Application guide
Diesel Generators by Application
The same generator set behaves differently in a data centre, a hospital, a hotel, a construction site and a remote oil and gas facility, because the requirement that governs the design changes: load steps in one, minutes of autonomy in another, prime-power duty in a third, and hazardous-area certification in the last. This page lists each application we quote regularly, with the figures that decide the specification.
Comparison
The five applications side by side
| Application | Typical rating | Duty | The requirement that governs the design |
|---|---|---|---|
| Data centres | 500-2000 kVA per set, in N+1 or 2N groups | Standby, with defined load steps | Load acceptance and step response into UPS and chiller loads |
| Hospitals | 200-500 kVA per set | Standby, long autonomy | Restoring supply within seconds, and fuel for 24 h or more |
| Hotels | 200-400 kVA | Standby | Guest comfort: lifts, water, air conditioning, and a facade noise limit |
| Construction sites | 100-300 kVA | Prime power | Continuous running in dust and heat, on a site that changes weekly |
| Oil and gas | 500-2000 kVA | Prime or standby, unattended | Area classification, fire and gas protection and remote monitoring |
Pages by application
Choose the application you are specifying for
Each page carries the requirement table for that application, the configurations we recommend in that range, a worked reference configuration and the questions we are asked most often.
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Data centres
N+1 and 2N topologies, load steps into UPS and chiller plant, autonomy and fuel systems.
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Hospitals
Essential and life-safety supplies, medical imaging loads and long fuel autonomy.
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Hotels
Guest comfort on changeover, lift ride-through, kitchen and laundry loads, low noise.
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Construction sites
Prime power duty, dewatering pumps, cranes and welders on a shifting load list.
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Oil and gas
Unattended packages with area classification, fire and gas protection and remote telemetry.
By range and by form
Once the application is fixed, two more choices remain
The power range follows from the load list and the redundancy the application needs. The form follows from where the set will stand and who will hear it.
Power ranges
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200 kVA
160 kW. Hotels, clinics, supermarkets and small plant rooms.
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300 kVA
240 kW. Hospitals, cold stores and food processing lines.
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500 kVA
400 kW. Facility buses, data halls and industrial prime power.
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800 kVA
640 kW. Data centres, district cooling, mining and marine duty.
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2000 kVA
1600 kW. Large plants, utility-scale standby and multi-set halls.
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All power ranges
Every rating class from 100 kVA to 2000 kVA, with its specification envelope.
Form factors
Questions
Common questions about application duty
Why does the application change the generator specification?
Because the governing requirement changes. A hotel needs a low noise figure and a fast changeover; a data centre needs a defined load step and N+1 redundancy; a construction site needs a set that runs as prime power for thousands of hours a year. Two projects of the same installed capacity can end up with completely different machines.
How much redundancy should an application have?
It follows the consequence of a failure. Commercial buildings normally use a single set sized for the essential load. Hospitals and data centres use N+1 as a minimum, and often 2N, so that one set can be serviced while the facility remains protected. Redundancy is a decision about the facility, not about the generator, and it should be agreed before the load list is priced.
What information do you need to quote an application?
The essential load list with running kW and the starting method of the largest motor; the voltage and frequency; the required autonomy in hours; the ambient temperature and altitude; where the set will stand and what noise limit applies; and whether the site is attended or remote. Those seven answers cover most of the design.
Tell us the application and the load list
Send the essential loads, the autonomy you need and the site conditions. We will reply with the rating, the configuration and the form factor that fits.