Seven-Day Electrical Load Survey: What to Request

KEY POINTS

Choose the measurement points around the decision you need to make.
Check that the survey period represents the facility's operating cycle.
Use load records alongside equipment ratings and design information.

A seven-day electrical load survey records how demand changes during the selected period. It can support a discussion about adding equipment, investigating loading or planning an upgrade. Its usefulness depends on where measurements are taken and whether that week represents normal and peak operation.

Start with the decision

Tell the survey team what you need to resolve. Assessing a proposed production line, investigating one feeder and reviewing the building’s overall demand require different measurement plans. Identify the boards involved and provide available single-line diagrams and equipment schedules.

Schneider Electric’s power-loading guidance explains why maximum demand and the way loads operate together matter to installation design. A list of equipment ratings and a measured demand record provide different information; keep both available for the engineering review.

Agree the measurement brief

Item	What to request
Measurement location	A named board or feeder, recorded on the drawing
Parameters	The electrical quantities needed for the question being investigated
Recording period	Start, finish, recording interval and expected operating cycle
Operating log	Shifts, equipment changes, shutdowns and unusual events
Data quality	Instrument details, missing intervals and measurement limitations
Report	Charts, observed peaks, operating context and questions requiring further review

Ask the appointed team to arrange equipment installation and removal through the site’s electrical access and safety procedures. The building team should not open panels or attach instruments simply to gather quotation information.

Decide whether one week is representative

A week containing a holiday, partial production or an unusual shutdown may understate normal demand. Record those conditions rather than extrapolating silently. Seasonal equipment and planned expansion may need separate evidence or a different survey period.

Seven days is an available ETES service scope, not a universal compliance rule or a guarantee that every demand condition will be captured.

Know what the report cannot establish alone

Measured demand does not by itself confirm cable capacity, protection coordination or the condition of a switchboard. The responsible engineer needs to consider the installation and the proposed changes as well. Use our production-line capacity checklist to organise those additional questions.

If the concern involves brief disturbances, ask whether the proposed instrument and recording settings are suitable. A general load-trending assignment should not be assumed to include every form of power-quality investigation.

Prepare an ETES survey enquiry

ETES’s electrical services include seven-day load trending, circuit tracing and fault finding. Send the site location, question to resolve, relevant drawings, operating schedule and preferred survey period.

If the records will inform an industrial installation or A&A project, include the proposed equipment and target programme. Agree who reviews the findings and who owns the next design decision.