is closely related to the load factor which is the average load divided by the peak load in a specified time period.

${\displaystyle f_{\text{Load}}={\frac {\text{Average load}}{\text{Maximum load in given time period}}}}{\displaystyle f_{\text{Load}}={\frac {\text{Average load}}{\text{Maximum load in given time period}}}}$

3. utilization factor or use factor:

The utilization factor or use factor is the ratio of the time that a piece of equipment is in use to the total time that it could be in use. It is often averaged over time in the definition such that the ratio becomes the amount of energy used divided by the maximum possible to be used. These definitions are equivalent.

in electrical engineering, utilization factor, ${\displaystyle k_{\text{u}}}{\displaystyle k_{\text{u}}},$ is the ratio of the maximum load which could be drawn to the rated capacity of the system. This is closely related to the concept of Load factor. The Load factor is the ratio of the load that a piece of equipment actually draws (time averaged) when it is in operation to the load it could draw (which we call full load).

4. Capacity factor:

The ratio of actual energy produced by an energy generating unit or system in a given period, to the hypothetical maximum possible (i.e. energy produced from continuous operation at full rated power).