Overview

During a power outage at the district office, the UPS upstairs instantly switches to battery power to keep network infrastructure and servers running.  During a prolonged power outage, a generator will be used instead.  Here are the steps to switch the power.

Tools/Equipment Needed

2 x 3000 watt inverter generators

1 x Aw-5100-0001 parallel port box
 

Setting up the Generators

Philomath Rental

• We rent the generators and parallel port box from Philomath Rental

Turn on generators

• Position generators just outside of the bay doors so that the cable will reach but exhaust fumes will stay outside of the building
• Make sure switch is set to on
• Turn knob to choke (far right)
• Pull string to start generator
• Once started, turn knob to normal operation (middle)
• Repeat with second generator
• When both generators show green lights, you can plug in the parallel port box

Plug in parallel port box

• Red to red
• Black to black
• Green to ground (remove nut, place ring over threads and replace nut)

Connecting the generators to  district power

• After setting up the generators
• Find the power box with two outlets in the northernmost maintenance bay
• Find the appropriate cable (30A outlet) on the wall next to the outlets
• Plug the cable into the parallel port box and the top power outlet (photo)
• Go upstairs to the switch room
• Use lever to change switch box from normal power, to off, then to generator power (photo)
  • Safety tips!!!!!!
  • Stand to the side, not in front of the box when switching power
  • Use your non-dominant hand to switch power
  • Look away while switching power
• Verify UPS has switched over to generator power, the LED screen on the UPS will show that it has switched back from battery mode to normal mode.  This takes 30-60 seconds after power has switched
• Monitor generator fuel during a prolonged outage
• When regular power has been restored, reverse the steps to put the switch and server rooms back on normal power

Conclusion

The district office switch room, server room, and one light fixture in Facilities are powered off the battery backup in the switch room in the event of a power outage.  During a prolonged power outage, these steps will help the district office to continue to provide network and systems connectivity to the schools.