Finding the Right Generator for your Power Needs

Finding the right generator to manage  your power needs is one of the top priorities in choosing a generator to rent or purchase. Whether it’s for primary or standby power, if your new generator can’t meet your specific needs, you should rethink it.  It can put a lot of  stress on the unit and  it can even damage the pieces of equipment that are connected to it. Determining exactly what size of generator to get can be a difficult task and involves a number of elements and considerations.

Making a choice, whether it’s a single phase, three phase, kW, KVA,  standby or motor starting generator can be overwhelming. This article will help you get an idea of how the sizing process works and some important things to consider before making an equipment purchase.  This article is not a substitute for the knowledge a certified electrician could give you, but it should give you a good start  and a better understanding of some of the key issues that are involved in determining the right power generator for you or your company’s needs.

Generator Sizes:  Generators are available in a wide range of sizes and configurations. Generators with power supply capacities of 5kW to 50kW are  available for personal and home use.  Industrial generators for businesses and large companies, are available  anywhere from 50kW to over 3 Megawatts.  Portable generators are available for homes, RVs and for small office spaces. Large businesses, call or computer processing  centers, power  plants, and other industrial applications need to use much greater sized industrial generators to meet their high power needs.

Power — What size Generator Do I Need?:  Many believe smaller generators can be used for standby electric power because they are only running when needed. This is a myth, not having the right power capacity  can actually be very damaging and harmful to the uneducated user. Unfortunately, under sizing of a generator is one of the most common mistakes made.  Not only does it involve the risks of damaging your new generator, but it can damage the equipment connected to it, create dangerous situations, and even limit overall use,  longevity and reliability of the generator for the business depending on it for power.

Converting Amperes to Watts:  You often find power requirements of tools stated in amperes. In order to convert the power requirement of a tool from ampere to watts, follow these calculations:

For resistive load: Wattage = amperes x volts

For reactive load: Wattage = (amperes x volts) x load factor

Power Requirement Charting: Many times, the owner’s manual or the power requirement specs of the tools and devices you’re running can not be found or are lost.  Starting and running wattages differ on each piece of equipment, and each device has its own consumption needs.   Questions regarding any particular item usually can be answered by contacting the manufacturer either by phone or even by going to the company’s website, consulting an electrician, using this sizing chart, or by contacting us and we will be glad to help you in any way we can.

Different ways of Calculating:  Depending on the type of equipment and the way the generator is going to be utilized, there are a few different ways of coming up with the  power requirements:

–  One motor running.

–  Multiple motors running at the same time.

–  No electric motors.

Benefits of selecting the right  generator: Now that you have some knowledge on how to choose the correct size of generator to suit you or your company’s needs, here are just a few of the advantages of  going through that process:

– No unexpected system downtime or failures.

– No shutdowns due to overload.

– Guaranteed to perform the way you want it to when you want it to.

– Less maintenance means more money savings on upkeep.

– Increased life of the generator.

– Higher amount of personal safety.

– A smaller chance of damage to equipment and property.

Where to Buy, Rent Or Service Your Generator:  You are not only purchasing a major company asset but most likely an item you will need to rely on for primary or emergency power at some point and time in the future, possibly in a crisis situation, deciding where to make that purchase is also a key consideration not to be overlooked.  The seller’s years of experience play a major part in choosing who you are going to use in the future for services and sales.

There are many definitions of “Great Service“.  At CD & Power we are committed to the following principles that we believe add up to providing “Great Service” to our customers:

1. We will always have a person answer the phone during office hours.  We believe it is impossible for a machine to understand your problem.
2. We will give you the option of taking a message or leaving a message on the person’s voicemail if they are not available.
3. We will take responsibility for our actions, both good and bad.
4. We will remember that your problems are our business.
5. We will give you the opportunity to take your comments, both good and bad, to a higher level.
6. We will be diligent in resolving your problem.
7. We will continually train our personnel.

There are numerous considerations to take into account when selecting the right generator for your next job.  If you would like more suggestions and recommendations,  contact us today at 1-866-468-7697 and let us help you make the decision.  A winning combination of an empowered team that loves what they do, working towards one goal.  We are CD & Power, “Powering Your Success” for over 30 years and for many more to come.