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Variable Loads On
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By Kiran Daware Power Classi
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Variation in loading has certain Basic construction and
Transformers
undesirable e ects, the most working of
Working of transformers
transformer
appreciable of which are given below:
dh l f f
1. Generation of power becomes
costly: Popular Posts

For obvious reasons of optimum

operation, alternators are Basic construction and working
designed in such a way that of a DC Generator.
maximum e ciency occurs at
(or very close to) their rated
How a DC motor works?
capacity. Hence, when the load
varies and becomes low, the
alternator will not be loaded up AC generator (alternator) -
to its rated capacity and its construction and working
working e ciency is reduced.
This consequently increases the
Transformer - Losses and
cost of production.
E ciency
2. Di culty in controlling the
system:
Working principle and types of
When the load changes, the
an Induction Motor
frequency of the system also
varies. For proper operation, the
frequency must be within the
permissible limits. (Generally ±
3% deviation is permissible, i.e.
48.5 Hz to 51.5 Hz in case of
system frequency of 50Hz in
India.)

In order to keep the frequency Basics of electricity

within limits, additional control
equipments are required Such
 equipments are required. Such
equipments increase the cost
and complexity of the system. Advertise with us!
3. Requirement of additional
equipment:
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As explained above, variable
loading necessitates the use of Home Write for us
speed governors, voltage and
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frequency sensors,
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microcontrollers and other
closed loop control equipments
to exert control over the system
and maintain all parameters
within permissible ranges.
4. Increased losses:

Due to variation in loading

conditions, various machines
like transformers, electronic
devices and other machines
show increased losses due to
magnetization characteristics,
saturation and variation in
parameters. This decreases the
overall e ciency of the system.

Load Curves
As stated above, the load on the
system varies with time. This
variation can be represented
graphically and is termed as “Load
Curve”.

The above gure shows a typical

daily load curve. As we can see, the
maximum load demand occurs
around 8 pm. Such a load curve
shows the variation of load with time.
We can determine the maximum
demand on the system too. This
maximum demand relates to the
maximum load that occurs on the
system. This maximum load will
a ect the size and capacity of the
plant. We can also determine the
energy (in units or kWh) by
calculating the area under the curve.

Such curves are also helpful to

determine important terms and
factors like Average Load, Maximum
Demand, Load Factor, Demand
Factor, Plant use factor etc. (They’ve
been discussed further in the article.)

These curves are also needed while

selecting the number and size
(capacity) of the generating units
(capacity) of the generating units
(alternators). Load curves are also
needed in the control and
management section for preparing
the schedule of the station.

Another variation of the load curves

is a ‘Load duration curve’. This is
shown below:

Load Duration Curve

When the various loads occurring on
a system are arranged in a
decreasing order of their magnitudes
with respect to the time period of the
occurrence of these loads the graph
obtained is known as a Load
Duration Curve.

A load duration curve gives us the

data in a more presentable form. We
can easily determine the max
demand and its duration. Also, we
de a d a d ts du at o . so, e
can determine the exact amount of
time a speci c load has prevailed.

This curve is basically generated

from the values of the load curve;
hence, the area under the curve will
also give us the total energy
generated. Also, similar to the load
curve, the load duration curve can
also be plotted for ant period of time.

Terms Related To Loading

Conditions
The variation in load introduces
some terms that need to be
speci ed. These terms are:

Connected Load
It is de ned as “the total sum of all
the loads (ON and OFF) connected to
the power system.

All the loads may not be switched ON

together, but such loads have to be
calculated to determine the required
power and hence the capacity of the
units.

For example, if one of the consumers

has three lamps of 200 W each, four
lamps of 100 W each and a machine
consuming 5 kW, then the connected
load of the consumer = 3(200) +
load of the consumer = 3(200) +
4(100) + 5000 = 6000 W

Average Load
As the name implies, it indicates the
average value of all the loads
occurring on the station for a given
time period (such as day/s or
month/s or year/s)
It can be expressed as

Average load =
No. of units (kWh) generated
in given time period
The time period

Maximum Demand
It is de ned as “the maximum value
of load that occurs on the system
during a speci c time period.”

In the gure no. 1, the maximum

demand is 40 MW and it occurs
around 8 pm. Maximum demand is
measured by a max demand meter.

Knowledge of max demand is

necessary because the installed
capacity of the plant is decided on
the basis of max demand since the
power station must be capable of
supplying the max demand.
Factors Related To
Variable Loading

Demand Factor
It is de ned as “the ratio of maximum
demand to the connected load of the
system.”

Demand factor =
Maximum demand
Connected load

Since, all the connected loads are not

ON all the time, Maximum demand <
Connected Load.
Hence, Demand factor < 1

It is necessary for determination of

the required plant equipment
capacity.

Load Factor
It is de ned as “the ratio of average
load to the maximum demand in a
given time period.”

Load factor =
Average load
Maximum demand

It b d il / thl / l l d
It can be daily/monthly/yearly load
factor according to the time period
considered. It is less than unity
because Average load < Maximum
demand.

Value of load factor a ects the

production cost too. It should be as
high as possible. If the load factor is
high, max demand is low and
required station capacity (which
depends on max demand) is
reduced. This reduces cost of
production. Load Factor should be as
close to 1 as possible.

Also, a higher value of load factor

reduces the variable loading
problems. This is because, a higher
value of load factor implies less
variation in demands at various
times. Due to this, the e ects of
variable loading are minimised.
Hence Load factor should be as high
as possible.

Diversity Factor
A power station supplies a variety of
consumers. Each consumer will have
an individual maximum demand and
such max demands may not occur all
at the same time.

Diversity Factor is de ned as “the

ratio of the sum of the individual
maximum demands to the total
maximum demand on the system. It
can be expressed as,

Diversity factor =
Sum of individual maximum
demands
Maximum demand of the
power station

Obviously, Diversity Factor is greater

than 1. This factor gives us the
diversi cation of the load and is
necessary to decide the installation,
transmission and distribution
capacities of the plants.

It should be as high as possible.

Higher diversity factor means that
maximum demands of di erent
consumers occur at di erent times,
and hence, interchange and
scheduling is easier and operation is
optimum.

Another implication of higher

diversity factor is that total max
demand is lower. This reduces the
size (capacity) of the required units
and also the production cost.
In order to increase the diversity
factor, following methods have been
employed:

1. Scheduling o ce times with

certain time di erences (known
as staggering of timing.)
2. Making use of di erent time
zones.
3. Giving incentives to particular
consumers to utilize electricity
at o -peak hours (such as night
time.)
4. Use of daylight savings.
5. Using two part tari schemes.

Plant Capacity Factor

It is de ned as “the ratio of actual
energy produced in a given time
period to the total energy that
could’ve been produced in the same
time period.”

If we consider time period to be 1 day

then,

Plant capacity factor =

Total kWh output of 1 day
 Plant capacity X 24

Plant Use Factor

It is de ned as “the ratio of actual
energy produced (in kWh) in a given
time period to the product of plant
capacity and the number of hours
the plant was in operation.”

Plant use factor =

Actual energy generated
(kWh)
[Plant capacity X Time (in
hours) the plant has been in
operation]

Suppose 100 MW plant produces 50

× 106 kWh energy after being in
operation for 2500 hrs in a year.
Then,

Plant use factor =

50 x 106
[100 x 103 x 2500]

Therefor, Plant use factor = 0.2 = 20%

Solved Numerical
A plant has a connected load of 40
MW and a maximum demand of 20