Power Fundamentals
Peak demand is the highest measured demand in a defined period. It matters because a short spike can drive utility billing, transformer loading, interconnection sizing, and system planning even if total monthly energy use is modest.
North American Electric Reliability Corporation develops and enforces reliability standards for the bulk power system under regulatory oversight. NERC terms matter when a site, utility, or interconnection touches bulk electric system planning or compliance.
Read definition →Valve-regulated lead-acid battery is a sealed lead-acid battery type historically common in UPS systems. It is familiar and relatively low cost, but it has space, weight, replacement, temperature, and maintenance tradeoffs versus lithium-ion systems.
Read definition →Thermal runaway is a self-heating failure mode in batteries where rising temperature accelerates further heat generation. It is a critical safety consideration for lithium-ion battery systems and affects fire protection, spacing, monitoring, and emergency response.
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