GuidePower & facilities
Load audit before buying backup power
By Inara Crest Engineering 1 min read
Measure what actually needs backup, for how long, before choosing generators, UPS units or solar systems.
Backup power is often over- or under-sized because nobody measured the load.
1. List circuits and equipment
Identify what is connected where.
2. Classify loads
Critical, important and non-essential.
3. Measure
Use clamp meters or loggers over representative days.
4. Define duration
How long must each class run during an outage?
5. Consider starting currents
Motors and compressors draw more when starting.
6. Size the solution
Choose equipment for the critical and important loads, with headroom for growth.
Document the result
Record the measured loads, chosen durations and resulting equipment sizes. When the organisation grows, the audit can be updated instead of starting again.
See our power solutions.
About the author
Inara Crest Engineering
Engineering team
Written by the Inara Crest Technologies engineering team, who design, install and support software, network, security, power and data centre systems for organisations in Kenya and East Africa.