Continuous power supply is critical to maintain commercial, industrial, and hospital/medical facilities. As a result, facilities must have robust power systems to continue operations in the event of a grid outage. Most of these systems are powered by diesel generators. Companies looking to improve their sustainability while continuing to protect their power systems against risk are beginning to incorporate renewable energy into their distributed energy power systems. Sustainable options like solar power with battery backup can mitigate the risks of traditional backup power sources while also reducing environmental impact.
Emergency backup power systems are designed to remain off during normal conditions and then to kick in immediately when grid power supply is lost. Typical power systems consist of grid power; diesel generators, designed for emergency use only; controls to shut-down noncritical loads during an outage; and, in some cases, a cogeneration/combined heat and power (CHP) generator to provide ongoing distributed energy.