<s>
An	O
engine	O
–	O
generator	O
is	O
the	O
combination	O
of	O
an	O
electrical	O
generator	O
and	O
an	O
engine	O
(	O
prime	O
mover	O
)	O
mounted	O
together	O
to	O
form	O
a	B-General_Concept
single	O
piece	O
of	O
equipment	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
combination	O
is	O
also	O
called	O
an	O
engine	O
–	O
generator	O
set	O
or	O
a	B-General_Concept
gen-set	B-Algorithm
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
many	O
contexts	O
,	O
the	O
engine	O
is	O
taken	O
for	O
granted	O
and	O
the	O
combined	O
unit	O
is	O
simply	O
called	O
a	B-General_Concept
generator	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
engine	O
–	O
generator	O
may	O
be	O
a	B-General_Concept
fixed	O
installation	O
,	O
part	O
of	O
a	B-General_Concept
vehicle	O
,	O
or	O
made	O
small	O
enough	O
to	O
be	O
portable	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
addition	O
to	O
the	O
engine	O
and	O
generator	O
,	O
engine	O
–	O
generators	O
generally	O
include	O
a	B-General_Concept
fuel	O
supply	O
,	O
a	B-General_Concept
constant	O
engine	O
speed	O
regulator	O
(	O
governor	O
)	O
and	O
a	B-General_Concept
generator	O
voltage	O
regulator	O
,	O
cooling	O
and	O
exhaust	O
systems	O
,	O
and	O
lubrication	O
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Units	O
larger	O
than	O
about	O
1kW	O
rating	O
often	O
have	O
a	B-General_Concept
battery	O
and	O
electric	O
starter	O
motor	O
;	O
very	O
large	O
units	O
may	O
start	O
with	O
compressed	O
air	O
either	O
to	O
an	O
air	O
driven	O
starter	O
motor	O
or	O
introduced	O
directly	O
to	O
the	O
engine	O
cylinders	O
to	O
initiate	O
engine	O
rotation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Standby	O
power	O
generating	O
units	O
often	O
include	O
an	O
automatic	O
starting	O
system	O
and	O
a	B-General_Concept
transfer	O
switch	O
to	O
disconnect	O
the	O
load	O
from	O
the	O
utility	O
power	O
source	O
when	O
there	O
is	O
a	B-General_Concept
power	O
failure	O
and	O
connect	O
it	O
to	O
the	O
generator	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Engine	O
–	O
generators	O
are	O
available	O
in	O
a	B-General_Concept
wide	O
range	O
of	O
power	O
ratings	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
include	O
small	O
,	O
hand-portable	O
units	O
that	O
can	O
supply	O
several	O
hundred	O
watts	O
of	O
power	O
,	O
hand-cart	O
mounted	O
units	O
that	O
can	O
supply	O
several	O
thousand	O
watts	O
and	O
stationary	O
or	O
trailer-mounted	O
units	O
that	O
can	O
supply	O
over	O
a	B-General_Concept
million	O
watts	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Most	O
of	O
the	O
smaller	O
units	O
are	O
built	O
to	O
use	O
gasoline	O
(	O
petrol	O
)	O
as	O
a	B-General_Concept
fuel	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
larger	O
ones	O
have	O
various	O
fuel	O
types	O
,	O
including	O
diesel	O
,	O
natural	O
gas	O
and	O
propane	O
(	O
liquid	O
or	O
gas	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
engine	O
–	O
generators	O
use	O
a	B-General_Concept
reciprocating	O
engine	O
,	O
with	O
fuels	O
mentioned	O
above	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
can	O
be	O
a	B-General_Concept
steam	O
engine	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
most	O
coal-powered	O
fossil-fuel	O
power	O
plants	O
use	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
engine	O
–	O
generators	O
use	O
a	B-General_Concept
turbine	O
as	O
the	O
engine	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
industrial	O
gas	O
turbines	O
used	O
in	O
peaking	O
power	O
plants	O
and	O
the	O
microturbines	O
used	O
in	O
some	O
hybrid	O
electric	O
buses	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
are	O
only	O
a	B-General_Concept
few	O
portable	O
three-phase	O
generator	O
models	O
available	O
in	O
the	O
US	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Most	O
of	O
the	O
portable	O
units	O
available	O
are	O
single-phase	B-Algorithm
generators	I-Algorithm
and	O
most	O
of	O
the	O
three-phase	O
generators	O
manufactured	O
are	O
large	O
industrial	O
type	O
generators	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
other	O
countries	O
where	O
three-phase	O
power	O
is	O
more	O
common	O
in	O
households	O
,	O
portable	B-Algorithm
generators	I-Algorithm
are	O
available	O
from	O
a	B-General_Concept
few	O
kW	O
and	O
upwards	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Small	O
portable	B-Algorithm
generators	I-Algorithm
may	O
use	O
an	O
inverter	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Inverter	O
generators	O
are	O
best	O
to	O
power	O
sensitive	O
electronic	O
devices	O
such	O
as	O
computers	O
and	O
lights	O
that	O
use	O
a	B-General_Concept
ballast	O
,	O
as	O
they	O
have	O
a	B-General_Concept
low	O
Total	O
Harmonic	O
Distortion	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Another	O
advantage	O
is	O
that	O
the	O
generated	O
electric	O
power	O
from	O
the	O
engine-driven	O
generator	O
can	O
be	O
a	B-General_Concept
polyphase	O
output	O
at	O
a	B-General_Concept
higher	O
frequency	O
and	O
at	O
a	B-General_Concept
waveform	O
more	O
suitable	O
for	O
rectification	O
to	O
produce	O
the	O
DC	O
to	O
feed	O
the	O
inverter	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	B-General_Concept
typical	O
modern	O
inverter	O
–	O
generator	O
produces	O
3kVA	O
and	O
weighs	O
~	O
26	O
kg	O
making	O
it	O
convenient	O
for	O
handling	O
by	O
one	O
person	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
mid-size	O
stationary	O
engine	O
–	O
generator	O
pictured	O
here	O
is	O
a	B-General_Concept
100	O
kVA	O
set	O
which	O
produces	O
415	O
V	O
at	O
around	O
110	O
A	B-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
powered	O
by	O
a	B-General_Concept
6.7-liter	O
turbocharged	O
Perkins	O
Phaser	O
1000	O
Series	O
engine	O
,	O
and	O
consumes	O
approximately	O
27	O
liters	O
of	O
fuel	O
an	O
hour	O
,	O
on	O
a	B-General_Concept
400-liter	O
tank	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
generators	O
produce	O
enough	O
kilowatts	O
to	O
power	O
anything	O
from	O
a	B-General_Concept
business	O
to	O
a	B-General_Concept
full-sized	O
hospital	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
units	O
are	O
particularly	O
useful	O
in	O
providing	O
backup	O
power	O
solutions	O
for	O
companies	O
which	O
have	O
serious	O
economic	O
costs	O
associated	O
with	O
a	B-General_Concept
shutdown	O
caused	O
by	O
an	O
unplanned	O
power	O
outage	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
example	O
,	O
a	B-General_Concept
hospital	O
is	O
in	O
constant	O
need	O
of	O
electricity	O
,	O
because	O
several	O
life-preserving	O
medical	O
devices	O
run	O
on	O
electricity	O
,	O
like	O
ventilators	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	B-General_Concept
very	O
common	O
use	O
is	O
a	B-General_Concept
railway	O
diesel	O
electric	O
locomotive	O
,	O
some	O
units	O
having	O
over	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Large	O
generators	O
are	O
also	O
used	O
on	O
board	O
ships	O
that	O
utilize	O
a	B-General_Concept
diesel-electric	O
powertrain	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
You	O
can	O
use	O
a	B-General_Concept
wattage	O
chart	O
to	O
calculate	O
the	O
estimated	O
power	O
usage	O
for	O
different	O
types	O
of	O
equipment	O
to	O
determine	O
how	O
many	O
watts	O
are	O
necessary	O
for	O
a	B-General_Concept
portable	B-Algorithm
generator	I-Algorithm
.	O
</s>
<s>
Trailer-mounted	O
generators	O
or	O
mobile	O
generators	O
,	O
diesel	B-Algorithm
generators	I-Algorithm
are	O
also	O
used	O
for	O
emergencies	O
or	O
backup	O
where	O
either	O
a	B-General_Concept
redundant	O
system	O
is	O
required	O
or	O
no	O
generator	O
is	O
on-site	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
make	O
the	O
hookup	O
faster	O
and	O
safer	O
,	O
a	B-General_Concept
tie-in	O
panel	O
is	O
frequently	O
installed	O
near	O
the	O
building	O
switchgear	O
that	O
contains	O
connectors	O
such	O
as	O
camlocks	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
tie-in	O
panel	O
may	O
also	O
contain	O
a	B-General_Concept
phase	O
rotation	O
indicator	O
(	O
for	O
3-phase	O
systems	O
)	O
and	O
a	B-General_Concept
circuit	O
breaker	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
standby	O
power	O
generators	O
can	O
automatically	O
detect	O
the	O
loss	O
of	O
grid	O
power	O
,	O
start	O
the	O
motor	O
,	O
run	O
using	O
fuel	O
from	O
a	B-General_Concept
natural	O
gas	O
line	O
,	O
detect	O
when	O
grid	O
power	O
is	O
restored	O
,	O
and	O
then	O
turn	O
itself	O
off	O
—	O
with	O
no	O
human	O
interaction	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Every	O
year	O
,	O
incorrectly	O
used	O
portable	B-Algorithm
generators	I-Algorithm
result	O
in	O
deaths	O
from	O
carbon	O
monoxide	O
poisoning	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	B-General_Concept
5.5kW	O
portable	B-Algorithm
generator	I-Algorithm
will	O
generate	O
the	O
same	O
amount	O
of	O
carbon	O
monoxide	O
as	O
six	O
cars	O
,	O
which	O
can	O
quickly	O
build	O
up	O
to	O
fatal	O
levels	O
if	O
the	O
generator	O
has	O
been	O
placed	O
indoors	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Using	O
portable	B-Algorithm
generators	I-Algorithm
in	O
garages	O
,	O
or	O
near	O
open	O
windows	O
or	O
air	O
conditioning	O
vents	O
can	O
also	O
result	O
in	O
carbon	O
monoxide	O
poisoning	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Additionally	O
,	O
it	O
is	O
important	O
to	O
prevent	O
backfeeding	O
when	O
using	O
a	B-General_Concept
portable	O
engine	B-Algorithm
generator	I-Algorithm
,	O
which	O
can	O
harm	O
utility	O
workers	O
or	O
people	O
in	O
other	O
buildings	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Before	O
turning	O
on	O
a	B-General_Concept
diesel	O
-	O
or	O
gasoline-powered	O
generator	O
,	O
users	O
should	O
make	O
sure	O
that	O
the	O
main	O
breaker	O
is	O
in	O
the	O
"	O
off	O
"	O
position	O
,	O
to	O
ensure	O
that	O
the	O
electric	O
current	O
does	O
not	O
reverse	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Exhausting	O
extremely	O
hot	O
flue	O
gases	O
from	O
gen-sets	B-Algorithm
can	O
be	O
done	O
by	O
factory-built	O
positive	O
pressure	O
chimneys	O
(	O
certified	O
to	O
UL	O
103	O
test	O
standard	O
)	O
or	O
general	O
utility	O
schedule	O
40	O
black	O
iron	O
pipe	O
.	O
</s>
