FM Review

When Eskom loadshedding strikes, is your power backup investment fail-safe?

A wave of loadshedding is hitting the country again, as you would have no doubt experienced. This has resulted in

incidents where service providers such as OR Tambo International Airport, Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital and

many others have been unable to operate at full capacity. At Pragma, we also suffered a generator failure at our head

office, at a highly inconvenient time. These events prompted us to take a critical look and think about what should

be in place to ensure a reliable backup when the inevitable occurs. After all, even backup plans need maintenance.

Acouple of our pragmatic engineers put their heads together and came up with the points below. The bad news is that there is no app for your smartphone that will do the job for you. The good news is that if you apply yourself to the suggested actions, you can have more peace of mind when the next loadshedding hits. Before you lift a finger, or grab a meter, it is important to get a good understanding of the real-life situation. In any case where you want to ensure predictable, reliable operation of a device (be it a machine, computer, or even a human) you should examine the following: • What are the critical functions you expect from the device? • What is the critical component that will affect this function? • How likely is that component of the device to fail? In this case, the ‘device’ under discussion is a standby electrical power generator set, aka ‘genset’. For such a genset, the answers to these questions are quite simple, and illustrated below.

Function Components Likelihood of failure

Detect primary AC failure Voltage sensor; actuated switch Low

Start the engine Battery, starter motor, engine ignition, fuel High

Run engine for 2 hours Engine, cooling, lubrication, fuel supply Medium

Generate electrical AC Alternator, regulator Low

Switch supply connections Transfer switch Low

To ensure good reliability and effective delivery of standby power from your diesel- or petrol-powered genset, here are 10 useful, simple tips to bear in mind when caring for such an asset: 1. Ensure that all fluids in the machine are kept at the correct levels: • Coolant level is between minimum and maximum on level indicator • Oil level is between minimum and maximum on dipstick or sight glass (do NOT overfill) • Fuel level is between 75 and 100 percent of tank capacity. This reduces the possibility of condensation absorption into fuel, as well as the risk of premature depletion 2. It is vital that the batteries, used to start the generator engine, are always fully charged. This is ideally confirmed by measuring the voltage of the disconnected battery to be > 12.6 VDC (for each 12 V unit). Furthermore, battery electrolyte, for maintainable units, should always be at the correct levels in each cell of the battery set. For sealed, maintenance-free (SMF) units, the visual indicator should be (positive) green. 3. Ensure that the AC mains powerfailure-detection system, as well as the automatic transfer switching (ATS) system, is functional and is switched into the AUTO RUN or equivalent mode at all times. 4. For gensets that switch on and transfer power automatically, and especially larger sets (100 KVA and more), it is essential to keep the engine oil and coolant at an elevated temperature, typically above 45 °C. This ensures immediate loading capability of the generator, without having to wait a few minutes for engine warm-up. 5. Do regular visual inspections to ensure that all cooling system air ducts, inlet filters, radiators and extraction fans are clear of dust and debris. Air-filter units should be regularly checked for blockages (check filter air block detectors where used).

6. Perform regular visual inspections for signs of fluid leaks or seepage. If any are found, ensure they are promptly rectified before leaks become excessive. 7. Ensure adequate fuel reserves are immediately available and fuel refilling is easily possible without spillage. Consider day tanks, hoses, filler fittings, transfer pumps, spare fuel drums, drum trolleys. 8. During testing, ensure that when the engine is started up, it is not run longer than 10 minutes without load. If started up, it is preferable that the engine is run with a load, for a minimum of 30 minutes; observe temperatures, pressures, cooling and signs of fluid leaks. It is essential that a genset gets regular exercise. 9. In the longer term: • Simulate AC mains failures at recommended intervals and ensure that the mains/ generator/mains switch-over cycles fully complete their functions. • During simulated AC mains failure tests, ensure that the engine starts immediately and smoothly takes up the load, while observing for signs of labouring due to possible overloading (excessive diesel smoke, under voltage, machine not achieving rated engine speed). • It is a good practice to have the generator serviced annually, or every 200 operating hours, by a reputable, competent, specialist service provider. • Plan and budget to proactively replace battery packs every two to three years, depending on the climatic conditions/exposure to high ambient temperatures. 10. From a generator size and design point of view, ensure that the genset is not electrically overloaded during start-up and continuous running. Review the load configuration regularly to further ensure that load circuits have not crept up and that phase balancing is maintained. Last, but possibly the most important aspect to have assurance of asset reliability, is the disciplined adherence to your adopted maintenance and

asset care programmes. This often has to compete against operational and political pressure but should never be compromised. Good mechanisms to support this are clear service level agreements and computerised maintenance management systems.

Established in 1990, Pragma is an engineering company that delivers enterprise asset management solutions to asset-intensive industries. A privately owned company, Pragma employs 540 employees all working to give clients total peace of mind. For more information, visit: www.pragmaworld.net

City Lodge group invests in solar energy

The JSE-listed City Lodge Hotels Group announced that it has invested about R20 million in solar energy at 25 of its hotels and is planning to expand the initiative to a further 12. According to CEO Andrew Widegger, each of the hotels will generate 30 percent of their total energy needs from solar and will lower the group’s overall energy consumption from non-renewable sources by about 10 percent.

Widegger said that the payback from the investment made in solar is less than four years. “So bottom-line-wise, we are probably talking in the region of R2 million to R3 million in savings in the next six months,” he said.

Widegger said that the group has refined the model and will apply all those insights when it looks at the next batch of about 12 hotels to get solar energy. CFO Alastair Dooley said that the solar energy facilities at all 25 hotels were completed between October and December 2019 and are all operational and generating electricity. He said that the energy produced is better than envisaged in the feasibility study and the group will start seeing the benefits from that in the second half of its financial year to June through a reduction in the amount it pays Eskom for electricity.