Peak demand
Peak demand: ‘Refers to the times of day when our electricity consumption is at its highest which, in the UK, occurs between 5-30pm to 6pm each weekday evening.’ Ref Climate Emergency Design Guide: How new buildings can meet UK climate change targets, published by the London Energy Transformation Initiative (LETI) in January 2020.
Zero carbon building, Performance standard, Version 2, Published by the Canada Green Building Council in March 2021, defines Peak demand as: ‘The building’s highest electrical load requirement on the grid, measured and reported in kW, reflecting any peak shaving impacts from demand management strategies including onsite renewable energy and energy storage.’
Planning our electric future: a White Paper for secure, affordable and low-carbon electricity, Glossary, published by the Department of Energy & Climate Change on 14 July 2011, suggests that peak load and peak demand are: ‘…used interchangeably to denote the maximum power requirement of a system at a given time, or the amount of power required to supply customers at times when need is greatest. They can refer either to the load at a given moment (e.g. a specific time of day) or to averaged load over a given period of time (e.g. a specific day or hour of the day).’
The RIBA Passivhaus Overlay, published by the RIBA in 2022, defines Peak Load (PL) as: ‘The heating load which has to be satisfied on either the coldest or cloudiest day of the year. Normally stated as W/m^2.’
[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings
- Climate Emergency Design Guide.
- Electrical energy.
- Electrical equipment.
- Electrical installation.
- Electrical power.
- Electrical safety.
- Electrician.
- Electricity bill.
- Electricity consumption.
- Electricity supply.
- Glossary of electrical terms.
- London Energy Transformation Initiative.
- Plug load control.
- What is diversity in HVAC systems?
Featured articles and news
CIOB Construction Manager of the Year 2025
Just one of the winners at the CIOB Awards 2025.
Call for independent National Grenfell oversight mechanism
MHCLG share findings of Building Safety Inquiry in letter to Secretary of State and Minister for Building Safety.
The Architectural Technology Awards
AT Awards now open for this the sixth decade of CIAT.
50th Golden anniversary ECA Edmundson awards
Deadline for submissions Friday 30 May 2025.
The benefits of precast, off-site foundation systems
Top ten benefits of this notable innovation.
Encouraging individuals to take action saving water at home, work, and in their communities.
Takes a community to support mental health and wellbeing
The why of becoming a Mental Health Instructor explained.
Mental health awareness week 13-18 May
The theme is communities, they can provide a sense of belonging, safety, support in hard times, and a sense purpose.
Mental health support on the rise but workers still struggling
CIOB Understanding Mental Health in the Built Environment 2025 shows.
Design and construction material libraries
Material, sample, product or detail libraries a key component of any architectural design practice.
Construction Products Reform Green Paper and Consultation
Still time to respond as consultation closes on 21 May 2025.
Resilient façade systems for smog reduction in Shanghai
A technical approach using computer simulation and analysis of solar radiation, wind patterns, and ventilation.
Digital technology, transformation and cybersecurity
Supporting SMEs through Digitalisation in Construction.
Villa Wolf in Gubin, history and reconstruction. Book review.
Construction contract awards down one billion pounds
Decline over the past two months compared to the same period last year, follows the positive start to the year.
Editor's broadbrush view on forms of electrical heating in context.
The pace of heating change; BSRIA market intelligence
Electric Dreams, Boiler Realities.
New President of ECA announced
Ruth Devine MBE becomes the 112th President of the Electrical Contractors Association.
Comments
[edit] To make a comment about this article, or to suggest changes, click 'Add a comment' above. Separate your comments from any existing comments by inserting a horizontal line.