Generator Cost

mikespeedy

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May 29, 2009
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What should I expect to pay for a generator to support 20 computers in an office? Where can I see these for sale online?

I am new to this idea so any advise is excellent

Mike
 

Hillbilly

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Jan 1, 2002
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There are a bunch of good people here that can help you.

You need to say where you are going to be located, too.

Of course, the genset (that's the industry term for them) needs to have a large power inverter so that there is NO power loss, ever, for the computers. The switchover is instantaneous and not felt by the computers.

Then the electrical installation needs to have a control panel that will:
1) Realize the lights went out
2) Start the generator
3) Provide good current
4) Realize when the current comes back on
5) Shuts down after a short cool-down period

There are plenty of people that can handle this. Costs, depending on what else besides the 20 computers are going to be on line...like the A/C, lightening, etc...

HB
2)
 

mikespeedy

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May 29, 2009
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Not sure the location yet. Ill have that figured out this week. It will be in Santo Domingo.

How can I tell what areas have more blackouts then others? That and the internet connection issue will determine the space rented
 

Hillbilly

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Jan 1, 2002
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Oh man, are you in for a bunch of headaches...

Let me know if I can be of help...

HB
 

cobraboy

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Jul 24, 2004
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Hillbilly laid it out.

Each of your computers should be connected to a UPS/surge protector, period. They, in turn, should be plugged into your office main electrical service. I'd recommend a good invertor system that powers your panel for everything but a/c and water heater.

There are numerous generators available to handle the charging of the invertor system if you lose street power for any length of time. Computers don't use a whole lot of energy, so it's possible to have enough batter connected to your inverter to have them operate for many hours.

I had a 13kw whole house, self-contained propane powered genset for my Tampa home complete with a switch that did an auto-start 11 seconds after the power went out, and turned off when the power came back on. The entire system was under $US3000 installed.
 

mikespeedy

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May 29, 2009
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I got it so 20 cpus connected to the ups backups, then those the wall. Then a genset to the panel.

Are there some locations in the DR that have less blackouts then others? I need to find the most uptime possible. My business runs 9-8pm eastern and cannot be without power for more then a few minutes.

How long are these blackouts normally?
 

J D Sauser

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Nov 20, 2004
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Generators do not like to be turned on and off too often!

For computers and most other applications, you will want to have an inverter system with batteries first. Your power cuts may be relatively short and often. No generator will crank on and give you power without any power loss. You do also not want a generator to go on and off for short black outs... it will kill the generator.
Even when you have the inverter with batteries and maybe a generator (if you are in a zone with extended black outs) you will also need individual UPS sets for each work station. Their switch over time is almost instantaneous and will help you eradicate most risks of loss of work or connectivity. Make sure your UPS sets are designed to handle inverter waves which are not sine but rather squarish.

Inverter and batteries as well as generators with timed automated switch over control boards are available locally.
As qualified and proven technicians are few, I would recommend a generator set which comes complete with it's automated switch over control board.


... J-D.
 

cobraboy

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To amplify what J D says, a genset, once started, needs to run until it has reached operating temperature for a few minutes before shut off. Often the power outages are just a minute or so, and the genset would not reach temperature in that time.

Recap:
-Each CPUs plugged into individual UPS
-UPSs plugged into the main circuits
-Mian circuits (less a/c ans water heater) wired into inverter with large batter bank
-in necessary, inverter wired into a genset that can be manually started if the power is off long enough to drop the inverter batter capacity below 40-50%.