Keeping the Lights On

Alternative generators can power field offices while saving you utility and downtime costs.

On July 4, nearly 3 million residents in the Northeast lost power—many for as a long as a week. Last year, in the United States alone, more than 40 million people lost power. With power outage frequency increasing, many businesses are realizing that traditional gas generators fail to effectively manage their power needs. Expensive to operate, noisy and potentially hazardous due to their carbon monoxide output, gas generators may soon find themselves replaced by alternative power options.

Current industry conversations about power outages also focus on energy savings. Power loss is an expected natural risk, but businesses of all types—especially those in construction—can invest in ways to handle emergency situations while also saving on recurring power costs.

Green Generators

When it comes to portable power, alternative generators can have a cost-efficient impact on the jobsite. Portable, indoor generators and solar systems provide contractors with a unique power option. Indoor generators supported by solar and battery power provide several off-grid applications for construction sites, in addition to serving as an emergency backup power source.

By using battery instead of gas power, indoor generators produce no gas, noise or fumes and are designed to install safely inside a building of any size to provide clean emergency backup power. Green energy can be used to recharge an indoor generator system. In fact, the combination of a properly designed indoor generator system with a solar array can enable the end user to be either partially or completely off-grid.

The Field Office
Portable construction field offices have their own power requirements and play a vital role in construction projects. Power requirements for a field office can include computers, telecommunications (servers, telephones, fax, etc.), basic lighting, heat/air conditioning, refrigeration and cooking. Field offices are grid-tied for the most part, representing yet another concern for contractors when setting up a new project. Portable office manufacturers currently do not offer or promote a construction field office that is energy self-sufficient or only partially reliant on the grid for power needs. When power goes out, no backup generator is available to continue operations or retrieve site data—a potentially costly problem for business owners.

A properly designed indoor generator and solar system can meet the requirements to power the necessary operational items required in the average field office. Portable field offices vary in size and design and can be retrofitted with an indoor generator to be completely or partially self-sufficient. Contractors can also use the indoor generator system as a standby to provide backup power for the field office or for critical equipment items.