The Benefits of Routine Load Bank Testing

2 units 1250kW Outdooor Load Bank exported to one generator dealer in Saudi Arabia in 2017.


It is not sufficient to simply turn the motor on once a month to see if it works. Such infrequent use can create significant problems for a diesel generator. Diesel engines that are regularly run at very low loads – or no load at all – become increasingly unreliable and costly to maintain. They experience smoky exhausts, carbon build-up, fuel system problems and lubricating oil deterioration, all of which decrease reliability and add to running costs.
One can avoid these consequences by conducting routine testing, especially tests with a load bank. Routine testing doesn’t mean interrupting the power supply to a hospital, financial center or other critical application so that one can see if the generator set works. Rather, the test uses the load bank to bring the generator, with its engine, alternator, and radiator, up to its operating temperature. One can achieve that temperature by operating the generator set on a load of 20 to 40% of its rated power.
There are two benefits to this. One is that regular testing with a load bank offers a much higher degree of certainty that the set will perform as expected in a real power outage. The second is that costs are reduced. Many users, particularly telecommunications and utilities, recognize that it is cheaper to include a fixed load bank in the generator’s installation – or even to regularly hire a load bank – than it is to incur severe maintenance costs from not having one.
Sadly, there are still many standby generators going untested. We cannot be sure that they will work in a power outage. If power outages were more common, the industry might more clearly understand the value of a standby generator and load bank.