Assisted Living facilities, five-star hotels, poultry farms, and hospitals depend on standby generators to back up their power supply. For better or worse, when generators are installed for a business, the owner faces unfamiliar regulations, coding and specific licensing requirements for generators.
All of a sudden, the owner needs to know a host of technical terms that sound like a different language….and although it’s really just “code”, it helps to have a translator. That’s where we come in.
When you get a generator from us, you can count one of our team to walk you through this process, defining terminology, leaping hurdles and speaking code. Here’s a recent case in point:
A large residential care facility often found itself without power thanks to frequent severe weather in their area. Their state had very specific and strict code that was full of technical jargon and hard to understand regulations. We were able to ‘decipher the code’, and help the property manager know exactly what was required. Here are some of the highlights:
1. Electrical permit. This was requested and obtained from the city.
2. Drawings and Schematics. Stamped Drawings and schematics done by a certified engineer had to be officially stamped and submitted to the planning department of the county. The county rep had to sign and approve.
3. Aesthetics. Drawings and plans need to be submitted to the architectural review board for the city so that the installation met city and state standards.
4. Fire protection codes. A permit was needed to ensure that the above-ground diesel fuel tank meets state and national fire protection codes, as inspected and confirmed by the state’s fire marshal.
You can see how many different regulatory bodies are involved in getting the generator installed. And in this particular case, meeting compliance meant some modifications were necessary. The state code specified that a secondary fuel containment tank be installed to avoid any fuel being spilled directly on the ground. The code also required a vent pipe that goes a minimum of 12 feet from the ground.
Every location will offer slightly different licensing requirements for generators. There are many different types of machines, and it would be nearly impossible for any inspector to be familiar with the nuances of each one. At times, we actually meet with the inspector to help him or her see that the generator truly is in compliance. This saves you time and money!
We’re still in the process of getting this generator online, but we’re helping the facility cut through a lot of the red tape, and handling much of the legwork involved in the approval process. Once all of the inspectors sign that the generator meets code, it can be filled with fuel and ready for the next emergency outage.
And that another place that’s powered for life, uninterrupted!