Parasitic load is a term used with regard to electrical appliances and railway locomotives.
With regard to electrical appliances, it represents the power consumed even when the appliance is shut off, that is standby power.
With regard to railway locomotives, it is any of the loads or devices powered by the diesel prime mover not contributing to tractive effort, such as air compressor, traction motor blower, or radiator fans.
With regard to electricity production, it is any of the loads or devices powered by the wind generator, not contributing to net electric yield found by subtracting productive yield from gross yield or
GY - PY = PL where
"GY" is gross electric yield (the output of the generator); "PY" is productive yield (the electricity which is made available to external electric loads);and "PL" is parasitic load.
Read more about Parasitic Load: Parasitic Loss in Internal Combustion Engines
Famous quotes containing the words parasitic and/or load:
“Art is parasitic on life, just as criticism is parasitic on art.”
—Kenneth Tynan (1927–1980)
“Belief and love,—a believing love will relieve us of a vast load of care. O my brothers, God exists. There is a soul at the centre of nature, and over the will of every man, so that none of us can wrong the universe.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)