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Reactive: The Most Effective Load Bank

Author: Chris Gayle
by Chris Gayle
Posted: Jan 29, 2015

Today, every organization and industries require generator sets and the purpose of this power source is to provide a reliable source in case of sudden power failure. With backup power source, you can have peace of mind that in the event of a power failure your generator will effectively give you constant power. But what happens when the genset does not function as expected. Thus, in this regard load bank testing plays a vital role and is regarded as a comprehensive preventive generator maintenance plan. The testing helps to ensure that the generator will be fully operational. In other words, load bank test ensures that the standby generator will effectively perform in the event of a power failure.

Load bank is a widely preferred device, which is effectively used as a means of testing the ability of an electrical system to handle a voltage. In other words, it is used to ensure that all the parts of the power sources can handle the level of voltage or load that it is intended to. There are two types of load bank, resistive and reactive which are used in various sectors.

An Overview of Reactive Load Bank

A reactive load bank monitors the lagging power factor, which is known by the name inductive and also the leading power factor, capacitive. This type of load bank offers full KW to the power source in order to check the engine and the fuel systems. The reactive component of the load has a current that lags the voltage and thus, the total power is equal to the vector sum of real and apparent power.

Over time, it is seen that lightly loaded generator sets develop the several problems like wet stacking and carbon buildup in the combustion chambers and exhaust system and this leads to increased oil and poor engine performance. An effective load bank testing helps in preventing such problems and determines the generator’s capacity so as to produce maximum output in terms of amperage. Listed below are some testing tips that will help you in conducting the process of loads bank testing properly:

  1. At the time of performing load bank test you need to be prepared for the system failure or any kind of unexpected results
  2. For facilities that are not considered mission critical, testing should be done during hours when a sudden power failure can be easily managed
  3. When performing testing, carefully look for loose connections, leaks and also for any kind of abnormal performance
  4. Make sure that the backup power sources are disconnected in order to prevent overloading

Summary: A load bank test is an essential part of backup power sources maintenance practice as the device carefully checks the power sources engine’s ability and gives assurance that the genset should work properly when you need it most.

About the Author

I love writing a lot and currently working as a Content and Academic Writer. My writing is qualitative, professional and timely which my clients like about me.

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Author: Chris Gayle

Chris Gayle

Member since: Dec 22, 2013
Published articles: 588

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