What is peak demand?

Looking at your electric billcan be a daunting task. There are many factors that can affect your bill’s total — factors that are only amplified in large commercial and industrial sites.

One such consideration is peak demand. Peak demand is the largest instance of power usage in a given time frame, typically a rolling fifteen minute window. Measured in kilowatts (kW), peak demand is different than consumption. Total consumption is measured in kilowatt hours (kWh) over a given period of time (e.g. monthly, quarterly, etc.).

高峰需求可以代表电力使用的高峰，例如打开一个设施的所有灯或启动一个工厂的电动机。你的公用事业公司必须能够为你提供这么多的电力，但随时提供这些电力所需的基础设施是有代价的。

In some areas, utilities have a “ratchet clause” which means they can bill you for your highest one-time peak demand over the entire billing cycle. Because of this, facility engineers are now incentivized to cut down their building’s energy bills and conserve energy.

Peak demand charges can account for 30-70% of your electric bill. Rates for peak demand vary greatly and are determined by a number of factors such as region, utility provider, tariffs, and pricing structures. Across the United States, peak demand charges are one of the most expensive parts of the total utility bill.

One of the way facility engineers combat this is by load shedding power within their facilities.By monitoring and automatingpower loads, these engineers can ramp up power-intensive equipment as opposed to turning them all on at the beginning of a shift. Once a counterintuitive concept, many building operators are now finding that they can actually save money on their electric bill by leaving equipment up and running.

CLICK HEREto learn about power factor and how it affects your power bill.