Load profile

Load profile, load profile, load curve or, depending on the time axis also daily or annual cycle, call in the electricity industry and energy supply the temporal profile of the removed power (eg, electric power, or gas power) over a time period.

The load profile is generally subject to strong diurnal variations, which in turn depends on weekdays and seasonal differently.

Electricity

Since electric power can be saved only to a small extent and subject to losses, the current trading, transport and generation must follow the temporal fluctuations in power consumption.

The electricity trading takes place one hand on long-term contracts for the supply base and the other, on the power exchange.

The electricity has to be covered by power plant management, the actual energy needs. This purpose are base load and peak load power plants are available which differ in the time they need, up and down to drive. Peak load power plants work eg with gas turbines to drive generators and can be operational within a few minutes.

In the deregulated electricity market, the knowledge of the load profile of a customer of particular importance. Therefore, measured at consumers with an annual consumption of more than 100,000 kWh / a, the actual load profiles. In these cases, one speaks of the measured load profile. For this purpose, remotely read 1/4-h-Lastgangzähler be used. The measurement data are read once a day by phone or radio. For consumers with a lower annual consumption of the load profile measurement is too expensive. For these consumers, the so-called standard load profiles exist (SLP). Here, the variations in consumption behavior of a typical end user is substituted by standardized customer groups or industry- related consumption patterns. By weighting with the estimated (forecast ) or measured ( billing ) Annual amount of work as a load profile is approximated for these small consumers. This often between weekdays, Saturdays and Sundays (type days) and partially between three seasonal ( seasonal ) areas ( transitional seasons, summer, winter) are distinguished. so there are a total of nine typical standard daily time profiles.

Average daily load curves, depending on the week and Anniversary ( 1919).

Gas supply

Load profiles can also be found in the liberalized gas market application.