The load to those that deal with electrical power is the amount of current being drawn by all components. Base load is the minimum level of power consumption over a period of 24 hours. It represents the power being consumed by the components that are running all the time, like your refrigerator or air conditioning that are essentially active all day and night. Peak load is the period of high demand and are characterized by being active for shorter periods of time. It is essentially the difference between the base demand and high demand.

Base Load Power Station

Interestingly power supply follows the same criteria. There are base demand power plants and peak demand power plants. Those plants that run essentially continuously over extended periods are your base load power plants. These supply the base demand of the grid. These plants are characterized by such sources as nuclear, coal, hydroelectric, geothermal, biogas, biomass, solar thermal and ocean thermal conversion plants. These are the mainstays of power generation and are online essentially 24/7 in most instances.

Peak Load Power Plants

Peak load plants we have gas plants, solar power, wind turbines and diesel auxiliary plants. As more fuel guzzling plants go online, the more it costs to generate peak load power. And this cost is passed on to you at a premium. Its time for a shave.

Peak Shaving Control Method for Energy Storage

Peak load shaving is use of peak load shaving generators, generally diesel fired rigs that help generate power during peak load periods. Generating your own power during peak load periods in generally cheaper than paying the premium high tariff peak load rates. However, remember that emission standards differ from peak load generators which run most days for extended periods and those standards that standby and emergency generator must adhere to as they only run occasionally.

Pros of Peak Shaving & Demand Response

What are the advantages of peak shaving?
• Reduction of overall electrical utility costs improves profitability and lowers overhead.
• Some peak load generators can also be tied into the heating systems and reduce heating costs.
• Generators can operate independently of the utility supply, providing power to keep up production if power fails that is fed from the grid.

Installation of Energy Monitoring System

Key to effective peak shaving is to install a monitoring and power management system. This detects the peak threshold starting up the generator automatically running in parallel to the utility power. Remember our discussion of the PLC, or programmable logic control systems from previous blogs? They play an important role in power management, including power shaving. Once the load drops to base levels the parallel systems are shut down.

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Another avenue is solar power that includes battery power storage. The system kicks in the batteries when the load exceeds threshold peak power consumption and switches it off when the system is at baseline loads. A combination of systems would provide for peak shaving over longer durations beyond solar power battery storage or during overcast periods when the system is not up to full loads. Surplus power is feed back into the grid benefiting the utility.
Advanced Electric Solutions Corp.