Facilities most likely to benefit from peak shaving are those with significant and often inflexible energy demand that incurs high electricity costs during peak periods. These include:
Types of Facilities Benefiting from Peak Shaving
1. Data Centers
– Data centers experience large and fluctuating power demands due to intensive computational tasks and AI processing. Peak shaving helps them reduce energy costs by smoothing out high demand spikes, improving network reliability, and preventing electrical faults. Using technologies like supercapacitors, data centers can store energy during low-demand periods and deploy it during peaks, stabilizing their power use and performance.
2. Industrial Facilities and Manufacturing Plants
– Industrial and manufacturing facilities often run continuous and high-load processes that cannot easily be shifted to off-peak hours. Peak shaving allows these operations to reduce demand charges and avoid costly infrastructure upgrades by supplementing grid power with onsite energy storage or generation during peak times. They gain financial savings and improve operational continuity without disrupting production.
3. Commercial Buildings with High HVAC Loads
– Large commercial buildings consume much electricity through HVAC systems, especially during peak seasons. Peak shaving can manage and optimize HVAC consumption during high-demand times by incorporating energy storage or load management, reducing the peak load on the grid and lowering utility bills.
4. Facilities Using Natural Gas for Heating or Power Generation
– Facilities that rely on natural gas, especially in winter for heating or in summer for cooling, benefit from peak shaving by using stored LNG or onsite liquefaction systems to supply energy during peak demand periods. This approach reduces fuel costs and ensures reliable energy supply despite fluctuating utility prices and demand spikes.
5. EV Charging Stations
– Electric vehicle fast charging stations with high instantaneous power demand can use peak shaving (via battery energy storage) to reduce grid draw during peak times. This minimizes demand charges and helps smooth the load on the distribution network.
Summary Table
| Facility Type | Reason for Benefit | Peak Shaving Method |
|---|---|---|
| Data Centers | High, variable computational power demand | Supercapacitors, energy storage |
| Industrial/Manufacturing Plants | Continuous, inflexible high energy usage | Battery energy storage, onsite generation |
| Commercial Buildings (HVAC) | Large HVAC loads during peak seasons | Energy storage and load management |
| Natural Gas-Dependent Facilities | Seasonal demand spikes for heat or power | LNG storage, liquefaction, backup generation |
| EV Charging Stations | High instantaneous charging power demand | Battery energy storage systems |
Peak shaving is particularly beneficial where facility loads are high and inflexible, making load shifting impractical, and where utility demand charges create significant cost liabilities. It also supports sustainability goals by reducing grid strain and enabling integration of renewable energy sources.
In essence, facilities with large, constant, or hard-to-shift energy loads—such as data centers, industrial plants, commercial HVAC-heavy buildings, natural gas reliant sites, and EV charging stations—stand to gain the most from peak shaving strategies.
Original article by NenPower, If reposted, please credit the source: https://nenpower.com/blog/what-types-of-facilities-are-most-likely-to-benefit-from-peak-shaving/
