The Critical Power Needs of Hospitals and Healthcare

Hospitals and healthcare facilities are vital for the health and safety of a community when emergencies strike. Whether it’s an “Act of God,” such as a tornado, flash flood, hurricane, wildfire, or an act of man, such as terrorism, your facility must have reliable power to keep the lights on and the machines operational until power is restored to the structure.

At Central Power Systems & Services, our Critical Power Specialists help ensure your standby power systems are ready to go no matter the cause of the power disruption. We can install, maintain, repair, and replace a wide range of power generators, battery backup systems, tap boxes, and more.

NFPA 99 & NFPA 110

Hospitals and healthcare facilities typically fall under either NFPA 99 or NFPA 110. It’s essential to determine which applies to your facility so that you can ensure regulatory compliance. More importantly, so that you can confirm that your facility has the power you need for the emergencies you may respond to during a critical event.

NFPA 99

NFPA 99 identifies standby generators as an essential electrical system (EES). This designation encompasses all electrical components required to supply electrical power during a power outage.

Type 1 EES and Type 2 EES applies to Category 1 or Category 2 patient care spaces. Category 1 patient care spaces are those where power failure may result in severe injury or death to patients, staff, or visitors. These include ambulatory surgical centers and most hospitals. Category 2 spaces are those where power failure may cause non-life-threatening injuries to patients, staff, or visitors. This includes clinics, outpatient care centers, etc.

These systems must supply power to life safety equipment, critical care equipment, and general operational equipment; each must possess its own automatic transfer switch. The life safety branch must be able to supply a minimum of 1.5 hours of back-up power to emergency lights, fire alarms, and task lights. The critical branch runtime requirements vary by the underwriter. However, they must supply sufficient power for surgical lighting systems, surgical rooms and recovery areas, refrigeration systems, gas monitoring and control systems, anesthesia equipment, aspirators, and patient monitors. The equipment branch encompasses waste gas systems, suction systems, air controls, and ventilation fans.

NFPA 110

NFPA 110 is intended to ensure maximum reliability of your power generation systems during a power failure. It establishes the minimum performance requirements of emergency and standby power generation systems. This includes installation requirements, maintenance, testing, and operation.

Level 1 Emergency Power Supply Systems (EPSS) are required for facilities where power failure would result in loss of life or serious injury to patients, staff, or visitors. Level 2 EPSS applies to less critical systems where power loss won’t halt operations or threaten human life.

Digging Into the Details

Taking care of your patients is your business. Sorting through NFPA 99, NFPA 110, and other applicable codes and regulations governing your emergency power systems is ours. Our teams are thoroughly versed in the details that keep your power systems operational in an emergency, and facility compliant during your next regulatory inspection.

We work closely with your team to ensure your critical and non-critical equipment has the power your patients and staff depend on. Our single-source service model allows us to provide 24/7 field support so that you can focus on saving lives without having to worry about the reliability of your emergency power generation systems.

We encourage you to contact your nearest Central Power Systems & Services location to schedule a meeting with our power generation specialists. We’re happy to review your existing setup and recommend improvements that will enhance the dependability of your emergency power generation systems.