Industrial Demand Load Calculator

Industrial facilities often contain process equipment, motors, heating equipment, and support loads that do not operate at full connected load at the same time. The Industrial Demand Load Calculator applies a reviewed demand factor to each load block and produces the coincident demand in kW.

That demand value supports preliminary industrial load review, capacity comparisons, feeder planning, service-load discussions, and early coordination of equipment layouts. It can also identify whether an entered comparison capacity has positive or negative margin before detailed electrical design proceeds.

The calculator separates total installed load from expected coincident load:

• Connected industrial load is the sum of all entered load blocks.
• Coincident demand is the demand-factor-adjusted total.
• Largest load block identifies the largest individual entered load category.
• Capacity margin compares Entered capacity (kW) with coincident demand.

Industrial Load Blocks

The worksheet uses four entered load categories:

Input	Electrical purpose
Process load (kW)	Connected kW assigned to the industrial process load block
Motor load (kW)	Connected kW assigned to motors and motor-driven equipment
Heating load (kW)	Connected kW assigned to electric heating equipment
Support load (kW)	Connected kW assigned to supporting systems
Process demand factor (%)	Reviewed percentage applied to Process load (kW)
Motor demand factor (%)	Reviewed percentage applied to Motor load (kW)
Heating demand factor (%)	Reviewed percentage applied to Heating load (kW)
Support demand factor (%)	Reviewed percentage applied to Support load (kW)
Entered capacity (kW)	Capacity value used only for the worksheet comparison

A demand factor represents the portion of a connected load block expected to contribute to the coincident demand under the reviewed process profile. It is not a substitute for process operating data, production schedules, motor duty information, or equipment nameplate review.

For example, a motor load may have substantial connected kW but a lower reviewed demand factor when only part of the motor group is expected to run during the applicable operating condition. Conversely, a process profile may justify a high process demand factor where equipment operation is closely coordinated.

Coincident Demand Calculation

The worksheet performs four direct calculations.

\(\displaystyle \text{Connected industrial load} = \text{Process load} + \text{Motor load} + \text{Heating load} + \text{Support load}\)

\(\displaystyle \text{Coincident demand} = \sum\left( \text{Load block} \times \frac{\text{Applicable demand factor}}{100} \right)\)

\(\displaystyle \text{Largest load block} = \max( \text{Process load}, \text{Motor load}, \text{Heating load}, \text{Support load} )\)

\(\displaystyle \text{Capacity margin} = \text{Entered capacity} - \text{Coincident demand}\)

The output remains in kW because all entered load blocks and the comparison capacity are expressed in kW. No conversion to amperes is performed by this worksheet.

A negative capacity margin means the coincident demand exceeds the entered comparison capacity. A positive margin indicates unused kW capacity within that entered comparison value, subject to separate engineering and field verification.

Calculation Example

Using the entered values:

Input	Value
Process load (kW)	40 kW
Motor load (kW)	30 kW
Heating load (kW)	15 kW
Support load (kW)	10 kW
Process demand factor (%)	80%
Motor demand factor (%)	70%
Heating demand factor (%)	60%
Support demand factor (%)	50%
Entered capacity (kW)	75 kW

The connected industrial load is:

\(\displaystyle 40 + 30 + 15 + 10 = \text{95 kW}\)

The coincident demand is:

\(\displaystyle 40 \times 0.80) + (30 \times 0.70) + (15 \times 0.60) + (10 \times 0.50\)

\(\displaystyle 32 + 21 + 9 + 5 = \text{67 kW}\)

The largest entered load block is the process load:

\(\displaystyle \max(40, 30, 15, 10) = \text{40 kW}\)

The capacity margin is:

\(\displaystyle 75 - 67 = \text{8 kW}\)

The resulting worksheet values are:

• Connected industrial load: 95 kW
• Coincident demand: 67 kW
• Largest load block: 40 kW
• Capacity margin: 8 kW

The 95 kW connected load describes the total entered equipment load. The 67 kW coincident demand reflects the specific demand assumptions applied to those four blocks. The 8 kW capacity margin is the remaining difference between the entered 75 kW capacity and the calculated coincident demand.

Electrical Planning Use

A coincident kW demand is commonly carried into a broader electrical planning workflow after the operating profile has been reviewed. Depending on the facility and available design data, the kW result may be used with system voltage, phase configuration, power factor, and equipment characteristics to evaluate current and downstream distribution requirements.

Typical follow-on checks can include:

• Feeder and branch-circuit loading based on the applicable calculated current.
• Conductor selection by AWG or kcmil after ampacity, terminal rating, insulation temperature rating, adjustment factor, and correction factor are established.
• Raceway and conduit layout after conductor count, conductor size, equipment grounding conductor requirements, and raceway fill are determined.
• Voltage-drop review for long industrial feeders, motor circuits, heating circuits, and sensitive process equipment.
• Motor calculations for motor branch circuits, motor feeders, overcurrent protection, disconnecting means, and controller coordination.
• Distribution equipment review, including panelboards, switchboards, motor control centers, transformers, generators, and service equipment.
• Capacity review of existing electrical infrastructure when an industrial expansion adds process, motor, heating, or support loads.

The largest load block is useful during load review because a single 40 kW process block may drive operational discussions even when the demand-adjusted total remains within an entered capacity. It does not identify inrush current, motor starting duty, harmonic loading, or the maximum simultaneous electrical current on its own.

Field Verification

This industrial demand worksheet applies entered demand factors to entered load blocks. It does not validate the process profile or establish the correct demand factors for a facility.

Separate electrical design and code review are required before making a service-sizing, feeder-sizing, conductor-sizing, overcurrent-protection, or equipment-rating decision. That review may require equipment nameplates, motor schedules, process sequence information, voltage and phase data, power factor, continuous-load conditions, noncoincident-load treatment, available fault current, short-circuit and coordination study data, and the requirements accepted by the AHJ.

The calculator does not perform motor/protection setting calculations, utility studies, service sizing, or code decisions. It also does not determine conductor ampacity, temperature correction, conductor adjustment for current-carrying conductors, terminal limitations, voltage drop, raceway fill, or equipment interrupting ratings.