Whether you’re shopping for a new or used power generator, and whether you’re on a budget or seeking out the latest and greatest innovation, savings are always welcome.
The right power generators can save your operation in any number of ways. Rebuilt gensets can save you money, intelligently designed units can save you space, quality craftsmanship can save you valuable operational uptime, and the right warranty can save you the frustration of having to repeat your shopping and installation experience from the beginning.
Here is a look at how power generator innovation is making life easier for those charged with managing commercial power generation equipment, whether it’s for primary or standby use.
- State-of-the-art power generator enclosures: Reliance on a power generator often goes hand in hand with working in a harsh environment. Sure, equipment in call centers and health care facilities likely doesn’t require protection from the wind, rain – and worse, typhoons, tornados, hurricanes, and even seismic activity. But those working on ocean platforms, remote mountain sites and other rugged, out-of-the-locations appreciate the added security and peace of mind that sleek and durable enclosures can provide their equipment.
- Alternative fuel exploration: Diesel is viewed as a proven and plentiful fuel for commercial gensets. But for countries such as Costa Rica, all of the petroleum needs to be imported which adds significant transportation costs. While the pros and cons of natural gas-run generators are well documented, today researchers from Cummins Power Generation and other outfits are seeking out new fuels, such as hydrogen and biogas. They’ve even made progress in beta tests of generators running solely on a combination of these two alternative fuels. Keep your eyes out for widespread sales of generators using alternative fuels.
- Marine engines acting as gensets? Battery and boat electrical system innovation is swiftly producing slimmer, more powerful units that charge much faster than traditional batteries. One upshot of this battery evolution has been some operators choosing to bypass purchasing marine gensets, and instead using their marine propulsion engine as a substitute. While this wasn’t cost effective with older equipment, and requires the right marine gearbox, it’s a trend worth watching.
- Intuitive power generator design enhancements: Manufacturers such as Kohler Power Systems are tackling some of the low-hanging fruit design upgrades that makes life easier for operations professionals. While not revolutionary on their own, these enhancements add up. Take, for example, the ability to locate circuit breakers on either side of your generator, which can free up cramped quarters and give flexibility to your floor plan. Additionally, greatly improved access to customer connection points saves time installing equipment and performing regular maintenance on your gensets.
- Quiet victories: It seems that whenever you get a peek inside an active industrial operation on TV or a piece of collateral, all the heavy machinery and hard hat zones are shielded away from the desks and computers by sound-proof walls. The reality is that your operation, especially if it’s a small or medium-size company, is likely an exercise in controlled chaos where everything happens everywhere. It’s these site managers and operations specialists who truly appreciate the cutting-edge technology behind power generators offering reduced noise and low vibration capabilities. The key to cancelling the noise and vibrations are state-of-the-art enclosures housing the entire unit. Notoriously loud mobile generators are greatly benefitting from this technology.
The industrial power generator as you once knew it belongs in a museum, not on your operation site. Powered by global innovation and constant competition among manufacturers, these machines are getting more powerful and smarter – saving you time, money, resources and frustration. Speaking of smarter, today’s generators also feature self-diagnostic abilities. Soon you won’t have to lift a finger to troubleshoot and repair any misfiring or malfunctioning genset; saving you the need to think at all.
