Electrical Engineering

DIVERSITY AND DEMAND:

General:
The actual operating load rarely, if ever, equals the sum of all loads installed.
The maximum operating load can be related to connected loads or to the
sum of demand loads by the demand factor or the diversity factor.
To avoid confusion designers must always keep in mind actual operating
conditions in an installation. An electrical distribution system can be broken
down into groups of smaller systems or branches, successively connected
together forming the whole network or tree. Each of these branches can
contain smaller branches and ultimately, at the smallest branch, individual
items of equipment.
The operating load existing at any location in a system at a given point in
time is the sum of the loads downstream existing at that point in time.
Diversity
Diversity occurs in an operating system because not all loads connected are
operating simultaneously or are not simultaneously operating at their
maximum rating.
Coincident
The inverse of diversity factor is known as the coincident factor.
Examples of this occur in a building in the following manner:
○ Motors are not usually operating at their nameplate rating, i.e. the
mechanical load on the rotating shaft is less than rated. This could be due to
operating variations in load as in an air conditioning system with variable air
volume controls or due to conservative equipment selection by the designer.
○ Some loads are cyclic in nature such as sump pumps, sewerage ejector
pumps, air compressors, lifts, etc. The cyclic nature of these loads creates a
probability that not all will be simultaneously operating.
○ Some loads rarely operate except in unusual circumstances or for testing. An
example would be sprinkler booster pumps or hose reel pumps.
○ Other equipment often operates at less than manufacturer’s nameplate
ratings.
Time dependant
The load is time dependant as well as being dependant upon equipment
characteristics. The diversity factor recognises that the whole load does not
equal the sum of its parts due to this time Interdependence (i.e.
diverseness).
An example would be a conveyor belt made up of six sections, each driven
by a 2 kW motor. As material is transported along this belt, it is first carried
 by section 1, then each section in succession until the final section is
reached. In this simple example only one section of conveyor is carrying
material at any point in time. Therefore five motors are only handling no-load
mechanical losses (say .1 kW) keeping the belts moving whilst one motor is
handling the load (say 1 kW). The demand presented by each motor when it
is carrying its load is 1 kW, the sum of the demand loads is 6 kW but the
maximum load presented by the system at any time is only 1.5 kW.
The diversity factor for this system is:
∑Demand Loads 6 kW
-------------------------- = ----------- =
---- -- 4
Maximum Demand 1.5 kW
The demand factor for this system is:
Maximum Demand 1.5 kW
-------------------------- = ----------- =
---- -- 0.125
∑Connected Load 12 kW
Lighting:
In commercial or industrial buildings lighting demand is often assumed to
equal 100% of connected load.
However, some luminaires will not be operated. In installations provided with
local switching (or occupancy sensing) lights in unoccupied areas may not be
on. The extension of this diversity may be very small but nonetheless it
exists.
Small Power:
For several years there has been a trend to anticipate the use of large
quantities of electronic equipment in general office spaces. As a result
design levels for small power loads have been rising.
Experience has shown however, that demand loads have not grown as
rapidly as connected loads. This may be due to several factors, among which
are:
○ Unrealised expectations in some cases the quantity of equipment anticipated
is never actually installed.
○ Under estimating or neglecting the effect of diversity and demand factors.
Here again the design engineer must have an appreciation of realistic values
for operating demand as a percentage of connected loads. Good record
keeping and obtaining operational data from completed installations are
useful tools to aid in gaining such an appreciation.
The capacity of air conditioning plant can be significantly affected by the
small power loads. Reasonably accurate assessment of operating demand
loads will enable an HVAC design engineer to properly select equipment for a
project. Oversized equipment can be extremely difficult to control when
operating at very small percentages of rated capacity. In some cases, as in
Variable Air Volume systems, occupied spaces may be seriously overcooled
even at minimum control settings.
Power Factor:
In an operating system various loads comprising the system may have
differing power factors.
When totalling loads at any point in the system this must be considered and
loads added algebraically. It is often convenient for initial analysis to work in
real load (kW) only.
Electric Heating:
When a building is electrically heated the heating load must be considered
independently from any unit load design guidelines and generally added to
the maximum demand calculations.
In an air conditioned building however, it is likely that maximum heating load
will not occur simultaneously with cooling loads. Therefore, this diversity
must be considered in determining maximum demand.
Voltage Variation:
In general, all load evaluation is based upon nominal system voltage.
The designer should always be aware of the effects of voltage drop or supply
variations.
Voltage drops within the range recommended by various codes and
standards or Supply Company regulations will not usually present any
problems.