Technical Briefs

Educational systems require power availability for research and student welfare. Learn the value of backup power testing in these facilities.

Read about design factors that play a role in a transfer switch’s withstandability in this 1974 document.

Risks such as power outages and hazards can significantly disrupt the smooth operations within the premises. Read this to learn how to prevent hazards through proper ground fault management.

The consequences can be severe. This document explains the different ways power disruptions impact data centers.

In wastewater utilities, pump failure may result in the untreated discharge of sewage into streams and rivers. Read this to learn how to prevent it.

This article examines how facilities providing public safety and security can ensure a steady flow of backup energy when they experience utility power outages.

Optimize healthcare facilities with automated critical power reporting for improved efficiency and reliability. Learn how it benefits operations.

Preparing access protocols for power system maintenance and testing helps data centers drive uptime.

Selective coordination helps improve uptime. This document explains how it offers value to commercial facilities.

Batteries save energy from renewable sources for later use. It plays a vital role in power systems.

Climate events impact power supply. As they become increasingly common, educational facilities must prepare for outages to maintain operational continuity.

California’s 2022 Building Energy Efficiency Standards – Title 24 has adopted provisions that promote zero-carbon energy sources. Read how facility backup power systems can comply.

Practicing selective coordination to localize overcurrent conditions helps protect commercial buildings from power interruptions. Learn more about it in this article.

Facilities can opt for different approaches when transferring inductive loads between two power sources to protect equipment and maintain operational continuity.

Ensuring power availability requires regular testing to verify backup power availability. This article explains how data centers can maximize uptime with a backup power testing program.

UL 1008 Transfer Switches provide high levels of reliability required by hospitals and healthcare facilities to reduce power-related risks.

Paralleling Switchgear offers facilities a way to use different fuel types for backup power generation. This document explains its value, compares fuel performance, and shows how paralleling switchgear can increase sustainability.

The popularity of alternative energy sources can make grid management more complex. This document compares three solutions for managing excess power in utility grids.

A transfer switch must undergo testing and be marked with the resulting electrical ratings. This document summarizes what AHJs expect to see during an inspection.

Documentation helps facilities recover from having electrical equipment damaged by disasters such as floods and fires. Read this technical brief to learn how.

Keeping cable bend space in mind when choosing a generator transfer switch streamlines installation and helps with code compliance. This technical brief explains why.

This Technical Brief from ASCO Power Technologies details the value of in-phase monitoring in transfer switching. Learn why it is a cost-effective solution for mitigating large inrush currents.

This technical brief details how extreme weather drives power disruption and how backup power can provide value to facilities.

NFPA 110 sets forth minimum requirements for backup power system design and periodic testing. Our Tech Brief summarizes the standard.

Tie Circuit Breakers and Segmented Bus go hand-in-hand. Understanding their functions unleashes a wide range of redundancy options for backup power systems. This Tech Brief quickly explains how.

Per Mode? Per Phase? Specifying SPDs for backup power systems can be confusing …. The diagrams in this two-minute read clarify the terms.

If an extended heat wave occurred at the same time as an extended urban power outage, what would be the toll on the health and well-being of people? Risks from Concurrent Heatwaves and Power Outages looks at a sobering study on the subject.

If the risks of power interruption were enough to justify installing a backup power system, those same risks warrant regular backup system tests. Learn how automated reporting systems streamline compliance testing by reading our newest Technical Brief – Three Benefits of Three Benefits of Automated Critical Power Reporting.

When transferring motor loads between two dissimilar sources of power, it is important to consider the available options for mitigating inrush currents. This brief provides some “rule-of-thumb” guidance.

This Technical Brief states the three most compelling benefits of UL 1008-Listed transfer switches, and provides a succinct summary of the key tests that verify their safety and reliable performance. Read the article to learn more.

How can critical backup power equipment be installed more easily in less space?
Power Transfer Load Centers integrate a transfer switch mechanism, load center, and other devices into one enclosure. Technical Brief explains how PTLCs streamline procurement and installation and describes common configurations.

Our Tech Brief, Transition Mode Basics, quickly explains three of the most commonly available load transfer sequences and their applications.

This brief explains how to access ASCO's convenient, high-quality, critical power training … for free.

Arc flash mitigation is a serious safety topic. The National Electrical Code provides seven options for mitigating arc flash hazards. Read our Technical Brief for a concise summary of the permitted strategies.

Our newest Technical Brief summarizes how the NEC is developed and then adopted across the USA and Central America.

This article summarizes the confluence between cold-chain logistics and backup power systems.

To the uninitiated, the term “power breaker” would seem to apply to any circuit breaker. To those more familiar, the term focuses on a range of low voltage circuit breakers. Because breaker nomenclature can seem complex, this article reviews the terms that describe commonly used in low-voltage, backup power systems.

This article summarizes these tools and links readers to them. Whether you are a seasoned power professional, a busy facility manager, an equipment dealer, or a new entrant to the critical power business, you are sure to find digital offerings that make backup power easier to understand and deploy

Electrification of building loads holds promise for efficiency and the environment. Our newest Technical Brief reviews the benefits and challenges of electrification as well as its relationship to backup power.

SCADA systems have enabled the monitoring and control of electrical systems through discrete communication channels.

The National Electrical Code^® requires that electrical power be available for life-safety systems even when a facility’s sole generator is being serviced. Our latest Technical Brief summarizes the requirement and presents a practical solution.

The National Electrical Code^® (NEC^®) poses stringent standards for reconditioning backup power equipment. The following sections outline the requirements.

Selective Coordination is the practice of setting overcurrent protection device trip times to minimize the amount of equipment deenergized when faults are cleared.

Aging, undersized, or obsolete switchgear does not always require outright replacement. This article summarizes approaches for increasing the reliability, functionality, maintainability, and capacity of existing paralleling switchgear in backup power systems.

Transfer Switches are used to transfer electrical loads between two sources of power, most commonly a utility service and a backup generator system. Manufacturers offer transfer switches for manual, nonautomatic, and automatic operation.

A nexus of events in California underscore why backup power is as important as ever. Our newest Tech Brief highlights solutions for temporary power and the potential influence of microgrids.

The National Electrical Code^® requires backup power to be available even when servicing transfer switches and generators that power public safety and public security facilities. Learn more about requirements and solutions in our newest Tech Brief entitled Temporary Backup Power for Critical Operations Power Systems.

ASCO Power Technologies described the roles of essential time delays invoked during a load transfer cycle between two power sources.

This document focuses on the most essential functions that all automatic transfer switches (ATS) must complete to transfer loads without human intervention.

The Joint Commission Hospital Accreditation Standards specify backup power testing practices that must be followed to obtain or maintain hospital accreditation. Our newest Tech Brief quickly summarizes the most important requirements.

Protective relays are sometimes used in backup power systems to protect circuits and load equipment from undesirable or potentially damaging electrical conditions and events. The following sections summarize their use in backup power systems and critical power equipment.

When connecting temporary generators, it is important to properly arrange and connect conductors. Our newest Tech Brief briefly reviews the importance of phase sequence.

Manual transfer switches are sometimes used in backup power systems that serve loads classified as optional by the National Electrical Code^® (NEC), and both UL 98 and UL 1008-listed devices are used in these systems. The following article compares the important aspects of the respective testing standards.

Automatic transfer switches (ATSs) transfer loads from a normal source (Source 1 or S1) to an alternate power source (Source 2 or S2) when power from the normal source becomes unacceptable. The following sections describe the role of timing delays in load transfer.

Since 2017, facilities with backup power systems have been subject to requirements to monitor the integrity of engine-generator start signal wiring. The following article explains why the National Electrical Code^• (NEC^•) added this requirement and differentiates approaches for compliance.

Power source synchronization and power source paralleling are topics that must be understood to properly design backup power systems. Synchronization focuses on the relative difference in frequency between connectable circuits and, together with voltage differences, must be considered when transferring loads between power sources.

This Technical brief article summarizes when a separate grounding electrode is needed.

Clearing faults and protecting circuits is the function of breakers and fuses, not transfer switches. The sole purpose of a transfer switch is to connect electrical load to a power source.

Selective Coordination is an approach for minimizing equipment outages by ensuring that Over-Current Protection devices nearest to faults trip before upstream devices.

The most common applications for automatic transfer switches involve transferring load between two sources whenever the Normal source, typically utility power, becomes unavailable.

Multiple industry codes specify actions for the design, operation, maintenance, and testing of backup power systems and equipment.

When ground faults occur, they can present safety and fire hazards. Appropriate system configuration can promote proper ground fault sensing.

To provide life-saving and economically vital services, medical facilities and data centers must test backup power systems to verify readiness and comply with standards. Our Tech Brief explains how automatic reporting can enhance compliance and streamline operations at any facility that conducts periodic backup power testing.

Around the world, authorities are constructing temporary healthcare facilities to handle surges in patient inflows. Our Tech Brief summarizes options for installing critical backup power equipment in these structures quickly.

Public outages should always be considered as a normal operating condition for critical facilities. That’s important even for temporary medical structures.

Reliable backup power for healthcare is more important than ever. Technician access to critical equipment could be an important part of the story. Communication between medical facilities and their power service vendors now could avoid difficulties later.

Patients loads resulting from the continuing epidemic are filling medical facilities in the USA and around the world. What are the implications for backup power? Learn more in our short brief.

Even areas with highly reliable power supply grids are susceptible to power interruptions. Now more than ever, medical facilities and mission-critical operations require reliable backup power. Read how timely testing can verify that backup power will be available when it’s needed most.

In response to the evolving public health concerns, governments, businesses, and educational facilities have directed people to remain at their homes. This will put more internet traffic on residential internet systems than ever before. Will power for consumer broadband networks stand up to the test?