PacB Group // The Nation’s Industrial Activities Depend on Reliable Generators

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The Nation’s Industrial Activities Depend on Reliable Generators

While the extent of industrial activity in South Africa is vast, at just 41% of the total amount produced by commercial generators, such as those operated by Eskom, its consumption of mains electricity is only marginally greater than that used for residential purposes, which accounts for about 37% of the total. Given that only a few countries have economies that are more energy intensive than ours, industry’s overall consumption is actually far greater than these figures suggest. In practice, the apparent disparity can be explained by the fact that, for a variety of reasons, many of the nation’s production plants produce at least a portion of the electricity they require on site.

In the mining sector, for example, many of the sites are remote from the national grid, and thus it is necessary to produce all of their electricity by operating a number of industrial generators. Unlike the average manufacturing plant, a mine is more than just a production site; it is a community. As such, it must also provide for the needs of its workers who are invariably working too far from their homes to consider a daily commute. As a consequence, when the amount of electricity to serve workers’ hostels is added to that required for extracting and processing coal or ore; for powering dewatering pumps and operating mine shaft headgear, the total demand is such that a reliable on-site power source is absolutely crucial.

Industrial plants choose tough diesel generators to ensure that the power they need is always available. They can be operated singly or in groups, automatically combining their outputs to cope with increased power consumption as required, while taking some machines offline or reducing their output, once the need subsides.

The diesel engine serves as the source of mechanical energy required to mobilise a magnetic field within which a copper coil is located. The movement of the magnetic field induces a continuous flow of electrical current within the coil, which can then be utilised to perform work as required. The faster the movement of the field, the more current is produced, and so, the output of these industrial generators is determined by the power and the speed of the diesel engines that drive them.

Like the mining operations, construction companies are often required to operate in remote areas also. In order to meet their electricity requirements on those occasions, they will often need to deploy one or more mobile units, mounted on a truck or a trailer. That said, there are also plenty of situations in which, despite having access to the mains supply, a company will find it necessary to maintain an on-site power source as well.

However, whereas the main reason for installing backup industrial generators would once have been as a means to provide some extra power at times of peak loading, their role as an emergency power source, when the mains power fails, has since become just as important, if not more so.

Power outages can prove to be costly. Not only can they lead to lost production that can threaten profitability, but they can also cause damage to machinery unless properly managed. Ensuring a smooth transition from mains to backup power, when necessary, can help prevent both of these problems, and so, industrial generators are often set up to perform these transitions automatically with the aid of a programmable control panel.

In mining, construction, and all such industries, the reliability of an on-site power source is paramount and can be best ensured when choosing a quality product whose performance is a matter of record, whilst also ensuring that it is installed and maintained by experienced professionals. In South Africa, PacB group is a name that has become synonymous with quality, expertise, and innovative power solutions from industrial generators to solar panels and uninterruptible power supplies.