Maximum Demand ^new^ Guide

Example: A 100 kW load runs for 5 minutes, then shuts off. Over a 15-minute window, the average is ( (100 \times 5) / 15 = 33.3 , \textkW ). Thus, short spikes are dampened, but sustained peaks are captured.

Understanding and managing Maximum Demand can lead to significant cost savings, while ignoring it can result in unnecessarily high penalties. maximum demand

Imagine two factories. Factory A runs a single 10 kW motor continuously for 10 hours. Factory B runs ten 10 kW motors simultaneously for 1 hour, then shuts down for 9 hours. Example: A 100 kW load runs for 5 minutes, then shuts off

A high Load Factor (close to 1.0) means your consumption is steady and predictable. A low Load Factor indicates that you have sharp, high peaks followed by periods of low usage. Understanding and managing Maximum Demand can lead to

Technically, MD is the highest average power (kW or kVA) drawn by a load over a specified interval—typically 15, 30, or 60 minutes—within a billing cycle. Utilities use "sliding window" averaging to prevent instantaneous spikes from triggering false peaks.