Demand Factor-Diversity Factor-

Utilization Factor-Load Factor

Originally published at Electrical Notes – Articles

(1) Demand factor

Demand Factor = Maximum demand of a system / Total
connected load on the system
Demand factor is always less than one.
Example: if a residence having 6000W equipment connected
has a maximum demand of 300W,Than demand factor = 6000W
/ 3300W = 55%.
The lower the demand factor, the less system capacity
required to serve the connected load.
Feeder-circuit conductors should have an ampere sufficient to
carry the load; the ampere of the feeder-circuit need not always
be equal to the total of all loads on all branch-circuits connected
to it.
Remember that the demand factor permits a feeder-circuit
ampere to be less than 100% of the sum of all branch-circuit
loads connected to the feeder.
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 Example: One Machine Shop has
Fluorescent fixtures=1 No, 5kw each, Receptacle outlets =1
No, 1500w each.
Lathe=1No, 10 Hp, Air Compressor=1 No, 20 Hp, Fire Pump=1
No, 15 Hp.

After questioning the customer about the various loads, the

information is further deciphered as follows:
1. The shop lights are on only during the hours of 8 a.m. to 5
p.m.
2. The receptacle outlets are in the office only, and will have
computers and other small loads plugged into them.
3. The lathe is fully loaded for 5 minutes periods. The rest of
the time is setup time. This procedure repeats every 15
minutes.
4. The air compressor supplies air to air tools and cycles off
and on about half the time.
5. The fire pump only runs for 30 minutes when tested which
is once a month after hours.

Calculation:

Lighting Demand Factor = Demand Interval Factor x Diversity

Factor.
= (15 minute run time/ 15 minutes) x 1.0 = 1.0
Lighting Demand Load = 5 kW x 1.0 = 5 kW
Receptacle Outlet Demand Factor = Demand Interval Factor x
Diversity Factor
= (15 minute run time / 15 minutes) x 0.1 = 0.1
Receptacle Outlet Demand Load = 15 x 1500 watts x 0.1 =
:
 2.25 kW
Lathe Demand Factor = Demand Interval Factor x Diversity
Factor.
= (5 minute run time / 15 minutes) x 1.0 =0 .33
Lathe Demand Load = 10 hp x .746 x .33 = 2.46 kW
Air Compressor Demand Factor = Demand Interval Factor x
Diversity Factor.
= (7.5 minute run time / 15 minutes) x 1.0 = 0.5
Air Compressor Demand Load = 20 hp x .746 x .5 = 7.46 kW
Fire Pump Demand Factor = Demand Interval Factor x Diversity
Factor.
= (15 minute run time/ 15 minutes) x 0.0 = 0.0
Fire Pump Demand Load = 15 hp x .746 x 0.0 = 0.0 kW
Summary of Demand Loads :

Equipment kW D.F. Demand KW

Lighting 5 1 5
Receptacle 22.5 .1 2.25
Outlets
Lathe 7.5 .33 2.46
Air Compressor 15 0.5 7.46
Fire Pump 11.25 0.0 0.0
TOTAL 61.25 Kw 17.17 Kw

(2) Diversity factor / simultaneity factor (Ks)

Diversity Factor = Sum of Individual Max. Demand. / Max.
Demand on Power Station.

Diversity Factor = Installed load. / Running load.

Diversity factor is usually more than one. (Since the sum of

individual max. demands >Max. Demand)
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 The load is time dependent as well as being dependent upon
equipment characteristics. The diversity factor recognizes that
the whole load does not equal the sum of its parts due to this
time Interdependence (i.e. diverseness).
When the maximum demand of a supply is being assessed it is
not sufficient to simply add together the ratings of all electrical
equipment that could be connected to that supply. If this is
done, a figure somewhat higher than the true maximum demand
will be produced. This is because it is unlikely that all the
electrical equipment on a supply will be used simultaneously.
The concept of being able to De-rate a potential maximum load
to an actual maximum demand is known as the application of a
diversity factor.
70% diversity means that the device in question operates at its
nominal or maximum load level 70% of the time that it is
connected and turned on.
If total installed full load ampere is twice your running load
ampere then the diversity factor is two.
If total installed full load ampere is four times your load a
ampere then the diversity factor is four.
If everything (all electrical equipment) was running at full load at
the same time the diversity factor is equal to One
Greater the diversity factor, lesser is the cost of generation
of power.
Diversity factor in a distribution network is the ratio of the sum
of the peak demands of the individual customers to the peak
demand of the network.
This will be determined by the type of service, i.e., residential,
commercial, industrial and combinations of such.
Example-I: A distribution feeder serves 5 houses, each of
which has a peak demand of 5 KW. The feeder peak turns out to
be 20 kw. The diversity is then 20/25 or 0.8. This results from
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 the timing differences between the individual heating/cooling,
appliance usages in the individual customers.
As supply availability decreases, the diversity factor will tend to
increase toward 1.00. This can be demonstrated when restoring
service after outages (called “cold starts”) as the system initial
surge can be much greater than the historical peak loads.
Example-II: A sub-station has three outgoing feeders:

1. feeder 1 has maximum demand 10 MW at 10:00 am,

2. feeder 2 has maximum demand 12 MW at 7:00 pm and
3. feeder 3 has maximum demand 15 MW at 9:00 pm,
4. While the maximum demand of all three feeders is 33 MW at
8:00 pm.

Here, the sum of the maximum demand of the individual sub-

systems (feeders) is 10 + 12 + 15 = 37 MW, while the system
maximum demand is 33 MW. The diversity factor is 37/33 = 1.12.
The diversity factor is usually greater than 1; its value also can
be 1 which indicates the maximum demand of the individual
sub-system occurs simultaneously.
Diversity is the relationship between the rated full loads of the
equipment downstream of a connection point, and the rated
load of the connection point. To illustrate:

1. The building at these co-ordinates is fitted with a 100A main

supply fuse.
2. The distribution board has 2no. 6A breakers, 1no. 20A breaker
and 5no. 32A breakers, a total, potentially, of 192A.

Not all these rated loads are turned on at once. If they were,
then the 100A supply fuse would rupture, as it cannot pass
192A. So the diversity factor of the distribution board can be
said to be 192A/100A, or 1.92, or 52%.
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 Many designers prefer to use unity as the diversity factor in
calculations for planning conservatism because of plant load
growth uncertainties. Local experience can justify using a
diversity factor larger than unity, and smaller service entrance
conductors and transformer requirements chosen accordingly.
The diversity factor for all other installations will be different,
and would be based upon a local evaluation of the loads to be
applied at different moments in time. Assuming it to be 1.0 may,
on some occasions, result in a supply feeder and equipment
rating that is rather larger than the local installation warrants,
and an over-investment in cable and equipment to handle the
rated load current. It is better to evaluate the pattern of usage of
the loads and calculate an acceptable diversity factor for each
particular case.
In the case of the example given above, achieving a diversity of
1.0 or 100% would require well over twice the cross-sectional
area of copper cable to be installed in a deep trench underneath
a field, the rebuild of a feeder cabinet to larger dimensions,
more substantial overhead supply cables for a distance
exceeding 2km northwards and a different tariff, where one pays
rather more for a kWh than at present. The investment required
to achieve 1.0 simply isn’t justifiable in this particular case.
Diversity factor is mostly used for distribution feeder size and
transformer as well as to determine the maximum peak load and
diversity factor is always based on knowing the process. You
have to understand what will be on or off at a given time for
different buildings and this will size the feeder. Note for typical
buildings diversity factor is always one. You have to estimate or
have a data records to create 24 hours load graph and you can
determine the maximum demand load for node then you can
easily determine the feeder and transformer size.
The diversity factor of a feeder would be the sum of the
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 maximum demands of the individual consumers divided by the
maximum demand of the feeder. In the same manner, it is
possible to compute the diversity factor on a substation, a
transmission line or a whole utility system.
The residential load has the highest diversity factor. Industrial
loads have low diversity factors usually of 1.4, street light
practically unity and other loads vary between these limits.

Diversity Factor in distribution Network

Diversity Factors
Elements of
System General Large
Residential Commercial
Power Industrial
Between individual
2.00 1.46 1.45
users
Between
1.30 1.30 1.35 1.05
transformers
Between feeders 1.15 1.15 1.15 1.05
Between
1.10 1.10 1.10 1.10
substations
From users to
2.00 1.46 1.44
transformers
From users to
2.60 1.90 1.95 1.15
feeder
From users to
3.00 2.18 2.24 1.32
substation
From users to
3.29 2.40 2.46 1.45
generating station

Diversity Factor for distribution switchboards

Number of circuits Diversity Factor

(ks)
:
 Assemblies entirely tested 2 and 3 0.9
4 and 5 0.8
6 to 9 0.7
10 and more 0.6
Assemblies partially tested in every case 1
choose

Diversity Factor for according to circuit function (IEC

60439)

Circuits Function Diversity Factor

(ks)
Lighting 0.9
Heating and air conditioning 0.8
Socket-outlets 0.7
Lifts and catering hoist
For the most powerful motor 1
For the second most powerful motor 0.75
For all motors 0.8

Diversity Factor for an apartment block

Apartment Diversity Factor

(ks)
2 To 4 1
5To 19 0.78
10To 14 0.63
15To 19 0.53
20To 24 0.49
25To 29 0.46
30 To 34 0.44
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 35 To 39 0.42
40To 40 0.41
50 To Above 0.40

Example: 5 storey apartment building with 25 consumers, each

having 6 kVA of installed load.
The total installed load for the building is: 36 + 24 + 30 + 36 +
24 = 150 kVA
The apparent-power supply required for the building is: 150 x
0.46 = 69 kVA
It is a matter of common experience that the simultaneous
operation of all installed loads of a given installation never
occurs in practice, i.e. there is always some degree of diversity
and this fact is taken into account for estimating purposes by
the use of a simultaneity factor / Diversity Factor (ks).
The Diversity factor ks is applied to each group of loads (e.g.
being supplied from a distribution or sub-distribution board).
The determination of these factors is the responsibility of the
designer, since it requires a detailed knowledge of the
installation and the conditions in which the individual circuits are
to be exploited. For this reason, it is not possible to give precise
values for general application.

Designing Size of Electrical Switchgear by use of Demand

Factor and Diversity Factor:

Diversity factors are used by utilities for distribution transformer

sizing and load predictions.
Demand factors are more conservative and are used by NEC for
service and feeder sizing.
Demand factors and diversity factors are used in design.
For example, the sum of the connected loads supplied by a
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 feeder is multiplied by the demand factor to determine the load
for which the feeder must be sized. This load is termed the
maximum demand of the feeder. The sum of the maximum
demand loads for a number of sub feeders divided by the
diversity factor for the sub feeders will give the maximum
demand load to be supplied by the feeder from which the sub
feeders are derived.
Example-1: Suppose We have four individual feeder-circuits
with connected loads of 250 kVA, 200 kVA, 150 kVA and 400
kVA and demand factors of 90%, 80%, 75% and 85%
respectively.Use a diversity factor of 1.5.
Calculating demand for feeder-circuits
250 kVA x 90% = 225 kVA
200 kVA x 80% = 160 kVA
150 kVA x 75% = 112.5 kVA
400 kVA x 85% = 340 kVA
837.5 kVA
The sum of the individual demands is equal to 837.5 kVA.
If the main feeder-circuit were sized at unity diversity: kVA
= 837.5 kVA ÷ 1.00 = 837.5 kVA.
The main feeder-circuit would have to be supplied by an
850 kVA transformer.
However, using the diversity factor of 1.5, the kVA = 837.5
kVA ÷ 1.5 = 558 kVA for the main feeder.
For diversity factor of 1.5, a 600 kVA transformer could be
used.
Example-2: 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, and 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
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 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.
Diversity factor =Sum of Individual Max. Demand / Max.
Demand = 6 Kw / 1.5 Kw =4.
Demand Factor = Maximum demand / Total connected load
= 1.5 Kw / 12 Kw = 0.125.

(3) Load factor

Load Factor = Average load. /Maximum load during a given
period.

It can be calculated for a single day, for a month or for a year.

Its value is always less than one. Because maximum demand is
always more than avg. demand.
It is used for determining the overall cost per unit
generated. Higher the load factor, lesser will be the cost
per unit.
Load Factor = Load that a piece of equipment actually draws /
Load it could draw (full load).
Example: Motor of 20 hp drives a constant 15 hp load whenever
it is on.
The motor load factor is then 15/20 = 75%.
Load factor is term that does not appear on your utility bill, but
does affect electricity costs. Load factor indicates how
efficiently the customer is using peak demand.
Load Factor = ( energy (kWh per month) ) / ( peak demand
(kW) x hours/month )
A high load factor means power usage is relatively constant.
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 Low load factor shows that occasionally a high demand is set.
To service that peak, capacity is sitting idle for long periods,
thereby imposing higher costs on the system. Electrical rates
are designed so that customers with high load factor are
charged less overall per kWh.
For Example
Customer A – High Load Factor
82% load factor = (3000 kWh per month x 100%) / 5 kW x 730
hours/month.
Customer B – Low Load Factor
41% load factor = (3000 kWh per month x 100%) / 10kW x 730
hours/month.
To encourage the efficient use of installed capacity, electricity
rates are structured so the price per kWh above a certain load
factor is lower. The actual structure of the price blocks varies by
rate.

(4) Utilization factor (Ku)

In normal operating conditions the power consumption of a load
is sometimes less than that indicated as its nominal power
rating, a fairly common occurrence that justifies the application
of an utilization factor (ku) in the estimation of realistic values.
Utilization Factor = The time that a equipment is in use./ The
total time that it could be in use.
Example: The motor may only be used for eight hours a day, 50
weeks a year. The hours of operation would then be 2000 hours,
and the motor Utilization factor for a base of 8760 hours per
year would be 2000/8760 = 22.83%. With a base of 2000 hours
per year, the motor Utilization factor would be 100%. The
bottom line is that the use factor is applied to get the correct
number of hours that the motor is in use.
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 This factor must be applied to each individual load, with
particular attention to electric motors, which are very rarely
operated at full load. In an industrial installation this factor may
be estimated on an average at 0.75 for motors.
For incandescent-lighting loads, the factor always equals 1.
For socket-outlet circuits, the factors depend entirely on the
type of appliances being supplied from the sockets concerned.

Maximum demand
Maximum demand (often referred to as MD) is the largest
current normally carried by circuits, switches and protective
devices. It does not include the levels of current flowing under
overload or short circuit conditions.
Assessment of maximum demand is sometimes
straightforward. For example, the maximum demand of a 240 V
single-phase 8 kW shower heater can be calculated by dividing
the power (8 kW) by the voltage (240 V) to give a current of
33.3 A. This calculation assumes a power factor of unity, which
is a reasonable assumption for such a purely resistive load.
There are times, however, when assessment of maximum
demand is less obvious. For example, if a ring circuit feeds
fifteen 13 A sockets, the maximum demand clearly should not
be 15 x 13 = 195 A, if only because the circuit protection will not
be rated at more than 32 A. Some 13 A sockets may feed table
lamps with 60 W lamps fitted, whilst others may feed 3 kW
washing machines; others again may not be loaded at all.
Lighting circuits pose a special problem when determining MD.
Each lamp-holder must be assumed to carry the current
required by the connected load, subject to a minimum loading of
100 W per lamp holder (a demand of 0.42 A per lamp holder at
240 V). Discharge lamps are particularly difficult to assess, and
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 current cannot be calculated simply by dividing lamp power by
supply voltage. The reasons for this are:

1. Control gear losses result in additional current,

2. the power factor is usually less than unity so current is greater,
and
3. Chokes and other control gear usually distort the waveform of
the current so that it contains harmonics which are additional to
the fundamental supply current.

So long as the power factor of a discharge lighting circuit is not

less than 0.85, the current demand for the circuit can be
calculated from:
current (A) = (lamp power (W) x 1.8) / supply voltage (V)
For example, the steady state current demand of a 240 V circuit
supplying ten 65 W fluorescent lamps would be: I = 10X65X1.8A
/ 240 = 4.88A
Switches for circuits feeding discharge lamps must be rated at
twice the current they are required to carry, unless they have
been specially constructed to withstand the severe arcing
resulting from the switching of such inductive and capacitive
loads.

(5) Coincidence factor

The coincidence factor =Max. demand of a system / sum of
the individual maximum demands
The coincidence factor is the reciprocal of the diversity factor

Demand Factor & Load Factor according to Type of

Industries

Type of Industry Demand Load Utilization

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 Factor Factor Factor (DF x
LF)
Arc Furnace 0.55 0.80 0.44
Induction Furnace 0.90 0.80 0.72
Steel Rolling mills 0.80 0.25 0.20
Mechanical/ Electrical
a) Single Shift 0.45 0.25 0.11
b) Double Shift 0.45 0.50 0.22
Cycle Industry 0.40 0.40 0.16
Wire products 0.35 0.40 0.14
Auto Parts 0.40 0.50 0.20
Forgings 0.50 0.35 0.17
Cold Storage
a) Working Season 0.60 0.65 0.39
b) Non-Working 0.25 0.15 0.04
Season
Rice Sheller’s
a) Working Season 0.70 0.80 0.56
b) Non-Working 0.05 0.30 0.01
Season
Ice Candy Units
a) Working Season 0.50 0.65 0.32
b) Non-Working 0.50 0.10 0.05
Season
Ice Factories
a) Working Season 0.80 0.65 0.52
b) Non-Working 0.80 0.10 0.08
Season
Cotton Ginning
a) Working Season 0.70 0.25 0.17
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 b) Non-Working 0.10 0.10 0.01
Season
Spinning Mills 0.60 0.80 0.48
Textile Industry 0.50 0.80 0.40
Dyeing and Printing 0.40 0.50 0.20
Ghee Mills 0.50 0.50 0.25
Oil Mills 0.70 0.50 0.35
Solvent Extraction 0.45 0.50 0.22
Mills
Plastic 0.60 0.25 0.11
Soap 0.50 0.25 0.12
Rubber (Foot Wear) 0.45 0.35 0.16
Distilleries 0.35 0.50 0.17
Chemical Industry 0.40 0.50 0.20
Gas Plant Industry 0.70 0.50 0.35
Pain and Colour 0.50 0.40 0.20
Factory
Sugar 0.30 0.45 0.13
Paper 0.50 0.80 0.40
Flour Mills(Single 0.80 0.25 0.20
Shift)
Atta Chakies 0.50 0.25 0.12
Milk Plants 0.40 0.80 0.32
Printing Presses 0.35 0.30 0.10
Repair Workshops 0.40 0.25 0.10
Bottling Plants 0.40 0.35 0.14
Radio Stations 0.55 .0.45 0.25
Telephone exchange 0.50 0.90 0.45
Public Water Works 0.75 0.40 0.30
Medical Colleges 0.60 0.25 0.15
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 Hospitals 0.25 0.90 0.22
Nursing Homes 0.50 0.50 0.25

Colleges and Schools 0.50 0.20 0.10

Hotels and 0.75 0.40 0.30
Restaurants
Marriage Palaces 1.00 0.25 0.25

Demand Factor & Load Factor according to Type of

Buildings:

Individual Facilities Demand Load

Factor Factor
Communications – buildings 60-65 70-75
Telephone exchange building 55-70 20-25
Air passenger terminal building 65-80 28-32
Aircraft fire and rescue station 25-35 13-17
Aircraft line operations 65-80 24-28
building
Academic instruction building 40-60 22-26
Applied instruction building 35-65 24-28
Chemistry and Toxicology 70-80 22-28
Laboratory
Materials Laboratory 30-35 27-32
Physics Laboratory 70-80 22-28
Electrical and electronics 20-30 3-7
systems laboratory

Cold storage warehouse 70-75 20-25

General warehouse 75-80 23-28
Controlled humidity warehouse 60-65 33-38
Hazardous/flammable 75-80 20-25
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 storehouse
Disposal, salvage, scrap 35-40 25-20
building
Hospital 38-42 45-50
Laboratory 32-37 20-25
Dental Clinic 35-40 18-23
Medical Clinic 45-50 20-23
Administrative Office 50-65 20-35
Single-family residential 60-70 10-15
housing
Detached garages 40-50 2-4
Apartments 35-40 38-42
Fire station 25-35 13-17
Police station 48-53 20-25
Bakery 30-35 45-60
Laundry/dry cleaning plant 30-35 20-25
K-6 schools 75-80 10-15
7-12 schools 65-70 12-17
Churches 65-70 5-25
Post Office 75-80 20-25
Retail store 65-70 25-32
Bank 75-80 20-25
Supermarket 55-60 25-30
Restaurant 45-75 15-25
Auto repair shop 40-60 15-20
Hobby shop, art/crafts 30-40 25-30
Bowling alley 70-75 10-15
Gymnasium 70-75 20-45
Skating rink 70-75 10-15
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 Indoor swimming pool 55-60 25-50
Theater 45-55 8-13
Library 75-80 30-35
Golf clubhouse 75-80 15-20
Museum 75-80 30-35
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