It's really important for educational centres and institutes to ensure there is a reliable source of backup power for any instances of national grid interruption, power cuts or weather events.

If the mains supply fails, schools and universities can suffer catastrophic data loss - including corruption and damage to files on student data, assignments, important grades and experiments. Further, educational institutes must provide heating and light for students and staff, so power outages can be dangerous.

UK schools, colleges and universities should ensure that emergency power solutions are on hand at all times. For the safety and protection of students and staff, it’s vital to have a big enough generator to kick in if there’s a power cut or mains failure. Similarly, university generators are required for ensuring no loss of data, compromised research or problems with equipment.

In 2021 the National Grid warned that the risk of power cuts in the UK had increased, which demonstrates just how vital it is for educational institutes to prepare for an unexpected loss of power.

Backup generators convert mechanical energy or chemical energy from fuel into electrical power. Backup generators are designed to switch on and kick in within seconds of power loss from the mains. The generator control system and panel detects a mains outage and switches to generator power to make sure university campuses, schools and other facilities don’t lose power. We have a blog on how generators work, and our team would be happy to help.

Diesel generators offer an excellent level of reliability and durability, ideal for the load-heavy demands of larger educational institutes - which can include servers, lights, heaters, refrigerators and more. They're also cost-effective and budget-friendly to fuel, which is of course a key consideration for administrators in the educational sector.

It's crucial to regularly inspect and service generators anywhere, but particularly those installed in or near schools and university campuses. Regular inspections, scheduled maintenance, and record-keeping are essential for the generators' upkeep. Safety measures for educational generators include include proper ventilation, fire safety protocols, secure generator locations, and compliance with electrical and security standards. Training staff, creating emergency shutdown procedures, and adhering to local regulations all contribute to a reliable and safe power supply in educational institutions.

It’s really important for university campus administrators to get the right sized generator to meet output requirements. Powerful generators will be needed to ensure the entire campus – classrooms, student accommodation, data centres, laboratories, restaurants and more – don’t lose power.

To calculate the right sized generator, you’ll need to know the overall kilowatts of the devices that will need power, and then convert this to kilovolt amperes to find the right generator capacity. At Vital Power we stock a number of leading brand names and bespoke machines, and will help calculate the right size generator for your needs – both in terms of fuel tank bulk capacity and overall generator size.