Once the decision is made to go with paralleled generator systems, the design team and owner must make decisions regarding physical location, fuel system requirements, electrical-demand requirements, system voltage requirements, desired system redundancy, and the amount of future growth potential. Additionally, when connecting to existing distribution systems, impacts to selective coordination should be evaluated as they will likely impact how and where connections will be made. The nature of the risk also is affected by the proposed duration of the emergency power system outage and how long it would take to make connections in the event of a utility outage.ĭue to these complications, providing a new EPS and EPSS may be easier than trying to add to an existing system. Impacts to IT, phone, radio, lighting and egress, and hazardous safety will need to be discussed and evaluated by the team. These events usually trigger disaster preparedness teams that outline plans for managing electrical outages without available backup power.
#Parallels generator Offline#
Taking a standby emergency power system offline for any amount of time will require risk assessments with the owner. Emergency power system outages are the most difficult aspects to manage for health care, critical operations, industrial, or mission critical buildings. Projects that replace or add onto existing emergency power supply (EPS) and emergency power supply systems (EPSS, as defined in NFPA 110) are the most challenging because they require the design team to consider all impacts to the existing system. This means that regular maintenance can be provided during periods of convenience, which increases the likelihood that maintenance will be performed on a regular basis. Paralleled generator systems may provide redundancy of required systems. The 2016 edition of NFPA 110: Standard for Emergency and Standby Power Systems, Article 7.13, requires that additional sources of standby emergency power be available during generator maintenance. This prevents them from starting during an outage and necessitates careful planning by the facility, which usually results in work performed outside of normal hours that require interim life safety measures.
When generator systems need to be maintained, they are taken out of service. It is not recommended to provide screens or filters on intake grills and louvers to alleviate dust and debris, as those methods will become clogged and prevent proper airflow, which may adversely affect a generator system’s cooling and capacity. These factors combine to create adverse environmental conditions that will inevitably affect system reliability. Generators themselves generate substantial heat, vibration, and noise. Outside air also can contain moisture, humidity, pollen, dust, insects, and other particulates. Outside air temperatures vary widely, as does humidity. Generators with unit-mounted radiators require a large volume of outside air to be brought into the room and across the generator surfaces. Generators are electromechanical machines that require maintenance and experience a wide range of environmental conditions. The potential expandability of paralleled generator systems also offers the owner the ability to purchase additional generator capacity as it is needed. Systems capable of paralleling generators inherently provide system-growth capability with minimum system downtime or outages, which can be a high-value investment.
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