UPS & GENERATOR LOAD BANK TESTING SERVICES

Here at Specialist Power Systems, we believe load bank testing should be an essential part of your service and maintenance schedules. Carrying out regular load bank testing allows you to safely simulate how your critical power systems will perform in the event of an unplanned mains disturbance or complete power failure.

Here is a quick overview of what we offer but please read on for full details of our load bank testing services.

• Performance testing of the UPS and generator to full load capability
• AC & DC load banks available
• Resistive and Reactive load banks available
• Battery discharge tests to confirm battery integrity and certify expected runtime.
• Proving of all installation elements within the system design
• Full test documentation issued on completion

We cover more details about our load bank testing below

We explain why load bank testing is so important, what we do during testing, why regular testing should be part of your routine maintenance plans and how Specialist Power Systems can give your business the reassurance that your UPS or generator will work when placed under full load conditions.

But if you would rather speak to one of our power experts, give us a call or email our team to discuss how we can give you peace of mind that your critical power systems are working to their optimum capacity.

UPS and Generators will, of course, be tested regularly as part of any standard maintenance plan provided by Specialist Power. However, load bank testing provides the ultimate assurance that your systems will operate correctly in the event of a power disturbance.

The ability to apply full load to your complete critical power infrastructure allows you to test your installation to the full capacity for which it was designed and test every part of the system.

Input supply breakers, switchgear and the correct operation of your UPS and/or generator performance will be scrutinised and checked.

There really isn’t a more thorough way of testing your systems in a safe and risk free manner.

By testing the UPS and generator under simulated load conditions without risking the supply to any connected loads, you can test and prove that your backup power solution is working at optimal levels in a controlled environment with no risk to your critical equipment.

In the same way that car safety features are tested using crash test dummies, a load bank test of your UPS and generator can provide a safe and risk free environment to replicate the effects of the worst case scenarios without presenting a risk to your actual load.

Mains fail tests and overload protection features of your systems can all be simulated to demonstrate the functionality of your back up systems.

Load banks can also be used to calculate the electrical efficiency of your system and provide accurate loss and efficiency readings to help you understand your full cost of ownership.

By simulating not just your current load conditions but any future growth plans, a load bank allows you to apply potential loads to your critical power infrastructure in a controlled way. By measuring both input and output current readings, we can then accurately determine the full efficiency of your system.

This can then be used to calculate, over time, the full cost of ownership incorporating the full energy costs to run and operate your critical power systems.

Utilising a load bank also allows us to apply the exact load that your system is currently running at. By simulating a mains fail event and monitoring the battery performance, we can very accurately determine how long you can expect your system batteries to operate for.

The time that the UPS can perform on battery power is usually referred to as the UPS autonomy. This is an important figure to know when assessing the runtime capabilities of your system. Consideration can then be given to extending, or in some cases, reducing this value, depending on your business requirement.

A load bank is an independent device that can accurately mimic an operational load which your backup system is designed to support.

Usually, we connect a resistive load using heavy duty resistors onto the output of the UPS or generator. This discharges the electrical energy as heat via the resistive elements. The resultant heat is dissipated using blowers installed within the load bank.

To simulate different types of customer loads, we can also add capacitors or inductors to the load bank which will replicate the effects of reactive or inductive loads.

To recognise potential weaknesses and to reduce risks, our load bank testing simulates maximum load conditions to stress the UPS, generator, and the entire electrical supply infrastructure.

Load bank testing can be carried out at various stages of ownership:

• Installation and Commissioning of a new UPS / Generator
• Regular preventative maintenance
• Ad hoc testing

When installing a new UPS or generator is it important to ensure that the newly commissioned back up power system is 100% reliable before it goes ‘live’ for the first time.

Whilst load bank testing can be used as part of the commissioning, it can, for some battery builds and sites be more accurate to test 2-3 days after the initial commissioning.

This is especially true if full autonomy tests are required as part of the hand over. This allows for the batteries to fully charge, settle and equalise across the battery strings and individual battery blocks.

Specialist Power strongly advise to consider load bank testing in your regular service and maintenance plan. Running regular testing will not only reassure you that your critical power equipment is running as it was designed to but also to highlight any potential issues that can be fixed or replaced as a preventative measure.

Load bank testing is a popular upgrade to one of our SPECIALIST PLATINUM, SPECIALIST GOLD or SPECIALIST SILVER service and maintenance packages.

If you choose not to include load bank testing in a service plan then we offer ad hoc load bank testing by one of our fully trained service engineers.

If you wish to speak to one of our experts about load bank testing and how we can make sure your critical power equipment is regularly tested then get in touch with us today on 01234 851155 or email [email protected]