How to reduce peak demand charges and stay inside your tariff band
Reducing peak demand charges means keeping the highest interval of electricity use below the level your tariff penalizes. Aqueduct tracks demand as it builds, shows which feeders drive the peak, sequences loads where control is enabled with owner approval, schedules solar or backup generation against it, and watches power factor so reactive penalties are visible.
Keep the highest interval under the band, and see the peak coming.
Demand tracked live against your tariff
- 24-hour demand
The daily demand curve updates every 60 seconds against your tariff bands.
- Feeder breakdown
The electrical twin shows which feeders and assets are building the peak.
- Forecast to the band
Demand trending toward the band is flagged while there is still time to act.
Loads staged so they do not stack
- Load sequencing
Large loads start one after another, where control is enabled with owner approval.
- Sources scheduled
Solar, backup generation and batteries can be scheduled against the peak where present.
- Command history
Every staging command and its result is recorded in command history, ready for audit and M&V.
Stop paying for power you never use
- Power triangle
kW, kVAR and kVA with the phase angle show how far power factor has drifted.
- Loading per feeder
Each feeder shows its load against rated kVA, so correction can be targeted.
- Reactive penalty
The reactive penalty is shown in money from your tariff, alongside the demand charge.
Peak demand, before and after Aqueduct
- The peak is discovered on the invoice.
- Every large load starts at the same time.
- Low power factor costs money nobody sees.
- Solar and generators run on their own logic.
- Demand savings are estimated, never measured.
The Aqueduct way- The peak is seen building on the electrical twin.
- Loads are sequenced where control is enabled.
- Power factor and penalties are shown per feeder.
- Sources are scheduled against the peak where present.
- Avoided charges are calculated from the meter and tariff.
Why demand charges surprise everyone
A single interval can set the demand charge for the whole month.
Everything starts at once
Refrigeration, HVAC and process loads start together in the morning and set a peak nobody planned.
Seen only on the invoice
Finance learns about the peak weeks later, when nothing can be done about it.
Power factor ignored
Low power factor means paying for apparent power the site never turns into useful work.
Sources not coordinated
Solar, backup generation and batteries run on their own logic, not against the peak.
How Aqueduct manages peak demand
One avoided peak, start to finish.
Power meters on the main and on feeders report kW, kVAR, kVA and power factor into the electrical twin every 60 seconds.
The 24-hour demand profile is measured against your tariff bands and your typical peak for that day type.
Morning demand climbs toward the band. The twin shows HVAC and refrigeration feeders starting together.
Loads are sequenced so they do not all start at once, where control is enabled with owner approval, and solar or backup generation is scheduled against the peak.
The monthly peak stays under the band, and the avoided charge is calculated from your tariff and verified on the meter.
What it needs on site
Existing power meters connect over Modbus, BACnet or pulse. New devices are installed through partners.
| Device | What it measures or does | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Main power meter | kW, kVA, power factor, demand | The number your tariff charges against |
| Feeder or equipment power meters | Load per feeder or major asset | Shows which loads build the peak |
| Relays or field device controllers | On, off, staging and setpoints | Sequencing where control is enabled, with owner approval |
| Solar, generator or battery data (if present) | Generation and state | Lets sources be scheduled against the peak |
| Tariff and 6 to 12 months of bills | Demand bands and rates | Turns kW into money and sets the baseline |
The monthly demand charge is decided in a single interval, so watch it live.
Talk to our teamOutcome
What changes when peak is managed live.
Demand charges seen only on the invoice.
Peak kW tracked as it builds against the tariff band.
Peaks managed before they set the monthly charge.
Reactive power penalties ignored.
Power factor and loading per feeder on the electrical twin.
Correction opportunities visible with their cost.
Loads started without coordination.
Load sequencing where control is enabled, with command history.
Starts staggered without affecting operations.
Who cares about this
The seats that ask for this first.
Where teams put it to work
Refrigeration and process loads staged
Dairy and food plants stage refrigeration, pumps and process loads so they do not stack into one morning peak.
Learn more
Production starts without demand spikes
Shift starts are sequenced across production lines and utilities where control is enabled, with power factor tracked on every feeder.
Learn more
Power quality at the feeder
Feeder loading, power factor and demand are tracked against the tariff in facilities where power is the largest operating cost.
Learn moreAn electricity bill is several bills with different causes
Total kWh hides components that respond to completely different remedies.
| Component | What sets it | Remedy | Visible without interval metering? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Consumption | Total energy across the period | Efficiency, scheduling, load reduction | On the bill, with no attribution |
| Demand charge | The highest interval in the period | Load sequencing, generation timed to the peak | No, the event is over before the bill |
| Power factor penalty | Real against apparent power | Correction sized on measured load | No, and often misdiagnosed |
| Distribution losses | Loading and layout of your own network | Load balancing, reconfiguration | No, they sit inside your site |
The loads that stack into a demand peak
Peaks are usually coincidence, not requirement: individually reasonable loads starting together.
Chillers and RTUs
Morning pull-down after a weekend or night setback
Feeder kW per unit
Staggers starts where control is enabled
Refrigeration
Defrost and recovery coinciding with other loads
Compressor feeder kW
Shows overlap on the 24-hour profile
Compressed air
Compressors loading together at shift start
Compressor kW and runtime
Sequences units where enabled
Process lines
Furnaces, heaters and motors starting with the shift
Line feeders
Identifies the collision time
EV charging
Chargers drawing at arrival time
Charger feeder kW
Schedules against the peak where present
Lighting
Whole-site lighting on at once in large venues
Lighting feeder kW
Relays stage circuits where enabled
Power factor
Inductive load raises apparent power
kW, kVAR, kVA per feeder
Shows reactive penalty in money
The questions to answer about last quarter's peak
When was it?
The date and interval of the highest demand reading, from interval data rather than the bill.
What was running?
Which feeders and assets contributed, from the electrical twin.
Was it needed?
Whether those loads had to overlap, or simply started together.
What would staging cost?
Whether loads can move by minutes without affecting comfort, product or process.
What was the power factor?
Whether reactive power added a penalty on top of the demand charge.
From the bill to a managed peak
An illustrative sequence for a site with large cooling, refrigeration or process loads.
Tariff and bills
The tariff, demand bands and 6 to 12 months of bills load, so every kW can be priced and the baseline is set.
Interval and feeder metering
The main meter reports interval demand and power factor. Feeder meters are added on the loads most likely to build the peak.
Understand the peak
The 24-hour profile shows which loads collide and when. Engineers decide which starts can move and by how much.
Sequence and verify
Loads are staged where control is enabled, with owner approval. Avoided charges are calculated from the meter and tariff each cycle.
sites in 21 countries run on Aqueduct.
and 9 clinics in one of India’s top hospital chains.
US airport running water intelligence on Aqueduct.
of commercial real estate under Aqueduct.
FMCG manufacturing campus.
operations run on Aqueduct.
Related
Common questions
Track demand as it builds, find the loads that start together, and stagger them so the highest interval stays under your tariff band. Aqueduct does this live on the electrical twin and sequences loads where control is enabled with owner approval.
Load sequencing means starting large loads one after another instead of together, so their demand does not stack into a single peak. For example, refrigeration is not started at the same time as process lighting or HVAC.
Low power factor means current and voltage are out of phase, so the site draws more apparent power than it turns into work. Many tariffs penalize this. Aqueduct shows power factor and loading per feeder so correction can be targeted.
Where those sources are present and control is enabled with owner approval, yes. The electrical twin balances grid import, solar and backup generation against the loads, so sources can be scheduled to flatten the peak.
A main power meter, feeder or equipment meters for the largest loads, your tariff structure and 6 to 12 months of bills. Control devices are added only where sequencing will be automated.
Yes. Aqueduct is device agnostic and reads power meters over Modbus, BACnet, pulse and other protocols.
Some tariffs carry a high demand reading forward into later billing periods, so one interval can affect several months of bills. Check your tariff; Aqueduct tracks the reading that would set it.
Yes. Demand is set within a short interval, so monthly totals cannot show it. A main power meter reporting kW at short intervals is the minimum, with feeder meters to show the cause.
It measures kW, kVAR and kVA per feeder over time, which gives an engineer the measured load profile needed to size and place correction rather than relying on nameplate assumptions.
Sequencing delays starts by minutes and is set by your engineers. It runs only where control is enabled, with owner approval, and comfort and process conditions are tracked alongside.
It can, when generation runs during the intervals that set the peak. Aqueduct shows grid, solar and backup generation on the electrical twin so generation can be scheduled against the peak where present.
See Aqueduct on your own facility.
Bring a site, a utility bill or a question. We will show you where the loss is.