Patent Application
20120053884
The present disclosure generally relates to a system and method for testing the status of a standby generator. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to a system and method for testing a standby generator by automatically starting the standby generator upon receipt of a weather alert, monitoring for any one of a plurality of generator fault conditions, and providing an indication of a detected generator fault condition.
Power outages are often caused by severe weather events. When there is a power outage, backup power may be provided by a standby generator. Currently, standby generator systems exist in which the standby generator is set to start up and run in an exercise mode on a recurring basis, for example, every fifteen days. However, if it has been a number of days since the standby generator was last run in the exercise mode, and if a severe weather event is approaching, it is desirable to test the standby generator to make sure the generator is in good working condition before the weather event occurs in the geographic area in which the residence is located and served by the generator. Such testing would be useful to insure that the generator has not suffered a fault condition in the time period between the last self-testing and the approaching weather event.
Weather alert receivers are well known in the prior art. For example, the National Weather Radio Specific Area Message Encoding (NWR SAME) receiver receives information broadcasted by the National Weather Service including the type of weather event, the geographical area affected, and the expiration time of the weather alert. SAME receivers allow the owner/operator to choose what type of weather event he wishes to receive alerts for. SAME receivers also allow the owner/operator to choose the geographical area for which he desires to receive weather alerts. The weather alert receiver receives and decodes information about the severity of the weather event (i.e., whether it is a warning, watch or emergency) and the type of weather event (i.e., whether it is a tornado, severe thunderstorm, flash flood, or any other type of weather event). More specific information is available in National Weather Service Instruction 10-1712, Feb. 12, 2007, available at http://www.nws.noaa.gov/directives/.
The present disclosure relates to a system and method for testing a standby generator upon receipt of a weather alert. The system includes a standby generator for providing electrical power to a power distribution network. A control unit is contained within the standby generator. The control unit monitors the status of the standby generator and generates error codes upon detection of any one of a plurality of generator fault conditions. These generator fault conditions can be displayed on a control panel of the control unit, and/or can be relayed to a remote status display device. The system further includes a weather alert receiver. The weather alert receiver receives weather alert signals and relays weather alert information to the control unit within the standby generator. This weather alert information can also be displayed on the control panel of the control unit, and/or can be relayed to the remote status display device.
The present disclosure also includes a method of testing a standby generator. According to the method, the standby generator includes a weather alert receiver that receives any one of a plurality of weather alerts. The standby generator automatically starts upon receipt of a weather alert for the geographic area in which the generator is located. The standby generator is monitored for any one of a plurality of generator fault conditions, and if such a generator fault condition is detected, the standby generator shuts down and provides an indication of the detected generator fault condition.
The method further includes, if so desired, starting the standby generator only when the received weather alert exceeds a user-defined priority level. Also, if so desired, the method further includes running the standby generator in an exercise mode after automatically starting the standby generator upon receiving the weather alert. It is also possible to determine the period of time since the standby generator was last run in the exercise mode, and if the period of time is below a testing threshold, to prevent the standby generator from automatically starting and running in the exercise mode upon receipt of the weather alert. Finally, the method may include displaying error codes and/or weather alert information on the control panel of the control unit, and/or transmitting the weather alert information to a remote status display device.
Various other features, objects, and advantages of the disclosure will be made apparent from the following description taken together with the drawings.
The drawings illustrate the best mode presently contemplated of carrying out the disclosure. In the drawings:
As illustrated in
The standby generator 2 includes a control panel 8 that allows an operator to conduct various tests, monitor the operation of the standby generator 2, and perform various maintenance functions for the standby generator 2. The control panel 8 is connected to a control unit for the standby generator 2 such that the control unit can relay messages to an owner/operator and receive input commands through the control panel 8.
The standby generator 2 is preferably set to shut down if a fault condition is detected while the standby generator is run in the exercise mode. As can be understood in
The weather alert receiver 20 receives weather alerts broadcast by the National Weather Service, as described above. The weather alert receiver 20 relays this weather alert information to the control unit 16. In one embodiment, the weather alert receiver 20 can be formed as a part of the control unit 16. In an alternate embodiment, the weather alert receiver 20 can be formed separate from the control unit 16.
The standby generator 2 also includes a transmitter 18 that relays the error codes and the weather alert information to the remote status display device 22. The transmitter 18 can be configured to transmit information to the remote display device 22 using various different types of communication techniques. As one example, the transmitter 18 can be a wireless communication device and information is then relayed from the transmitter 18 to the remote display device 22 utilizing wireless communications. Alternatively, the transmitter 18 can be configured to relay information to the remote display device 22 utilizing power line carrier (PLC) communication techniques. In such an embodiment, the transmitter 18 would communicate with the remote status display device 22 utilizing messages carried over the electrical wiring of the residence service by the standby generator 2. Other types of communication techniques are also contemplated as being within the scope of the present disclosure. In one embodiment, the transmitter 18 is part of the control unit 16. In an alternate embodiment, the transmitter 18 is separate from the control unit 16.
Referring now to
Referring now to
At step 44, the control unit 16 determines if the weather alert is of high enough priority that the standby generator 2 needs to be started and tested. This priority level can be defined by the owner/operator of the standby generator. For example, if the owner/operator wishes only to test the standby generator when a tornado is in the area, the operator may program the control unit 16 such that it only starts the standby generator 2 when such a weather alert is received. On the other hand, if the owner/operator does not wish to start the standby generator 2 if a weather alert of a thunderstorm is received, the owner/operator could also program this instruction into the control unit 16. As described previously, the owner of the standby generator can enter the priority level information into the standby generator through the control panel 8 mounted to the standby generator (see
If the alert is of high enough priority at step 44, the process can then move to step 46 where the control unit 16 determines when the generator was last tested in the exercise mode. As described previously, the owner of the standby generator can select the time interval between testing the generator by running the generator in the exercise mode. The default time period included in the control unit of the generator is thirty days. However, this interval could be reduced depending upon the requirements of the owner. In step 46, the method determines when the generator was last tested by operating the generator in the exercise mode. In a configuration in which the generator is operated in the exercise mode every thirty days, the method utilizes a fifteen-day threshold, as illustrated in step 46. Although the method shown in
In the exercise mode in step 48, the standby generator 2 runs to test for any one of a plurality of generator fault conditions. If one of such generator fault conditions is detected, at step 50, the control unit 16 displays an error code (such as shown in list 12) on the digital display 10 of the control panel 8. If none of the fault conditions are detected, the digital display 10 shows a positive test result code.
In this manner, the owner/operator is alerted as to whether or not the standby generator is operating under faulty conditions before a weather event actually reaches his residence and possibly disrupts transmission of power from utility lines to his residence. This gives the owner/operator time to service the standby generator himself or to contact a professional to service the generator for him.
The error codes, positive test result codes, and weather alert information can all then be relayed to the remote status display device 22 via the transmitter 18, as shown in
In an exemplary embodiment, the control unit 16 transmits a signal to the remote status display device 22 to convey information on the weather alert and the generator fault condition. The control unit 16 can do so through the use of the transmitter 18, the transmitter 18 being either internal or external to the control unit 16 as described above. The remote status display device 22 may display the weather alert information, such as the type of weather event, the severity of the weather event, and the time at which the weather alert is no longer in effect. The remote status display device 22 may also display the error code that corresponds to the detected generator fault condition. Finally, the remote status display device 22 may emit an audible alarm to alert the owner/operator that the standby generator 2 has encountered a fault condition, or that there is a weather alert for his geographical area. This audible alarm may be something as simple as a beeping noise, or may include a vocal description of the weather alert information, and/or the error code information.
