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Generator Hire or Purchase?

Should You Opt for Generator Hire or Purchase Outright?

To hire, lease, rent to own, or invest the cash and purchase outright? This question is asked by company managers when considering the acquisition of various types of equipment for business use, from motor vehicles to office equipment. In the South African business environment, this question arises with regard to the acquisition of a genset as well. Eskom has a monopoly on the provision of power to South African power users but has become less and less capable of doing so reliably.

Years of bad management, corruption, and inadequate maintenance have resulted in frequent technical failures, which often cause lengthy power interruptions. The poorly maintained utility generation fleet is also often not capable of supplying enough power to meet national demand and scheduled outages (load shedding) are now commonplace. Many businesses are virtually forced to provide some form of backup for utility power to mitigate the negative consequences and costs of grid outages.

Generator hire is an alternative to buying a genset outright, whether on finance or with cash. There are several companies offering generators to hire on terms as short as a day to long-term agreements. Generator hire can be a cost-effective and flexible route to meeting a business’ backup power requirements. Hiring a generator assists businesses with cash flow and makes budgeting easier by reducing the need for initial capital outlay. Working capital can be preserved for alternative purchases or other income-generating projects.

Generator hire often comes at rates that are competitive with the cost of ownership if factors such as maintenance and repairs are factored in. A unit purchased outright not only requires the initial capital outlay but budget for the maintenance and upkeep of the unit needs to be allocated. Ad hoc payments for technical support and repairs may come into play should something go wrong with the unit. Generator hire normally includes maintenance and repairs, providing peace of mind that the continuity of supply of power is guaranteed if anything ever happens. To hire a generator involves the simple payment of a monthly sum, which is easy to budget for and avoids the risk of unbudgeted-for ad hoc costs.

Outright cash purchase makes the accurate calculation of total cost of ownership far more difficult as depreciation, currency fluctuations, replacement cycles, and other such variables need to be accounted for. Generator hire allows businesses to budget accurately for the term of the agreement. Most well-established companies offering generators to hire provide sophisticated remote monitoring of the gensets, which is particularly helpful to companies who rent multiple gensets, which are employed at different sites.

Generator hire allows for a great deal of flexibility. If the capacity of the genset required by a company changes, on-site units can easily be changed for ones of different capacity without the inconvenience of trying to find a buyer for the redundant unit. If a business needs to relocate to premises with a different electrical articulation, the hired unit can either be moved or changed if necessary. In uncertain economic conditions, the option to upsize or downsize the genset, should it become necessary, is a substantial benefit offered by generator hire.

Generator Hire for Existing Genset Owners

Even where companies own a genset already, there is the potential need for generator hire. It is prudent to have a reputable generator hire company on the supplier list in the event of a catastrophic failure of the in-house unit. Failures of this nature usually occur at the least convenient time. When something happens that makes the on-site unit inoperable, an interim genset can be hired to keep business activities running. Generator hiring of this nature allows company operations to continue running smoothly as opposed to completely shutting down and bearing the resultant financial losses.

Considerations for Generator Hire

The first order of business is to determine what the unit is to be used for. Will electronic devices such as computers or TVs be powered or is power for heavy machinery and large electric motors required? Electronic devices require quality power with steady current and minimal voltage peaks. They generally draw low current, so in this case, an inverter-type unit would work well as they provide steady current with minimal voltage fluctuation. An inverter generator will not cope with the demands of heavy machinery though. A robust genset with the ability to cope with the current demands of electric motors will be needed.

Once the type of generator required has been decided, the capacity of the unit needs to be established. In broad terms, this means that the power requirements of all the devices or equipment that will draw from the genset must be totalled, which will give the absolute minimum capacity that the genset can be. Some additional allowance should be made on top of the total obtained or the unit will effectively be running at 100% of capacity.

The type of fuel the unit will run on will usually come down to a choice between petrol or diesel. Generally speaking, diesel is the conventional fuel for electric gensets, particularly once they go above a certain size. Petrol-powered units will typically be small, more portable machines.

Consult with a Specialist

For generator hire in the commercial and industrial size range, it is imperative that a specialist is engaged to provide the appropriate unit. PacB is a manufacturer of superior-quality large three-phase diesel generators that has a long-standing track record of technical excellence and superior service. We offer generators to hire, providing the best technical solution at a competitive cost with superior service. The bigger the installation, the more complex the engineering requirement becomes.

At PacB, we have experience with commercial and industrial generators, which allows us to assist customers in making fully informed decisions on the type of genset best suited to their specific environment. This includes a thorough assessment of the existing electrical installation to ensure that the unit is correctly sized and configured for the site-specific requirements. Leave specialist questions like peak demand, voltage, frequency, harmonics, and total power required to us at PacB. Contact our team today and be assured of always having electrical power.

All our generator for hire units include three- and single-phase plugs, automatic changeover panels, and the required safety gear and signage. They all are equipped with silent-run enclosures and are guaranteed to produce less than 75dB at a distance of 7m. Units can also be trailer mounted if required. Our technical team is always available for on-site assistance to support units.