FAQs - Load Bank Testing
Load bank testing which may be used to load-up critical power and cooling systems for commissioning, acceptance testing and preventative maintenance.
A load bank provides a dummy electrical load for a connected device. Load banks can be used with uninterruptible power supplies, energy storage systems and generating sets to in place of a critical load during commissioning, factory acceptance testing, sit acceptance testing and/or preventative maintenance. A load bank can be sized or set to deliver a set kW load that can be used to validate the electrical performance of the power system without risk to the critical load. The load bank is usually reactive and dissipates the resultant energy as heat.
When we provide a rental load bank unit the rental includes the load bank and all the necessary elements required for load validation including protection, control, metering and the accessories required including cabling. The load bank itself may need delivery and siting (with off-loading facilities) due to its size and weight and good ventilation to allow the heat to be dissipated when placed under load. The hire also includes the AC or DC cabling require which can run to several hundred meters or more in length depending upon the distance from the load bank connection point to the critical power device to be tested.
Load bank testing validates performance to a test specification of a generating set, UPS system or energy storage system and ensures that the system starts and can support the load for the required runtime. For standby power systems, load bank testing may be the only off-line testing available to ensure the backup system is in good health.