Demand factor
– Demand factor is a time independent quantity in electrical engineering.
– The numerator in demand factor is the maximum load in a specified time period.
– The denominator in demand factor is the maximum possible load.
– Demand factor is calculated by dividing the maximum load in a given time period by the maximum possible load.
– Example: If a residence has equipment that can draw 6,000 W at full load but only drew a maximum of 3,000 W in a specified time, the demand factor would be 0.5.
Load factor
– Load factor is the average load divided by the peak load in a specified time period.
– Load factor is relevant for establishing the amount of load a system should be rated for.
– Example: In the previous example, even though the system can potentially draw 6,000 W, it would be unlikely to be rated for that amount.
– Average load is the average power consumed during a specified time period.
– Maximum load in a given time period is the highest power consumed during that time period.
Capacity factor
– Capacity factor is the ratio of the actual output of a power plant to its maximum possible output.
Diversity factor
– Diversity factor is the ratio of the sum of individual maximum demands to the maximum demand of a system.
Utilization factor
– Utilization factor is the ratio of the average load to the maximum demand.
– These factors help in understanding the efficiency and utilization of energy systems. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demand_factor
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.
The demand factor is often implicitly averaged over time when the time period of demand is understood by the context.
