The Advantage of Electrical Engineering Experience on Generators

It’s quite understandable that some commercial buildings need a backup power source. Hospitals and certain government buildings are often going to have more demand for their services when the regular power supply is down, or buildings which serve as a community resource may be a place people would go when the power supply at their homes fail. It’s one thing when the power company is conducting routine maintenance on power lines, and another if a storm causes a temporary outage, and yet can be an entirely different situation when such issues happen because of disaster events.

There are actually more reasons to the need for backup power than providing a community resource in times of need. A business needs electric power to function. Obviously, a factory can’t maintain production without electricity to run the machinery. Although some office work can be conducted without power, it typically requires computers and the ability to charge phones. Warehouse employees might be able to move product and prepare it for shipping, but they can’t be expected to work in the dark without air conditioning. A storefront needs lighting for the safety of their customers, even if theoretically the cashiers can ring up purchases by hand. At home, a family can use flashlights and candles temporarily when the power goes out, but a business loses money when operations have to stop during an outage.

It takes an experienced professional engineer to understand just what the needs of a building are going to be when it comes to power usage. Baseline electrical usage, as well as data on times of peak power usage, are necessary when determining a building’s power needs. Additionally, the way the building is wired and a number of circuit paths have to be understood in order to assure there is enough power to efficiently run the building.

Depending on the type of business and size of the building, a company may not need a full-sized generator capable of providing power at full capacity. To return to the above example in which a building has offices, a production factory, warehouse, and a storefront, certain aspects of the business might be paused during a power outage. Depending on the type of product sold, the storefront may not need to remain open because not many people are going to go shopping when the power is out in the community. Production can likely be slowed down, depending on the nature of the business and importance of deadlines with the product they produce, and likewise, the offices can probably continue to function while using less power than usual. However, most businesses do not wish to cease, or even scale back operations for any period of time and with the proper generator, they should not have to. When you partner with an electrical engineering firm like Eau Gallie Electric your contractor can help you choose the generator that can support your business operations.

Choosing a contractor for a commercial building can be an easy process if you know what you’re looking for. Proper licensure and appropriate insurance for the job has to be verified, and the contractor needs to be able to demonstrate they have the knowledge and experience to conduct the job at hand. Several bids need to be reviewed, not just to find the least expensive but to evaluate how the contractor intends to conduct the job and which contractor seems to be best suited for the immediate needs of the building. Pricing for a generator can vary wildly between contractors based on the brand a contractor plans to install and how they intend to engineer the building’s existing electrical systems.

The bottom line is that most commercial buildings need a backup power source so they can continue to operate during a power outage. An experienced professional is aware of what has worked in similar situations and can help a business decide what will work best for their needs and then install it efficiently so the company will be prepared when the power goes out.

If you’re looking for an electrical engineer and contractor that can help you choose and design a backup generator powerful enough to ensure your business never has to close, give us a call today.