While many businesses are reliably connected to the grid, it never hurts to be prepared. Depending on the nature of your business, a power outage can be little more than a temporary disruption to day-to-day operations, or a truly destructive disruption that costs thousands of dollars and even puts human safety at risk. Ultimately, the kind of generator that you choose for your business will depend on a multitude of factors unique to your operation, situation, and even geographical considerations. Here are just a few factors that may play a role in your decision.

Consider Your Power Requirements

This will be one of your single biggest considerations when choosing a generator for your business. How much will you need to power, and for how long? If you’re running a simple retail establishment, then it may be reasonable to scale down operations to the essentials and make use of a small generator until power is restored. However, if your business has anything to do with refrigeration, electronics, or first response, then it may not be reasonable to scale down operations until power is restored. In those instances, you may require a backup generator with industrial capacity. Before making a purchasing decision, you should take stock of the average power consumption in watts that your business consumes over the course of a standard operating day.

What type of fuel is best?

Ultimately, the type of fuel that you choose is up to you. Most generators run on either natural gas or diesel. There are advantages and disadvantages to both.

1. Natural Gas

If your business is in an area where access to the grid is a relative nonissue, then regularly refueling with natural gas may be the best option. Natural gas is highly efficient and relatively inexpensive. However, it degrades quickly, meaning that you will have to refuel frequently. If it is pumped directly into your generator, there is also the risk of fire and losing service entirely in the event of a natural disaster.

2. Diesel

Diesel is also a highly efficient fuel source, albeit a slightly more polluting one. On the upside, it is highly stable. Diesel can be stored and used safely for upwards of three years without any degradation in performance. If your business is remote, and reliability is of the utmost importance, then a diesel generator may be the best option for you.

Noise Level Requirements

While the majority of generators run outside of the building, noise levels are still something that you may need to consider. Choosing the generator with the correct capacity for your business, and also the lowest levels of noise, can be essential for ensuring non-disruption for quieter businesses like cafes or bookstores. The enjoyment and comfort of your customers can be just as important as staying operational!

Consider Your Current Grid and Climate

Finally, you may want to consider your current grid and climate situation. If your business is located in an especially humid environment, you’ll want to choose a generator that has been designed with those environmental factors in mind – lest you wind up paying far more for maintenance in the future. You will also need to consider the stability of the grid. If prior power disruptions have led to the power being down for several days, you may want to consider that when choosing a generator with a larger overall capacity.

At GenTech, our skilled power generation technicians have the knowledge to help you choose the best generator for your business needs. Contact us today!