PacB Group // Exploring the Role of Commercial Generators in Powering Businesses

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Exploring the Role of Commercial Generators in Powering Businesses

Commercial generators, also sometimes referred to as industrial or business generators, are designed specifically for commercial and industrial applications, distinguishing them from other types of generators used for residential or recreational purposes.

Commercial generators perform two primary roles. Firstly, they provide electrical power in areas lacking a grid connection, in which case they function as prime power generators. Prime power gensets are engineered for continuous operation and adaptability to varying loads. They need to be more durable than standby units and have distinct design requirements. For instance, prime power generators need larger fuel tanks compared to standby units to sustain prolonged operation.

Secondly, commercial generators act as backup units in locations with a grid connection, ensuring uninterrupted power supply during grid failures. Backup gensets are crucial for facilities like hospitals, data centers, and server farms, where continuous supply of electricity is absolutely critical. In South Africa, backup gensets have become essential due to the unreliability of the country’s grid, which is plagued by frequent scheduled (load-shedding) and unplanned (technical failures) outages.

Residential Versus Commercial Generators

The key characteristics that distinguish commercial generators from smaller residential generators are their ability to produce high power output, their durability, and their advanced control system options. Unlike their residential and recreational cousins, they are typically customisable and scalable. They can be adapted to meet the evolving needs of businesses and industrial facilities.

Commercial generators are most commonly powered with diesel fuel but may also be powered with natural gas, liquid petroleum gas, or petrol.

Commercial generators are built to handle high power output capacities, often ranging from several kilowatts to megawatts. They are capable of supplying electricity to large commercial buildings, manufacturing plants, hospitals, data centers, and other industrial facilities. These units are constructed with heavy-duty materials to ensure durability and longevity. They are designed to withstand continuous operation for extended periods. Commercial generators often incorporate advanced technology, such as automatic transfer switches (ATS) and remote monitoring systems. An ATS ensures the seamless transition from the main power supply to the generator during power outages, while remote monitoring allows for real-time monitoring and control of the generator, enhancing operational efficiency.

Commercial generators can often be customised to meet specific power requirements, environmental conditions, and site-specific noise level allowances. Customisation ensures that the generator system can be tailored to the unique needs of specific facilities.

While most residential generators do not come with formal maintenance plans, the manufacturers and suppliers of commercial generators typically offer comprehensive service and technical support packages. Packages may include monitoring, regular maintenance, services, and 24/7 customer support to ensure the generator operates efficiently and reliably. Commercial generators can usually be scaled to match the power demands of a growing business. Additional units are simply added (paralleled) to the existing unit to provide more power.

Advanced Control Systems for Commercial Generators

Commercial and industrial generators come with sophisticated programmable logic control (PLC) panels, enabling operators to remotely start, stop, and monitor all the vital functions and conditions of the generator through computer interfaces, mobile apps, or web-based platforms. These panels range from basic ones, offering functions like voltage regulation, frequency control, and safety shutdown, to advanced systems that allow for fuel management, starter battery health monitoring, as well as automatic testing and exercise modes, and where operators receive, and can respond to, real-time alerts.

Specialist Commercial Generators with Noise Attenuation

Large diesel generators produce significant amounts of noise. Generally, the larger the generator, the louder it becomes. Special commercial generators with a very high degree of noise attenuation are provided to the film and television industries, for instance, where generator noise would spoil sound recording and broadcasts. Generators can be rendered silent or significantly less noisy through a combination of design and engineering techniques focused on limiting noise levels.

Specifying Commercial Generators

Sizing a commercial generator involves determining the capacity needed to meet the electrical loads at a specific commercial or industrial site. Proper sizing is crucial to ensure that the generator can handle the load requirements without overloading. A common sizing error made is to choose a genset that has more capacity than required, for example, 500 kVa where the actual requirement is 250 kVa. Commercial generators that are too large for the actual load use far more diesel than needed. More importantly, gensets should ideally be run at about 75% of their maximum capacity as running in the correct thermal range increases generator life span and cuts down on maintenance. Running diesel-powered generators at less than 30% of their rated capacity for extended periods can damage the diesel engine and result in down time and unnecessary costs.

Getting the Right Size Unit

The primary consideration is to determine the total electrical load the generator will be expected to power. This can be done by listing all the equipment, machinery, and systems that will be powered by the unit. Look at the specifications of each device to find its power rating in kilowatts (kW) or amperes (A). An alternative method is to fit an electrical data logger to the articulation that needs to be powered and get actual usage data.

Ater determining the total load, the types of loads need to be considered. Devices, such as electric motors, use substantial amounts of power on start-up before settling into their regular running power. Generators need to be sized to handle the in-rush current on start-up and not only the running power of the equipment. Not all equipment operates simultaneously so try and calculate the power required for the items that normally run together (the diversity factor), which helps optimise the generator size. Using a data logger and drawing a load profile over time is the best method for establishing the diversity factor.

Consider the potential for future growth and the acquisition of additional equipment. A slight oversizing of the generator can allow for expansion without requiring immediate upgrades, as long as the generator doesn’t operate below 30% capacity for extended periods. Take environmental factors like altitude and temperature into account, as these can affect the performance of the generator. Commercial generators may need pre-delivery adjustments to operate optimally, especially in extreme conditions.

Each commercial application is unique, so the sizing process should be tailored to the specific requirements and conditions of the business or industrial facility in question. It is always best to consult with a professional electrical engineer or a specialist commercial generator supplier. They have the knowledge and experience to conduct a detailed load analysis and recommend the appropriate generator size based on your unique requirements.

Choose the Industry Leaders

Initially focused on building leading, high-capacity industrial generators, we at PacB have grown into an industry expert in renewable energy generation and hybrid power solutions as well.

We at PacB are leaders in the Southern African power-provision industry. When it comes to commercial generators, we have vast experience and specialist knowledge on unit sizing, fuel type, noise attenuation, system configuration, and programmable logic controllers. All these factors need to be properly understood and matched to your site-specific electrical architecture and power demands. Contact us today and get the right solution with the best support.