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We get asked this question every day.
Many customers start by telling us the size of their building. Sure, your floor size has some relation to the size of the heating and air conditioning, but it doesn't tell us how much power is needed.
What is important is what you are trying to power in your building. Some wish to power the whole property. Others will list off a few items that are important to them. So, we ask a few questions to assist us in understand what they need without getting too technical.
Do you want to power your whole building to carry on as if nothing happened, or can you make some adjustment and save some money not powering everything all at the same time?

Diesel generators are essential pieces of equipment to guarantee quarry and mine power.
It's important to understand why losing power in a quarry or mine is so bad. If power is lost, not only do the machines and equipment stop working but so do all the sources of light if no independent lighting towers are utilised. If you think about it, quarries and mines are dark places as there is usually not a lot of natural light due to them being in the ground.
There isn't going to be natural lighting fixtures in a deep pit, so you need to make sure that you bring a source of light with you and ensure that it doesn't switch off halfway through the work day or night. This could cause a number of issues, but the most important one of them all is that it is very dangerous. Someone could get injured, people could start accidentally colliding with each other, and the situation can become dangerous very quickly.

Prime or continuous rated generators (sometimes called base rating) are for situations where the generator will serve as the primary source of power, and will be used for extended periods of time. Some litrature differentiates between prime and continuous load but they are essentially the same. Prime or continuous rating is generally 10% lower than standby rating.

Standby generators are intended for shorter runs until the main power source can be reestablished and are generally rated at 10% higher than prime/continuous ratings of the same size and model.

Diesel fuel can contain two types of water, water in solution or free water.
Water in solution is water that is dissolved in the fuel. These very low concentrations of water are reported in parts per million (ppm) and are not necessarily a problem.

Free water is a problem, but it often does not exist in standard diesel fuel in high concentrations because it is heavier than fuel, and settles to the tank's bottom. It exists due to condensation or contamination. It is recommended that you keep your tank full to minimise the amount of air and condensation that occurs. Chances are, your generator engine has a water separator to help prevent water from reaching critical components where it can cause damage.

While your engine may be okay, your fuel may not be. When diesel is exposed to water, it causes a hydrolysis reaction, meaning the diesel breaks down due to water exposure. When condensation accumulates, drops of water can drip from the roof of the storage tank onto the diesel. Exposure to water creates a chemical reaction that breaks down the diesel and makes it susceptible to growth of bacteria and fungus microbes.

Induction motor starting on full voltage (known as direct on-line starting) has the undesirable effect of drawing five to ten times or more of their full load current. Usually this starting current persists till the motor reaches close to its synchronous speed (rated speed). Induction motors under starting conditions have extremely low power factor of around 10-30%. The combination of large starting current and poor power factor will cause large voltage drop across the system impedance.

The starting current, (many times the nominal one) is variable depending on the motor design.

Starting-current (also called inrush) is the current drawn by a motor during its runup, or acceleration, to normal operating speed. Its value is in Amperes. Typically it can be from 4 to 8 times the rated current. Ignoring the transients of the first 2 or 3 cycles, then starting-current lasts from the time the motor is first energized (breakaway) until the motor nears full speed, often defined as starting-time.

The generally accepted quick field calculation is 225% of the FLA (Full Load Amps) or if not available RLA (Running Load Amps) for a period of 0.5 to 2 seconds duration.

A generator cannot deliver power to an operating electric power system unless its voltage, frequency and other parameters are exactly matched. Synchronization is accomplished by controlling the exciter current and the engine speed of the generator/s.

Synchronization matches various parameters of one alternator to another alternator or to the bus bar. The process of synchronization is also known as paralleling of alternators or generators.

In modern multi-unit applications, physical bus connection and disconnection is achieved via high-speed motorized circuit breakers controlled by the interconnected generator controllers.