Thread: Power prices, gas prices- ouch or Solar perhaps?

Originally Posted by Tins

As Adelaide discovered, a backup system is only any use if it works. And 25 minutes is not very long, especially if you are on an operating table and the emergency generator doesn’t start. A total grid failure in Melbourne would kill people. All for a vanity project.

I'm trying not to be to negative. I can understand why they want big batteries around the place. They should not be mentioning how long it can supply power for, as this most likely isn't the reason they have installed a battery. It will be installed as the infrastructure cannot handle peak power requirements at specific times of day, and they have worked out ""xxx million"" to upgrade the power transmission lines, or ""xx million"" to install a battery that can handle the peak power requirements that may only happen for a 1 hour period of the day.

Its really hard not to be negative when you see the utter stupidity they continue with though

I don’t see negativity. I see someone standing up for what he believes.

Originally Posted by Tins

As Adelaide discovered, a backup system is only any use if it works. And 25 minutes is not very long, especially if you are on an operating table and the emergency generator doesn’t start. A total grid failure in Melbourne would kill people. All for a vanity project.

Hate to say it but I've seen this happen, a black out at a hospital due to failed electrical systems, no deaths though as heart lung machines have hand cranks.

Also critical equipment is fed via a UPS which should carry the load until the generator comes online, Generators and UPS's are usually assigned on a n+1 basis, so at least one spare.

In a hospital not so far away, the emergency Genny supply would cut in very quickly, and was tested monthly, without fail. Part of Standing Orders, so to speak.
So when hit with a major outage; no dramas, - until there were.
Refuelling the large storage tank was then added to said Standing Orders.
Cheers

In my experience fuel problems with generators are a lot more common than people would think.

The best laid schemes o' mice an' men / Gang aft a-gley.. Robert Burns.

As true now as it was in 1785 when he wrote "To a Mouse".

Or, as a certain person generally referred to as "Murphy" might have called law, the firs thing to fail in any circumstances is the failsafe system. Anyone who believes that engineers always get it right has forgotten about Boeing. Or SpaceX for that matter, although their approach is more "suck it and see".