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
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.
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!
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
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