SJE Electrical Installations:

Installation of a backup generator / Emergency Power

There are several options, from a simple portable generator which can supply a stand alone socket, to a more advanced system that ties in with your existing circuitry.

Neither the stand alone system or more importantly the advanced system should be attempted as a DIY project, if installed incorrectly the generator can back feed into the main utility system and electrocute anyone working on the outage further down line.

The advanced system uses a change over switch, which can be operated manually or more expensively, automatically.

Depending on budget will probable determine the power output required to run important circuits. A generator with capacity to run all circuits will probably be very expensive, so a happy medium should try to be met. Enough power to run lights, a central heating pump and perhaps a couple of appliances, fridge, tv, pc’s etc.

Electric heating appliances will need a far greater generator size and thus expense.

To keep expense to a minimum, but maintaining some comfort, it would be practical to use a diesel generator with perhaps 8/10HP (up to 4.5Kw) output.

This would enable lighting and most none-heating electrical devices (with perhaps the exception of a small electric kettle) to run

Even so, effort should be made not to run all appliances at once and switch off lights not needed. (the fridge and gas/oil central heating may be left on)

If efforts are made to reduce load, the tank of diesel will last longer.

A standard 4.5Kw diesel generator will run for 8 hours approx on a full tank @75% of full load.

Fitted with manual electric start, a generator similar to capacities given above would cost in the region of £1200.

Contact us for more information >
 

Home Generator System

Generator backup - wiring diagram

 

Briggs & Stratton Power

Transfer Switch - BST9200M
Have your Briggs & Stratton Power Product generator
connected to your home using the BST 9200M Transfer switch*.

• Suitable for generators up to 9200 watts (40A, 230V)
• Change over switch: 100 Amps
• Residual Current Device (RCD): 30m Amps, 40A
• Enclosure: Polystyrene
• Auxiliary outlet: 1xdomestic socket
• Auxiliary outlet fuse: 10A
• Dimensions: 250x190x135 mm (widthxheightxdepth)
*This unit must be installed by a qualified electrician.

Portable generator


 

Contact us for a written quotation >

Modern generators for residential use are manufactured with built in sound reduction materials. Further reductions can be made by providing an enclosure to house the unit, adequate ventilation must be provided. A brick/concrete purpose built enclosure would be best.
Care needs taking when designing the structure so as to allow easy maintenance, location of air vents and easy filling of the fuel tank. Depending which manufacturer of the generator you choose will determine the housing design, especially for air flow and exhaust gases.

As a guide only:
A genset giving 5Kw will roughly need a minimum enclosure 2 metres long by 1.5 metres wide by 1 metre high.

A generator should not be run in your garden shed or your garage!

Example generator housing >

What size generator? >
 

Special Conditions

Generally not a consideration for residential properties.

Machine Shop
Electric Motors
Starting Load Requirements:
Certain electrical equipment require extra power when first turned on. Especially for motors. The motor requires more power to speed up rotating parts to working speed than it does to keep them rotating. During initial activation the demand on the power supply is greater and calculations need to be made to determine the output requirements for the generator. Generally speaking, start up current is 3x actual running current.

Computer Suites
UPS Systems (uninterruptible power supply)
A standby generator alone will not provide instant protection against data loss.
A UPS / battery backup system is required.
An on-line UPS continuously powers essential equipment from its own battery banks, while simultaneously charging the batteries from the regular power source.

UPS systems are normally used to protect computers, telecommunication equipment or other electrical equipment where an unforeseen power outage could cause injury, or severe business disruption.

A single computer to a complete computer suite can be protected.

An off-line UPS may be used to protect against data loss, with a typical run time of 15 – 20 minutes, giving enough time to power down computers in the event of power failure, or if using a standby generator enough time for the generator to power up.


Estimates>

 

May 28, 2008
Power cuts may become more frequent:


From Times Online May 28, 2008
National Grid blamed for UK power cuts
(Lefteris Pitarakis/AP)
The Sizewell B power station was ’tripped’ by a faulty instrument reading

Philippe Naughton
The National Grid was left carrying the can today for unprecedented power cuts that left hundreds of thousands of people without electricity around Britain yesterday.

The transmission network blamed the blackouts on a sudden loss of frequency caused by the near-simultaneous failure of the Sizewell B nuclear power station and the Longannet 1 coal-powered fire station in Fife, both of which "tripped" within a couple of minutes of each other at around 11.30am.
Full story -- http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article4021079.ece


Half a million people hit by power cuts on Tuesday may just have had a sneak preview of what the future holds.

Environmentalists yesterday seized on the blackouts as evidence of Britain's over-dependence on a handful of ageing power plants, while electricity producers claimed a series of unfortunate coincidences were to blame. Either way, if you got stuck in a lift in Cheshire, lost power at home in South London, or had an operation cancelled at a hospital in High Wycombe, you were the victim of an energy gap, a failure of supply to meet demand.

This shortfall was a one-off, but the UK continues to sail towards a moment, seven or eight years from now, when the energy gap becomes a much more permanent reality. Despite more than 15 years of warnings that Britain must replace its ageing power stations within the next decade in order to bridge this gap, little has been achieved. Gordon Brown is now more convinced than ever that nuclear energy is the answer to the UK's power problem, indicating yesterday that he now expects to see the construction of new plants over the next 15 years as well as replacements for existing facilities, all but one of which will be decommissioned by 2023.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/comment/david-prossers-outlook-the-lights-may-be-going-out-but-power-cuts-provide-an-ugly-vision-of-britains-future-835949.html

 

Power cuts warning as energy chiefs shut down half our nuclear power stations

The UK could face blackouts due to the closure of nuclear power stations
The closures come as the Government pushes for a new wave of nuclear stations, to replace aging plants which produce up to 20 per cent of the country's electricity.
Experts say that unless all the plants are quickly back in operation, industry and domestic users could face power cuts as well as higher electricity bills.
Ian Fells, a professor of energy conversion at Newcastle University, said: "It is disturbing. We are going to have to rely on it being a warm winter.
"It's not just the loss of electricity, it's the loss to industry when everything fails. It is quite a serious matter."

We are no longer talking just about factories shutting down or lighting our homes with candles. Without computers, our entire economy would grind to a halt.
Scarcely an office, shop, bank or hospital in the land would be able to function. Our railway system would be immobilised. Road traffic would be in chaos as traffic lights ceased to operate and petrol stations closed down.
Yet this is the scale of the catastrophe which may be facing us, thanks to the failure of government to give Britain a proper energy policy.
Scaremongering? Just look at the hard facts. At the moment, to meet Britain's peak electricity demand, our power stations need to provide a minimum 56 gigawatts (GW) of capacity.
Ten gigawatts, nearly a fifth, comes from our ageing nuclear power stations, all but one of which are so old that over the next few years they will have reached the end of their useful working life.
we could be facing the most serious disruption to our power supplies since the 'three-day week' of the 1970s.
But the impact of such power cuts on the Britain of today would be far more damaging than they were in the time of Edward Heath 35 years ago.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-489362/Power-cuts-warning-energy-chiefs-shut-half-nuclear-power-stations.html

 

Suggested Search Terms:

Estimate for a backup generator - How to calculate the output required for a backup generator - How to build a generator enclosure - How much will a generator cost to install - Which generator to use for backup power - How to install a generator safely - Quiet run generators - Portable generators - Automatic transfer generators - Transfer switches - Generator manufacturers - Generator installers


 


Electrician Sheffield S5 6HE: Tel. 07960 419255


Copyright ©2007 BB Owner.co.uk - Sheffield  -  Hope Valley  -  Sheffield Businesses   -  Website Enquiries