How should loads be grouped when calculating feeder loads?

When calculating feeder loads, grouping loads by type of load is essential for ensuring accurate and efficient load calculations. This method allows for a better understanding of the characteristics and behaviors of different electrical loads, such as resistive, inductive, or capacitive loads, and how they may interact with one another.

For instance, resistive loads (like heaters) have different power factor considerations compared to inductive loads (like motors). By grouping them appropriately, the calculations can more accurately reflect the total electrical demand, ensuring that the feeder is adequately designed to handle the combined effects of the varied types of loads without over or underestimating the necessary capacity. This grouping approach also assists in identifying how different loads might influence each other's performance, which is vital for maintaining efficiency and safety in electrical systems.

The other options, while they may have their own merits in different contexts, do not provide the same level of detail and understanding that comes from grouping loads by type. Grouping by voltage level might disregard important load characteristics, geographic location may not relate directly to electrical demand, and grouping by frequency of use does not address load types' inherent electrical properties. Therefore, focusing on the type of load offers the most practical and beneficial framework for calculating feeder loads.