Load bank
A load bank is a device in electrical engineering. It represents an electrical load unit and is, for example, for setting, testing and maintenance as well as the technical inspection of generators used. This, we run load tests with continuous operation and load suspension and shutdown.
A load bank is depending on the design and purpose, eg from heating resistors (resistive load power factor) and is for resistive and inductive load applications ( power factor between 0.8 and 1.0 ) additionally equipped with coils that provide the inductive load. The electrical energy is converted into heat and dissipated through one or more fans outwardly in order to prevent overheating of the resistors and or coils.
Depending on the application and version, load banks are manufactured in different sizes and dimensions. These range, for example, of loads from 10 kW as portable units up to several megawatts in container construction. In order to provide great benefits, it is also possible, depending on the manufacturer and version control side to connect two or more load banks together.
This composite can then be operated by the operator as a unit to a controller. To ensure the reliability of load banks, they are equipped with various safety devices in order to prevent personal injury as well as an overload condition of the unit.
Depending on the manufacturer and control variant, it is possible to record various configurable readings from the load bank during the entire test course and save them for later evaluation in electronic form. From this data, then curves graphed can be created by lifting gear and shutdowns and used for acceptance reports. Load banks may, on the design, without an upstream transformer, with generator-side output voltages of 380 volts, 50 hertz to 480 volts, 60 Hertz operate. Greater at a generator output voltage range in the voltage range 480 volts, 60 Hertz, a transformer between the generator and load bank switched to allow a load test of these generators.
- Electrical Power Engineering