This multi-phase, £7.2 million generator farm and NHS electrical resilience programme for St Peter’s Hospital began with UPS/IPS systems installed for the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) in late 2020-2021. The UPS – designed to give 3 hours of support in the event of a mains power failure – was fitted on the roof of the 5-storey building, housed within a custom-built GRP enclosure and steel structure.
Following the initial design-and-installation project, Barton Knight completed civil engineering works in 2022 and laid a 500sqm concrete base on a brownfield site, with electrical infrastructure installed for a new generator farm, including containment for future supplies.
The third stage of the NHS electrical resilience programme covers the supply and installation of two T1650 – 1500kVA 400v 50Hz prime rated diesel generating sets, supplied by WB Power Services, and fitted in 2023. The generators will run as a synchronised pair: depending on the site load they start up together and the first one to reach capacity or correct operating mode will take the available site load through the control system. If this is too excessive for one generator the other will continue to run so they can share the power load between them, delivering electrical resilience for the hospital.
In preparation for the generators, multiple ladder racking was installed across the roofs of the hospital buildings to carry the cables from the panels to the downstream departments. Barton Knight Contracting put in in excess of 2,000 metres of HDG (Hot-Dip Galvanized cable tray systems) ladder-racking, ranging in size from 300mm up to 900mm,with bespoke cantilever brackets.
A number of parallel pairs of 300mm 4 Core LSF (Low Smoke and Fume) Steel Wire Armoured (SWA) cables were then laid, and connected to various departments including theatre block, A&E, general wards, departmental lifts, pathology, urology, and more.
The generators were successfully craned in and installed in July and September 2023, while the panels were fitted in January 2024. Working with supplier AF Switchgear, Barton Knight Contracting ensured the generator panels were Factory Acceptance Tested (FAT) before they were installed.
The work was undertaken sympathetically to minimize disruption to the hospital, which continued running as normal.
