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
A now architectural practice looks back at its concept project for a sustainable oceanic settlement 25 years on.
Copyright and Artificial Intelligence
Government report and back track on copyright opt out for AI training but no clear preferred alternative as yet.
Embedding AI tools into architectural education
Beyond the render: LMU share how student led research is shaping the future of visualisation workflows.
Why document control still fails UK construction projects
A Chartered Quantity Surveyor explains what needs to change and how.
Inspiration for a new 2026 wave of Irish construction professionals.
New planning reforms and Warm Homes Bill
Take centre stage at UK Construction Week London.
A brief run down of changes intentions from April in an onwards.
Reslating an ancient water mill
A rare opportunity to record, study and repair early vernacular roofs.
CIOB Apprentice of the Year 2025/26
Construction apprentice from Lincoln Mia Owen wins this years title.
Insulation solutions with less waste for a circular economy
Rob Firman, Technical and Specification Manager, Polyfoam XPS explains.
Recycled waste plastic in construction
Hierarchy, prevention to disposal, plastic types and approaches.
UK Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard V1 published
Free-to-access technical standard to enable robust proof of a decarbonising built environment.
Prostate Cancer Awareness Month
Why talking about prostate cancer matters in construction.
The Architectural Technology podcast: Where it's AT
Catch up for free, subscribe and share with your network.
The Association of Consultant Architects recap
A reintroduction and recap of ACA President; Patrick Inglis' Autumn update.
The Home Energy Model and its wrappers
From SAP to HEM, EPC for MEES and FHS assessment wrappers.
Future Homes Standard Essentials launched
Future Homes Hub launches new campaign to help sector prepare for the implementation of new building standards.
Building Safety recap February, 2026
Our regular run-down of key building safety related events of the month.
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.