Essential Things to Consider When Choosing a Generator For Your Business

In business today, no power means production stops and profits, too, especially if you’re in manufacturing or services. Being without power for a day can have a huge impact on a business’s output, backlog deliveries, and disappointing clients.

Thankfully, modern technology has given us some decent backup power solutions like inverters, lithium-ion batteries, solar, and industrial generators.

Most businesses opt for diesel generators because of their hardiness and reliability. But, they’re not cheap. For that reason, you must consider this decision well before purchasing a generator. In this article, we’ll give you some factors to consider to help make the choice easier.

What Generator should you look for?

Industrial generators are wise investments for businesses, particularly diesel generators for larger businesses that require heavy power to run. For smaller businesses that run basic appliances and office equipment, a battery backup or petrol generator might be more convenient but don’t rule out a generator.

Diesel generators are the optimal choice for businesses because they produce a decent amount of electricity while costing less to run. In comparison to petrol generators, diesel burns at a 50% slower rate and produces more power. With this ratio, it’d understandably be the better choice.

That’s not all, though; diesel generators are also easier to maintain and more durable. They’re typically more robust and built with better-quality parts. Thus, they last longer. Their makeup is also simpler, making them easier to service than technicians, which is also a bonus. Plus, they’re also built to run for longer periods, providing you uninterrupted power.

Five factors that’ll help you choose the right generator

When it comes down to it, you need to consider what will best suit your needs. That said, here are a few fundamentals to look for when choosing a generator for your business:

Fuel Efficiency

Let’s say that your business often does construction in areas without power. You might need to run a crane, several heavy tools, or the entire construction site. Now, building projects don’t go up in a day, so it’s safe to say that the generator will probably be running consistently for a few weeks, maybe months.

In this case, you don’t want a generator that’s going to eat through your fuel budget. You want one that’ll have decent fuel efficiency. Factor in the size of the generator, too. You can’t expect a 50kVA generator to go through the same amount of fuel as a 500kVA generator. The larger it is, the more it’ll consume. But still, within its range, you should be able to find a generator that offers decent fuel efficiency.

Output capacity

With generators, size matters! You don’t want to purchase a generator and find that it only runs a portion of what you need it to before cutting out. Likewise, you also don’t want to have to upgrade in a few months because your business has expanded. So, choosing the right size generator from the get-go is essential.

The easiest way to do this is to calculate how much power your business uses in total. Now, this is where people get caught. They’ll look at their machinery and factor in the idle watts used, not the watts used when the machine is at optimal performance. Add the performance figures together, then work out what generator you’d need.

Now, generators represent their power value in kVA, so you’ll need to change this to watts. It’s pretty simple to do: take 10kVA multiplied by 0.8, and the answer will be represented in KW (8). Kilowatts are 1000 watts, so multiplied by 8, and you’re a 10kVA generator that will power 8000 watts.

Physical size

The physical size of the generator is also important to consider. Diesel generators, in particular, are pretty bulky and heavy. Thus, they’re often given a set area where they’re fixed to the property. Check your business property for a suitable place for the generator to sit before purchasing one. Keep in mind that the further away your generator is from your mains, the more expensive the installation will be, too.

If you’re going for a smaller, portable generator, finding a place for it to sit while running is also important. Remember that generators are noisy, so you may want to find somewhere that cushions the noise.

Control system

Modern technology has made generators far easier to use. Aside from many larger generators having an automatic on function that allows them to turn on when they pick up that the power has tripped, many of them also come with some great control systems.

The ideal generator control system would have features that allow you to operate it remotely from your phone, warning systems, a digital display to show statistics like low fuel or when the machine needs maintenance, and how much power the generator is currently putting out to run your business. This kind of system allows you to keep track of your generator’s health and makes it more convenient to operate.

Final Thoughts

Remember, you want a backup generator that’ll suit your needs. So, getting one that’s future-proof, sustainable, and compatible with your business needs is essential. The ideal generator would be fuel efficient, powerful enough to run roughly 20% more than you need it to, reasonably priced, and from a reputable supplier/brand. Tick all these boxes, and you should have a good generator.