Peak Shaving

Peak shaving is discharging a battery during the intervals when a facility draws the most power from the grid, so its measured peak demand and the demand charge billed on it are lower.

The energy management system watches the site meter, forecasts the load a few minutes ahead, and discharges to hold the import under a ceiling it has set for the month. The battery recharges during lower demand periods. Peak shaving does not reduce how much energy the facility uses, only the height of its peak, and a single missed interval resets the month’s charge, which is why the algorithm must run on site and keep running through network loss.

Also called: Demand charge management, Peak demand reduction, Load shaving