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With power outages becoming more prevalent due to the increased frequency of catastrophic weather events and an aging power grid, standby power generation is a critical consideration for buildings of all types. But that becomes even more crucial for facilities that care for vulnerable populations, such as healthcare and assisted-living facilities for the elderly.
“Standby power generators have emerged as a necessity at residential healthcare facilities across the U.S.,” says Nandini Sankara, a spokesperson for Suburban Propane, which operates in Florida and beyond. “From wildfires and hurricanes to winter storms and flooding, you never know when utility power will be compromised and standby power generators will be needed to support lifesaving healthcare machines.”
In Florida, this necessity became law in March 2018, based on emergency rules the governor issued the previous September. Gov. Rick Scott’s administration declared the emergency rules following deaths at a senior living facility in the state that were attributed to power outages from Hurricane Irma.
The law mandates that senior living facilities must have emergency power sources that can keep temperatures at no more than 81 degrees for at least 96 hours. And nursing homes and larger assisted-living facilities have to keep 72 hours’ worth of fuel on site, among other stipulations.
The case that led to the Florida law, and similar cases, even caught the attention of the U.S. Senate, which has looked into standby power requirements for these types of facilities, though nothing concrete has passed so far.
But regardless of government mandates, many healthcare and assisted-living facilities consider having standby power generation just the right thing to do.
Standby generators range in size from 10 kilowatts to 4,000 kilowatts to meet the needs of a variety of building sizes.
“I think it’s imperative to include a backup generator on such facilities,” says Keith Wasula, a national account manager at generator maker Generac. “Number one for the safety and number two for the peace of mind, because during a storm or catastrophe or outage, there are many people not only who are residing in that facility but family members in multiple states across the U.S. or the world that are just worried. And with that peace of mind comes an overall peace.”
Picking the right fuel
One of the main decisions architects, engineers, and facilities managers must make for a facility’s standby power generation is the fuel.
Gaseous generators are cleaner-burning and may be more appropriate in areas where emissions are a concern, says Amy Haese, product manager for generator manufacturer Kohler Power. These generators can run on both propane and natural gas, providing fuel redundancy and flexibility depending on what’s available.
Sankara says, “Propane generators can be sized to meet a variety of different demands depending upon the size of the healthcare facility. Compared to other fossil fuels, propane is energy efficient, clean-burning, and does not have a shelf life, making it the ideal fuel source for standby power generation.”
Diesel is another option, but it creates more polluting emissions, adds another level of maintenance, and goes bad without expensive and time-consuming maintenance. And it often requires additives and cleaning of the system. New emissions standards are also driving up the cost of these units.
Solar is not really a backup standby power generation source, Wasula says. “Unless you’re storing or harnessing that solar energy from the solar panels to a battery, it’s used in the moment or it’s gone.”
Sankara adds, “Along with an adequate supply of fuel, it is also important for residential healthcare facilities to have an active account established with a reputable company that is able to supply fuel during a time of need. Maintenance agreements and fuel contracts can also benefit these facilities and ensure that standby generators are working properly at all.”
Other considerations for standby power
During a power outage, it’s not usually practical to provide adequate backup power to every one of a facility’s systems. So, what should be prioritized?
Climate control and medical systems are the most important to protect with standby power, Sankara says. But computer systems, access control, and refrigeration are a few examples of other systems that standby power can back up in these facilities.
The time it takes for a standby unit to kick in is also a huge factor when it comes to elder-care facilities, Wasula says. There is a difference between a standard backup generator and a life-safety unit, he says. When the power goes out, a life-safety unit will go on in under 10 seconds, while a standard generator might take longer. For these types of facilities, a matter of seconds can mean life or death.
And when it comes to the size of the generator, it’s definitely not a one-size-fits-all situation. The size must fit the space availability and operating requirements of the facility, in addition to meeting regulations such as the Florida law’s minimum requirements. “Most facilities between 30 and 100 beds would use a generator sized from 60 to 200 kilowatts,” Haese says. Manufacturers such as Kohler offer power-sizing tools that assist owners, architects, and engineers with appropriately sizing the generator to the facility’s requirements. Generac and Kohler offer units that range from 10 to 4,000 kilowatts.
When it comes to propane specifically, fuel storage is based on anticipated usage, Wasula says. “You’ll be able to, basically, break down the math as to what size gallon tank you’ll need for a 24-hour run time. So whether it be 100 gallons, 200 gallons, 1,000 gallons, this is all stuff that at time of site walk and site plans, you’ll be able to decipher.”
Larger fuel storage can allow facilities to run for 72 to 96 hours to protect against fuel supply disruptions or difficulties refueling in natural disaster events. “When using a natural gas generator with propane backup, the customer can feel protected by having a constant flow of natural gas and propane as backup in the case where natural gas is not available,” Haese says.
And with any major decision, thinking ahead is key for standby power generation. “The biggest thing that I would say is that it is much easier and cheaper to design it in on the front end versus retrofit a facility,” Wasula says. “Then you’ll be able to locate your fuel source, locate your panels, install your automatic transfer switch at the time of all the other electrical work, and lay out a floor plan or footprint for that particular unit that you’ll need.”
