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Mains Failures Are Driving the Demand for Office Generators

Electric copiers, printers, and computers, together with local area networking technology, mobile phones, and the World Wide Web have all led to vast changes in the way most of us now work and the more dependent upon electricity we have become. One seldom sees a manual typewriter or a fountain pen outside of a museum, and never have businesses been more dependent on the continuous supply of mains electricity in order to function. While a blown fuse may cause a brief panic, a total power failure would now make it impossible to perform any form of office work without the help of generators to provide power in this kind of emergency.

Except in the smallest businesses where the power requirements are minimal, the most effective backup will be either a diesel-fired model or one powered by liquid petroleum gas. In each case, it will need to be located outside of the building where there is no danger from exhaust fumes, and the noise will not interfere with the concentration of staff members. When housed in suitable canopies, office generators will then be thoroughly protected from any damage due to adverse weather conditions while also ensuring that their noise will not constitute a disturbance to those working or living in neighbouring buildings.

For a small business, the output from a less powerful and far cheaper petrol-operated model should be sufficient to keep the lights on and to power a couple of PCs. However, it may also be advisable to install an uninterruptible power supply, so that processed data will be protected following an outage, and computers can be safely turned off until power is restored. Furthermore, because petroleum, unlike diesel fuel, is inflammable, fuel for petrol-driven office generators will need to be stored in compliance with the local regulations governing the storage of inflammable substances.

In order to minimise any disruption to a business resulting from a power cut, the transition from mains to backup power needs to be as quick as possible. This can be achieved with the help of a suitable control panel. The device is designed to detect any significant fall in voltage or interruption to the incoming mains supply, and to respond by automatically bringing the emergency source online to provide a temporary alternative. When configured in this manner, office generators will continue to run until a stable mains current is once again detected. At this point, the emergency source will be automatically taken offline.

The amount of power consumed by the various items of equipment and facilities that are deemed by staff to be essential for the operation of a business has a direct bearing on the size of the genset that will be necessary to maintain its operation. Every light bulb, air conditioner, PC, and even the switchboard and handsets contribute to the power requirement and, together, will determine the necessary output of office generators.

The more devices that need to remain functional during an outage, the greater their output will need to be, and so, choosing a sufficiently powerful genset can be crucial. To do so, one must first calculate the total consumption in watts, bearing in mind that most electrical devices require more power when starting up than when running normally. Ideally, when purchasing office generators, one should employ the services of a qualified electrician to assess the power requirements and to recommend a product that can be guaranteed to meet them, as well as performing the installation.

For peace of mind, at a time when the main service provider is battling to meet the mounting demands of the nation’s consumers, a backup power solution is crucial to the continued operation of businesses in South Africa. For world-class office generators, uninterruptible power supplies, and a wide range of innovative power solutions tailored to their individual needs, many of those businesses now choose PacB Group.