Don’t let a power outage cost your business profits or productivity. There’s no telling when a severe storm or downed wire will impact your property, so you need to be prepared to ensure your company continues to run as smoothly as possible. A commercial backup power supply is your best bet.
These generators, in both diesel and natural gas configurations, are robust backup power solutions for any business, facility, operation, or industrial application that requires constant power to continue day-to-day business operations. When energy loss occurs due to a power outage from natural disasters, interruptions in the power grid or component failure, your generator will keep your company up and running until the main power source returns.
Because installing a backup generator for commercial purposes is no simple task, you should note a few points beforehand to ensure the process happens smoothly.
The Importance of Backup Power Generators for Business Operations
For many businesses, losing power can bring operations to a halt, create unsafe working environments for employees and result in loss of business and profits. Whether you operate a college campus or a construction site, you can run into many issues when the power goes out. That’s why generators are essential for commercial purposes.
There’s no single cause of a power outage. These incidents can occur due to natural disasters — like hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes and floods. Many external elements cause power outages, including power grid failure, utility pole accidents, transformer malfunctions and even your friendly neighborhood squirrel. No matter what leads to the power outages, if your business or operations rely on constant electricity, power outages can cripple your workflow and processes.
These disruptions can last anywhere from a few minutes to days. Therefore, businesses need to be prepared for short and long-term power outages to keep their facilities running. In many cases, companies are forced to wait around until power to the main utility grid is restored before being able to resume business operations. Any period of downtime can result in fewer profits — and for places like hospitals and nursing homes, it can be the difference between life and death.
Installing a backup generator can keep the basics of your facility running to perform regular daily operations, making power outages a nuisance rather than a setback in business profits, productivity or dangers to lives.
Figure Out Which Type of Backup Generator You Need
There are two types of backup power generators: portable and standby.
You should run your portable generator for 30 minutes once a month to make sure it’s in good working order when you really need it.
Portable power generators are smaller and lighter and can be moved to wherever there is a need. They also have a lower price point, making them an economical solution for many businesses. Smaller manufacturers may be able to power all of their essential systems with these generators, and larger companies can use them for air conditioning units or break rooms. Portable generators are more labor-intensive: When the power goes out, the unit needs to be retrieved from storage, wheeled into place, gassed up and started up before any power can be restored.
Standby generators are costlier but convenient. They automatically switch on after an outage, providing virtually uninterrupted power to the facility.
Standby power generators tend to be used by larger businesses with greater power requirements, though smaller models are available. As the name implies, these units “stand by” for times when they are needed. They switch on automatically when they sense a dip or outage in electrical supply. Standby generators usually are professionally installed in a permanent location on the outside of the building, wired into the facility’s electrical grid and fueled by an underground line.
What Are You Waiting For?
Losing power is not so much a matter of if, but when. A backup power generator is a relatively small investment for your business to avoid costly productivity losses during an outage. A wide variety of generator models and features means there is something to suit your company’s unique needs.