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Hurricane season is just around the corner, and for businesses in our region, that means it's time to prepare. Proactive preparation is key to minimizing disruption and protecting your operations when severe weather strikes.
As a leading power generation equipment supplier and service company, we specialize in ensuring reliable power solutions. During hurricane season, rental generators emerge as a crucial tool for preparedness, offering businesses immediate and flexible backup power.
Understanding Hurricane Season & Warnings
The official hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30 each year. Staying informed by monitoring official advisories and bulletins from the National Hurricane Center and other local authorities and understanding the terminology and potential impacts of a hurricane are crucial steps in preparedness.
Key Terms to Know
- Tropical Disturbance: Slight or absent circulation and no strong winds.
- Tropical Depression: Closed circulation at surface, highest winds less than 39 mph.
- Tropical Storm: Stronger circulation, highest wind speed 39-73 mph.
- Hurricane: Very strong and pronounced circulation, wind speed of 74 mph or more. Categorized based on wind speed and potential damage:
- Category 1: Wind speed 74 - 95 mph, minor damage
- Category 2: Wind speed 96 - 110 mph, moderate damage
- Category 3: Wind speed 111 - 130 mph, extensive damage
- Category 4: Wind speed 131 - 155 mph, extreme damage
- Category 5: Wind speed over 155 mph, catastrophic damage
- Hurricane Watch: Indicates the threat of a hurricane exists for the next 24-36 hours.
- Hurricane Warning: A hurricane is expected to strike within 24 hours. All precautionary measures should be completed, and evacuation may be necessary if notified by civil authorities.
Importance of Rental Generators for Hurricane Season
When the grid goes down, a reliable power source can be the difference between business continuity and significant losses. Rental generators offer unique advantages, especially for unpredictable events like hurricanes, such as:
- Immediate Access to Backup Power: Securing a rental in advance ensures you have power before the storm hits, avoiding last-minute scrambling and potential unavailability.
- Cost-Effective Flexibility: For businesses that primarily need backup power during specific seasons or emergencies, renting offers a flexible, cost-effective alternative.
- Scalability for Diverse Needs: Rental fleets offer a wide range of sizes, allowing you to tailor your power solution precisely to your needs.
- No Maintenance or Storage Worries: Our team handles all servicing and upkeep, ensuring the unit is always in optimal condition.
- Expert Support and Rapid Deployment: We offer 24/7 support, expert advice on sizing and installation, and swift delivery and setup.
Key Considerations for Rental Generators
Sizing It Right
An undersized generator won't power your essential equipment, while an oversized one can be a waste of resources and fuel.
- List Your Critical Loads: Identify every piece of equipment you must keep running during an outage. This includes lighting, HVAC systems, refrigerators, freezers, communication systems, point-of-sale systems, medical equipment, and any critical machinery.
- Calculate Starting and Running Watts: Each appliance or piece of equipment has a running wattage and a starting wattage or surge wattage. You'll need a generator that can handle the total running watts of all simultaneously operating devices, plus the highest single starting wattage.
- Add a Buffer: It's always wise to choose a generator with 10-20% more capacity than your calculated requirement. This provides a safety margin and accounts for any unexpected needs.
Understanding Fuel Types and Supply
- Fuel Storage: Plan for ample fuel storage to ensure your generator can run for the anticipated duration of an outage.
- Fuel Efficiency: Modern industrial generators are designed for fuel efficiency, but consumption varies by size and load.
Maintenance and Monitoring
One of the significant benefits of rental generators is that the maintenance is handled by the provider. However, it's still good practice to:
- Understand Your Rental Agreement: Familiarize yourself with the terms regarding maintenance, refueling, and emergency support.
- Confirm Monitoring Capabilities: We offer remote monitoring services, allowing us to track the generator's performance, fuel levels, and alerts in real-time, even during a storm.
Your Hurricane Preparedness Checklist
Beyond the generator itself, a comprehensive hurricane plan is vital for your business's resilience.
- Develop a Business Continuity Plan: Outline procedures for before, during, and after a hurricane. This should include communication protocols for employees, data backup strategies, and recovery plans. Be prepared for extended power outages and potential limitations on cash, water, and sewer.
- Update Contact Lists: Ensure your company has up-to-date emergency contact information for all employees, critical suppliers, and your generator rental provider. Consider having a system in place to notify employees whether your property is open or not after the storm.
- Secure Your Facility: Reinforce windows and doors, trim trees, and secure outdoor objects that could become projectiles. For interior spaces, move loose papers away from windows, lower blinds, and unplug computers and other electronic equipment to prevent damage from power surges. If on the first floor, elevate valuable papers and files.
- Stock Essential Supplies: Have a two-week supply of non-perishable food, water, first-aid kits, and any specialized supplies your business requires.
- Safeguard Company Records and Important Papers: Make duplicates to store off-site. Consider covering valuable papers with plastic bags or vinyl sheeting for additional security.
- Review Your Insurance Program: Discuss with an insurance professional whether your policies cover:
- Loss of income (business interruption insurance)
- Payroll expenses for employees
- Loss of power or other critical services
- Denial of access orders issued by civil authorities
- Critical machinery and equipment
- Inventory and supplies
- Losses incurred due to disruption of transportation services
- Test Your Plan: Conduct drills to ensure everyone understands their roles and responsibilities. Appoint a person to ensure all employees have safely left the building when a storm threatens.
Don't Wait for the Warning
The time to prepare for hurricane season is now. By proactively assessing your power needs and partnering with a reliable generator rental company, you can fortify your business against the unpredictable challenges of severe weather. Don't let power outages cripple your operations – rent a generator and ensure your business can weather any storm.
Contact us today to discuss your hurricane season generator rental needs and ensure your business is powered up for peace of mind.
