Electrical consumption
Electrical energy supplied to or generated within a building is used to serve a number of purposes within the building, where it is usually converted into another form of energy.
These may include:
- Lighting.
- Heating.
- Motion, usually to drive applications such as mechanical ventilation, fluid movement, cooling as well as other modalities such as lifts and escalators.
- Power conversion, to drive electronic devices such as computers, audio visual equipment, etc.
The rate at which energy is used is termed electrical power, usually measured in watts.
The accumulation of electrical energy that has been used in any given time, is termed the electrical consumption, or electrical use and is very often metered for billing purposes.
Electrical consumption is most often measured and compared by reference to the term Kilowatt hour. In its most basic form, this is the amount of energy used by a resistive load of 1000 watts (1kW) running for 1 hour. This quantity of energy can be equated to, say, running a 1kW electric heater continuously for 1 hour, and the amount of energy used by this would be 1kWh or ‘1 unit’ of electricity.
Equally, a 100W filament lamp (0.1kW) running for 10 hours would consume 1kWh of electrical energy.
Many smaller electrical installations are billed for their consumption based on the number of kWh used over a given time period, plus a ‘standing charge’ which covers supplier and distributor costs.
Larger consumers of electrical energy will be billed based on a more complex sets of conditions – taking into account the power factor of the connected load, maximum demand at any given time, time of day, season, as well as system use charges and other overheads borne by the supplier and distributor.
Details of billing arrangements are set out in energy companies’ terms and conditions and are known as tariffs.
--ECA
[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki
- Articles about electricity.
- BEAMA.
- Changing lives with the Practical Participation Programme
- Consumer electronics.
- Consumer units.
- ECA articles.
- ECA.
- Electric lock.
- Electric motor.
- Electrical appliance.
- Electrical component.
- Electrical energy.
- Electrical equipment.
- Electrical installation.
- Electrical power.
- Electrical safety.
- Electrician.
- Electricity bill.
- Electricity supply.
- Glossary of electrical terms.
- The Future of Electricity in Domestic Buildings.
- The future of UK power generation
Featured articles and news
70+ experts appointed to public sector fire safety framework
The Fire Safety (FS2) Framework from LHC Procurement.
Project and programme management codes of practice
CIOB publications for built environment professionals.
Sustainable development concepts decade by decade.
The regenerative structural engineer
A call for design that will repair the natural world.
Buildings that mimic the restorative aspects found in nature.
CIAT publishes Principal Designer Competency Framework
For those considering applying for registration as a PD.
BSRIA Building Reg's guidance: The second staircase
An overview focusing on aspects which most affect the building services industry.
Design codes and pattern books
Harmonious proportions and golden sections.
Introducing or next Guest Editor Arun Baybars
Practising architect and design panel review member.
Quick summary by size, shape, test, material, use or bonding.
Types of rapidly renewable content
From forestry to agricultural crops and their by-products.
Terraced houses and the public realm
The discernible difference between the public realm of detached housing and of terraced housing.
Looking back at the influence of climate events
From a designer and writer: 'There are limits to growth but no limits to development'.
Terms, histories, theories and practice.
Biophilic design and natural light
Letting in the light and natural elements into spaces.