Generators for Back-up Power Supply – Selection Guide…
In 21st century electric generators are used to deliver through the utilities power grid, the electricity needed for every home, business or part of infrastructure, to function. There’s no alternative to a reliable electricity supply that most of our simple and more complicated machinery assisting us in our lives, relies upon. No other time that when the natural disasters strike – cyclones, floods, tornadoes, blizzards, that we resort to turning on our back-up generator, or rely on emergency power supplied by the local authorities.
We all want to be able to turn the electricity on at will, and watch our favourite TV show, or cook dinner. But, when there are blackouts, or even temporary interruptions of supply, there is nothing we can do, but to wait till the power supply is restored. Unless, we have a back-up generator, that when turned on, delivers all the power we need. It is the same for an average home, public utility, and a local business. Each of them needs a generator that will generate enough output to satisfy our needs.
In critical situations, like hospitals, emergency services, telecommunication, air traffic control, military, etc. the requirements are particularly stringent. They relay on an uninterrupted power supply; not even a second without it. This requires that their emergency generators are on stand-by all the time, ready to be turned on at will. These high quality generators will have reserves of power that enable them to work under a full load for extended periods of time. Makes such Cummins, Detroit Diesel, Yanmar, Kubota or Caterpillar come to mind…
For private homes, the power requirements are lower, and so is their dependency on a constant supply. Smaller generator sets are used, with output in the range of 1,500 to 4,000 Watt. They are mostly produced as portable sets. Some popular makes used by home owners: Honda, Briggs and Stratton, Yamaha. Then there are small and large businesses and commercial concerns, that need the back-up power to reduce loses due to the interruptions in production. They will use generators with the output starting from 5 kW and up to 500 kW and more.
Two major types of back-up generators exist: diesel engine-powered and petrol engine-powered. Only recently, diesel generators became more popular, because of the low level of noise and their low running cost. Petrol generators are cheap to buy, and easy to operate, but they are not as dependable as those powered by diesel engines. All generators must be installed by a qualified electrician, as there are important safety concerns that need to be addresses.