Segregation of Hourly Electricity Consumption: Quantification of Demand Types Using Fourier Transform

Abstract

Although aggregate electricity consumption provides valuable information for market analysis, it does not provide demand composition, including industrial, residential, illumination, and other uses. The information for subconsumptions is required for the reliable and cost-effective operation of the power system. As a first step towards the segregation of hourly total electricity consumption into its components, we use spectral analysis (Fast Fourier Transform) to determine relative strengths of the harmonics of annual, weekly and daily variations, to quantify the share of electricity consumption for heating, cooling, illumination and industrial activities. The method is applied to the data of France, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Turkiye, Italy, Spain, Greece, Germany, Great Britain, Poland and the Netherlands. Quantitative results obtained via spectral analysis are supplemented by qualitative features observed via time-domain analysis. The consumption ratios for each demand type are calculated using daily, weekly and annual harmonics and the results are presented. © 2025, Econjournals. All rights reserved.